Programme: PRIN: PROGETTI DI RICERCA DI RILEVANTE INTERESSE NAZIONALE – Bando 2022
Project title: An innovative enlightening approach to enable the modelling of marine ecosystems by the acoustic 3D field – Prot. n. 2022AWXT3K
Acronym: SEAmPhonia
Duration: 28/09/2023 – 27/09/2025
Project budget: € 273.540
Project funding: € 199.940
ISMAR funding: € 58.449
Web site: Link pagina web – work-in-progress
Summary:
The project “SEAmPhonia” (an acronym for “An innovative enlightening approach to enable the modeling of marine ecosystems by the acoustic 3D field”), coordinated by the CNR, stems from the idea of transferring knowledge gained in the field of solar physics to the field of marine science. In particular, the project aims to understand the phenomena underlying the influence of underwater noise on ecosystem balance. In fact, underwater noise is considered one of the many pollutants in the sea, especially as a result of increased human activities through the use of boats, offshore platforms, etc. Underwater noise is also included in the European Directive called MSFD as one of the indicators of the health of the sea and the target of countless research initiatives at the international level, such as the joint action of some countries, including Italy, under the JPI Oceans initiative.
Underwater noise is usually studied through the power distribution in the frequency spectrum, where the different contributions of sources (seismic events, boats, fish, cetaceans, algae, etc.) are identified. The impact of noise on the ecosystem is distinguished between that which can cause physiological damage to the functional capacities of organisms and that which can distort behavior, such as navigation or prey-predator relationships.
“SEAmPhonia” aims to study not so much the individual impacts of noise on the marine ecosystem, but the physical processes that can be characterized through the acoustic field, introducing an observational system that relies on a series of hydrophones installed at the Acqua Alta oceanographic platform of the CNR-Ismar and a data analysis never before carried out. Initial tests with traditional hydrophones will be joined by activities, both in the laboratory and offshore, to develop an alternative technology based on optical fibers, which may provide useful innovations toward underwater acoustic survey systems. It is a first step toward transforming civilian systems for underwater noise observations and instrumentation development.
“SEAmPhonia” is an integrated example of interdisciplinarity, knowledge-transfer, technological development and policy decision support. The project received a score of 96/100 at the PRIN 2022 evaluation and was funded for about 200,000 euros by the MUR and about 75,000 euros in co-funding. During the drafting of the project, special attention was paid to the selection of the evaluation panel so that such an interdisciplinary proposal could be evaluated in its completeness, in the plurality of skills required of the evaluators and in a hoped-for absence of cognitive bias of any kind.
The project, coordinated by Angela Pomaro of Cnr-Ismar, involves colleagues from the Department of Earth System Sciences and Environmental Technologies (Cnr-Dsstta), the Universities of Rome Sapienza/Tor Vergata for helioseismology and data analysis expertise, the National Institute of Optics (Cnr-Ino) for fiber instrumentation development and testing, and the University of Padua for fiber instrumentation design support. Other colleagues from the Institute of Marine Engineering (Cnr-Inm) and OGS participate in the development of the project.
Contact person in ISMAR: angela.pomaro@cnr.it
Partnership:
- CNR-ISMAR (Italy)
- CNR-DSSTTA (Italy)
- CNR-INO (Italy)
- Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)
- Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy)
The activities are funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU. We acknowledge The Maritime Educational Training Institute “G. Caboto” in Gaeta for their support within the project “Laboratori Green sostenibili e innovativi”, funded by FESR PON 13.1.4A-LA-2022-28 and the collaboration of Nucleo Sommozzatori della Polizia di Stato di Venezia for underwater inst
