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In this study, we present the results of a very high-resolution bathymetric survey carried out offshore the dismissed industrial site of Bagnoli (Pozzuoli Bay, Gulf of Naples). The bathymetric maps and the thematic representation produced, allowed for detailed characterisation of the seabed lineaments and features. Seafloor bedforms and morphological features can be observed at a very high resolution. Moreover, the potential pattern of sediment transport can be inferred from the seafloor bedforms observed in the central sector of the surveyed area. The new morphobathymetric map of Bagnoli-Coroglio offshore provides a valuable tool for stakeholders towards a comprehensive planning and management addressed to environmental revaluation and rehabilitation of this disused industrial area.

This paper describes the results of the activities performed during the project PONa3_00363 I-AMICA (High Technology Infrastructure for Climate and Environment Monitoring; www.i-amica.it), as part of the activities of Development Objective 4.4 (Processes of the biosphere-hydrosphere interface and features of coastal ecosystems). Through the strengthening of scientific-technological infrastructure and equipment, I-AMICA was planned to increase the observational capacity of the monitoring of marine coastal ecosystems, particularly vulnerable in the sensitive Mediterranean area and strictly connected to the natural and anthropic continental system. For this reason research activities were mainly focused on the neritic environment adjacent to the shelf area of the Volturno River mouth (Gulf of Gaeta - central part of the Tyrrhenian Sea). Advanced knowledge on the dynamics in time of marine coastal ecosystems, in relation to the physical, chemical and biological processes that characterize their habitat, were acquired while new methods of integrated monitoring, in relation to the specific characteristics of the study area, were tested. Particular attention was given to the identification of bio-indicators in water column and sediment at sea floor. The monitoring was also integrated by studies on the shoreline changes, seismic stratigraphy of deltaic deposits and by sedimentology and morpho-bathymetry of the seabed., Vengono presentati i risultati dell’attività di monitoraggio svolta nel corso del progetto PONa3_00363 I-AMICA (Infrastruttura di Alta tecnologia per il Monitoraggio Integrato Climatico-Ambientale; www.i-amica.it/i-amica/), nell’ambito delle attività relative all’Obiettivo Realizzativo 4.4 (Processi di interfaccia biosfera-idrosfera e funzionalità degli ecosistemi costieri). L’attività, che ha avuto come scopo l’acquisizione di conoscenze avanzate sulle dinamiche e/o variazioni nel tempo degli ecosistemi marino-costieri in relazione ai processi fisici, chimici e biologici che caratterizzano il loro habitat, si è sviluppata attraverso la sperimentazione di nuove metodologie di monitoraggio in relazione alle specifiche caratteristiche dell’area marino-costiera prospiciente la foce del fiume Volturno (Golfo di Gaeta). In particolare, oltre che sulle tecniche di monitoraggio classiche, lo studio si è principalmente focalizzato sulla acquisizione ed interpretazione di dati ambientali sia in colonna d’acqua che nei sedimenti a fondo mare e sulla identificazione di specie e/o associazioni di specie significative (bio-indicatori) da un punto di vista ambientale ed indicative dello stato di salute del sistema costiero. Poiché il sistema costiero rappresenta una struttura naturale complessa e delicata, la cui evoluzione è il risultato di delicati equilibri fisici, chimici e biologici, fortemente condizionabili dagli interventi antropici, l’attività di monitoraggio è stata integrata da studi sulla variazione della linea di costa, da studi sismostratigrafici della piana deltizia, sedimentologici e morfo-batimetrici dei fondali.

In the context of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC), coralligenous assemblages are considered as "special habitat type". The knowledge of their distribution and the assessment of their status can contribute to the definition of the environmental status of Mediterranean regions. Seafloor mapping was implemented through multibeam echosounder surveys and video transects in areas not formerly explored within the continental shelf along the north-western coast of Sardinia (Western Mediterranean). A high resolution digital model of the seabed (DTM) was obtained from multibeam data; the DTM was processed by using the tools of the terrain analysis to extract a number of derived variables of the seabed. Furthermore the analysis of the acoustic backscatter associated to multibeam data was used to evaluate the acoustic response of the seabed associated to different habitat types. The combination of those variables, allowed the development of maps of coralligenous distribution. The presence of coralligenous was validated in two sampling areas from 60 to 140 m depth. For each area, three random transects (about 150m length for each transect) were carried out by means of Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) with high resolution camera. Video images were processed in order to describe the biotic component of dominant populations. The combined analysis of sonograms and video images provided information on the relevant aspects of the investigated seabeds, distinguishing between mineral and biogenic formations, highlighting their distribution, extent and conditions in terms of presence of typical species and communities. This paper reports the preliminary data of the whole study and contributes to the knowledge of deep coralligenous systems of western Sardinian coasts.

