From the 17th to the 26th of May, the oceanographic campaign “EMSO SA-2025” (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory – Southern Adriatic 2025) takes place aboard the CNR oceanographic vessel Gaia Blu. The mission departs from Naples and returns to Ancona, with the aim of contributing to long-term monitoring of oceanic processes and climate change in the Southern Adriatic Sea, through the use of autonomous sensors for the continuous acquisition of physical and bio-geochemical data. The activities will be carried out within EMSO ERIC.
The Southern Adriatic Regional Facility represents a fundamental node of the EMSO ERIC network of Regional Facilities and is integrated into the ITINERIS project (which has the objective of implementing the Italian Integrated Ocean Observing System (IT-IOOS), in line with the global challenges of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, taking into account the specificities of the Mediterranean basin. The ITINERIS project – Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System – is financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU- PNRR Mission 4 “Education and Research” – Component 2 “From research to business” – Investment line 3.1 “Fund for the realisation of an integrated system of research and innovation infrastructure”.
Main activities of the campaign:
During the mission, maintenance of the BB and FF moorings will be carried out, finalised at the recovery of collected samples and data, in addition to CTD probes, current meter deployments, and the deployment of two Argo floats, and a measurement system in continuous operation for physical and biogeochemical parameters of seawater.
The Southern Adriatic observational node includes the BB and FF sites (managed by CNR-Isp) and the E2M3A site (managed by OGS). It constitutes a strategic platform for long-term oceanographic monitoring in real-time and over the long term. The BB and FF sites have collected data uninterruptedly since 2010 and 2012, respectively, offering a unique historical basis for the analysis of climatic processes, ocean dynamics, and interconnections on a regional and global scale.
Collaborations and Projects
In addition to the activities related to EMSO, the EMSO-SA2025 campaign will also contribute to other important projects, including Life DREAM, NBFC and PNRR ITINERIS, further expanding and enhancing the scientific data collected.
Mission coordination
The mission is coordinated by the Institute of Polar Sciences of the CNR (CNR-ISP), led by Francesco Paladini de Mendoza, and involves also the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), the Institute of Marine Sciences of the CNR (CNR-ISMAR) and the Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies (CNR-IRBIM). The participation of CNR-ISP in EMSO-ERIC is supported by the activities of the Italian Joint Research Unit of the consortium.
More details on the projects:
EMSO: https://emso.eu/
ITINERIS: https://itineris.cnr.it/
https://bsky.app/profile/itineris-ri.bsky.social
ISP: https://www.isp.cnr.it/index.php/it/ricerca/altre-attivita/mare-adriatico
OGS: https://www.ogs.it/en/european-multidisciplinary-seafloor-and-water-column-observatory-emso-eric
Life Dream: https://www.life-dream.eu/
NBFC: https://www.nbfc.it/en
For further information: Francesco Paladini de Mendoza, Stefano Miserocchi (Cnr-Isp)