The sampling activities carried out at the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park were successfully completed. In these 5 days, the ISPRA project partners have performed numerous diving activities, aerial flights with the drone, acquisitions with the surface vehicle and the canoe. 5 intense days, spent alongside the staff of the Carabinieri Corps of the Underwater Corps of Naples and the staff of the 3D Research, a Spin-off of the University of Calabria, which ended with the service of the RAI television program "Linea Blu" which it will be broadcast on 11 July at 2 pm on RAI1. The collected Posidonia oceanica samples were delivered to the colleagues of the University of Tuscia who from today have started the first analysis activities.

ISPRA and the whole project is keen to thank the Park for the support received and for having promptly contacted the competent maritime authorities.

The tender procedure for the design service for new mooring systems for buoys within the "Isola dell'Asinara" Marine Protected Area foreseen in the action C3 has been published on the Public Administration Electronic Market (MePA).

The action C3 has the purpose of creating mooring areas in areas where the management plan does not provide for free anchoring and in any case to protect particularly sensitive areas characterized by anthropogenic pressure generated by the use of boats in the summer season. Therefore, eco-compatible moorings will be installed. In addition to the conservation of the Posidonia seabeds, therefore, their installation can also increase the possibility of use by boaters.

Study of the wave climate, mapping of coastal sandy deposits and analysis of seismic/acoustic data for actions C2 and C3

Different activities were carried out under Action A1 from the beneficiary IAS-CNR to improve knowledge on envisaged areas of the SeaForest LIFE project. The studies were carried out to define wave climate and to update the seabed habitat maps. The seagrass meadow upper limit and coastal sandy deposits maps were updated through the interpretative analysis of available data, such as orthophotos, satellite images, seismic data, multibeam and backscatter.

The analysis of the statistical characteristics of the synthetic parameters of the wave motion was performed to define the wave climate regimes of the marine sectors overlooking the study areas. To perform wave event and hydrodynamics simulations, to complete the marine climate, and to perform the most representative hydrodynamics scenarios generated by wave events, the software suite Delft3D was used.

The seabed mapping was a preparatory activity foreseen by action A1 and an implementation activity for C2 and C3 Actions. The definition of the upper limits of the Posidonia oceanica meadows, the identification of the coastal sandy deposits suitable to host the recreational nautical free berth and the supply of the database for the mooring planning are the objectives of these activities.

The acquisition and analysis of seismic lines were carried out to define the thicknesses of the sandy bodies, the thickness of Posidonia oceanica mattes and the detection of solid substrates. The results of the seismic analysis were useful to support the assessment of carbon storage, to improve the characterization of habitat 1120 and to support the management and design of anchors and moorings. The characterization of the study areas to realize the maps of the coastal habitats at a low depth, and the creation of the database to support the development of the mooring plan (Action C2-C3), where possible.

Here you can download the full report.

On 20 and 21 February, ISPRA researchers went to the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park as part of the SeaForest LIFE project.

The first day they presented to the Park Director, Dr Romano Gregorio, the preliminary data on the census of boats present in summer in the two Marine Protected Areas present within the Park (the MPA of Santa Maria di Castellabate and the MA Costa degli Infreschi and della Masseta), at the Center for Studies and Research on Biodiversity in Vallo della Lucania (SA).

On 21 February an operational meeting was held with the Head of the Marine Protected Areas and Park Community Service, Dr Francesco De Luca, and the members of the Carabinieri Diving Unit of Naples, at Villa Matarazzo (Castellabate - SA). Thanks to this important meeting, a collaboration between the Carabinieri and SeaForest LIFE has started. The Carabinieri will guarantee technical and logistical support to ISPRA researchers for monitoring activities on Posidonia oceanica in the MPAs of the Cilento National Park. Thanks to the precious help that will be provided by the Carabinieri Diving Unit of Naples, our project will be able to collect important data to better quantify the precious carbon stored by the Posidonia oceanica meadows under the sea surface, so useful to mitigate, at least in part, the effect of climate change on our future.

Marini Pulcini, Sante Francesco Rende, Luca Parlagreco and Silvia Maltese participated for ISPRA, and the Mar. Magg. Sandro Buccalo (Comandante Aliquota Subacquei Napoli), the Mar. Magg. Santi Scolaro (Vice Comandante), and the Brig. Fabio Vitozzi, the Vice Brig. Gennaro Attore, the Vice Brig. Giovanni Falco (infermiere F. SUB), the App. Sc. Q.S. Salavatore Pantalena, the App. Sc. Marco Panico for the Carabinieri Diving Unit of Naples.