In order to properly adopt the international recommendations on the marine environment and biodiversity conservation, as well as fishing resources and human health, an increasing effort is incoming in the last two decades to study, prevent and mitigate the anthropogenic environmental impact in the Mediterranean sea. The main research efforts and policy strategies implemented in the last two decades are regarding oil pollution (dumping, spills, shipping, extraction, accidents, etc.), civil and industrial waste discharges and, recently, littering. Less known are the other pollution sources generally not visible and frequently distributed offshore. One of this cryptic sources of pollution is represented by military and commercial shipwrecks abandoned on the sea bottom. Actually, fuels, construction materials, army and transported goods deposited at the bottom of the sea can generate ecological damage thus modifying natural biological diversity and fishing activity with unpredictable hazards and dangerous effects on the marine ecosystem. In particular, indiscriminate and uncontrolled leakage of toxic material and organic/inorganic pollutants from those vessels could affect the wellbeing of the deep sea also for long-time. Very few data are available on the effects of pollution produced by shipwrecks in the Mediterranean sea although thousand of military ships were abandoned at the seabed of the basin as effect of accidents during the first and the second word wars. This contribution aims to explore the potential effects of contamination of a number of shipwrecks identified by multi-proxy geophysical tools at the bottom of one of the key areas of the Mediterranean sea, around the Sicily island, where intense ship traffic and fishing activities occur. Geophysical exploration and geochemical data (heavy metals, PAHs, PCBs, Pesticides, hydrocarbons, etc.) are here presented for selected cases and testify the high risk represented by this kind of point-source pollution on the marine system. © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

La campagna SONOS 2013 aveva l'obbiettivo di mappare e caratterizzare i sedimenti olocenici presenti nella piattaforma nel margine occidentale della Sardegna e le morfologie sommerse (sistemi barriera-laguna) legate alla risalita del livello del mare. Lungo le coste della penisola del Sinis e del Golfo di Oristano sono presenti diversi sistemi barriera-laguna, costituiti da cordoni litorali con i retrostanti bacini lagunari. Queste morfologie sono evidenti anche nei settori sommersi a diverse profondità tra 30-40 m e l'attuale linea di riva, in relazione alle diverse fasi di risalita e stazionamento del livello del mare, avvenute al termine dell'ultima glaciazione. Questo fenomeno ha comportato la formazione di paleo riva che risultano ancora evidenti nei rilievi batimetrici (sistemi barriera-laguna sommersi) e che nel Golfo di Oristano e nella penisola del Sinis risultano straordinariamente conservati.

reserved 8 no 1. Explorations of the Mediterranean deep sea using remotely operated vehicles have shown that the sea bed hosts rich habitats, supporting high biodiversity. However, there have been only a few studies dealing with the southern part of the basin, leading to limited protection and conservation efforts in this area. 2. ThisstudyaimedtoexploretheseabedoffLinosaIsland(SicilyChannel,southern Mediterranean Sea), which is considered a ‘sentinel area’ for alien species and global environmental changes owing to its geographic position, thus deserving special attention. 3. Remotely operated vehicle surveys, carried out in 2016 and 2017, were analysed to provide the first ecological characterization of benthic assemblages at depths −19 – −384 m around Linosa Island. 4. Communitiesweredominatedbythreepriorityhabitats,amountingto39%ofthe almost 5 km of the sea floor that was surveyed. These are represented in the euphotic zone by Posidonia oceanica meadows and, at greater depth, by newly discovered dense coral forests and extended rhodolith/maërl beds. Sixteen habitat-forming species included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (e.g. gorgonians Eunicella cavolini and Paramuricea clavata, and black corals Antipathella subpinnata and Leiopathes glaberrima) were recorded, as well as individuals of Sargassum sp. at −100 m depth. 5. The volcanic island of Linosa represents a small, naturally preserved area, with very limited human pressure, hosting rich marine benthic biodiversity. Given the high species and habitat richness, we recommend its inclusion in the Special Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance project (United Nations Environment Programme) and suggest a redefinition of the existing marine protected area extension. mixed Romagnoli, Beatrice; Grasselli, Ferrante; Costantini, Federica; Abbiati, Marco; Romagnoli, Claudia; Innangi, Sara; Di Martino, Gabriella; Tonielli, Renato Romagnoli, Beatrice; Grasselli, Ferrante; Costantini, Federica; Abbiati, Marco; Romagnoli, Claudia; Innangi, Sara; Di Martino, Gabriella; Tonielli, Renato

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from marine sediments of some selected areas off the Linosa Island (central Mediterranean) were investigated with the aim to examine their relationships with seafloor topography. Sediments were collected during different geophysical and biological surveys carried out in 2016 and 2017 around the Pelagie Islands. An integrative partial least squares approach (2B-PLS) attempted an interpretation of co-variance between seafloor morphology and benthic foraminiferal communities. We examined benthic foraminiferal assemblage characteristics (diversity and composition) in relation to seafloor topography and acoustic response (depth, backscatter, roughness, slope, aspect, topographic position index). Statistical analyses highlighted two principal groups of samples mainly distinguished by: different sampling devices (i.e. grab and box corer), depth, and sediment texture. 2B-PLS analysis suggested that roughness, slope, backscatter and depth were the main factors discriminating changes in the benthic foraminiferal assemblage beside differences in substratum type.