A hi-tech laboratory was born in the waters of the bay of S. Teresa (La Spezia) for the study of algae, bryozoans, molluscs and corals, organisms that are still 'little considered', but of extreme importance for strategies of adaptation and mitigation to change climate. With the launch of this pilot project, the first Italian Smart Bay officially kicks off. The initiative presented on 20 May on the occasion of the European Sea Day, aims at the coordinated management of marine and atmospheric research infrastructures and at the experimentation of advanced technologies to support sectors with high potential for sustainable growth and employment such as: aquaculture, tourism, marine biotechnologies and energy from the sea, in line with the aims of the Blue Italian Growth (BIG) technological cluster in the broader context of the European Blue Growth strategy.
"With the Smart Bay of Santa Teresa we intend to promote research and technologies, strengthen our support for local realities and at the same time protect and enhance the natural capital of the gulf", underlines Roberto Morabito Director of the Sustainability Department of ENEA Production and Territorial Systems. “Our goal is to implement the knowledge of marine ecosystems and the services they offer also with reference to the objectives of the ecological transition. Furthermore, with the integration of scientific, tourist / recreational and training activities that will arise, we want to represent a first model of sustainability and cooperation that can also be replicated in other areas, contributing to strengthening Italian scientific research in the field of marine sciences ”, he concludes.
The pilot project will study the role played by these marine ecosystems in the bay and gulf in providing "ecosystem services", such as climate regulation, habitat support and provision as well as cultural and aesthetic contributions. Participating in the CNR project, the Municipality of Lerici, the Associated Mussel Farmers Cooperative, the Sea School, the universities of Florence, Pavia, Portsmouth and Sapienza, the Naples Zoological Station and the W•SENSE company. In addition to data on the physiology of ecosystems (respiration, photosynthesis, calcification, growth) in current and future conditions, the distribution and extension of some species will also be acquired through the use of terrestrial and marine drones. In situ probes and weekly and monthly measurement campaigns will also make it possible to detect parameters such as pH, pCO2, calcite, aragonite and nutrients, while the measurements of temperature, pH, salinity and oxygen will arrive from the ENEA weather station. Thanks to the collaboration with the Sapienza University, high-tech sensor systems designed by the W•SENSE company will be tested which will acquire temperature, current and oxygen data in the bay and in other sites in the gulf, including mussel farming, making them usable in time real via wi-fi from local stakeholders. The information collected will then be analyzed also with an economic, social and ecological approach, with the aim of assigning an economic value to these ecosystems.
"Understanding the functioning of these marine ecosystems, the mutual influence with the surrounding environment and finally improving their social perception represent the starting point for planning a true ecological transition involving researchers, stakeholders, local administrators and citizens", underlines Chiara Lombardi, researcher at the ENEA Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services laboratory at the Santa Teresa Research Centre. “Smart Bay S. Teresa was created to create a platform for dialogue and promote cooperation between different players in a small but precious area, so that through exchange and collaboration work is directed towards Blue growth, whether it is research, innovation, production or tourism, with ecosystems and technology at the centre”.
Photos of the Bay of Santa Teresa (La Spezia)
Photos of the Bay of Santa Teresa (La Spezia)
Photos of the Bay of Santa Teresa (La Spezia)