Jean-Xavier Dessa, Marie-Odile Beslier, Laure Schenini, Nicolas Chamot-Rooke, Nicolà Corradi, Matthias Delescluse, Jacques Déverchère, Christophe Larroque, Mohamed B. Miguil, Stéphane Operto, Alessandra Ribodetti, Serge Sambolian, SEFASILS Shipboard Team
The north Ligurian margin is a complex geological area on many accounts. It has witnessed several phases of highly contrasting deformation styles, at crustal scale and through shallow cover tectonics, simultaneously or in quick succession, and with significant spatial variability. This complex interplay is mirrored in intricate structures that make it hard to identify active faults responsible for both, the significant seismicity observed and the tectonic inversion undergone by the margin, identified on morphostructural grounds. We present here the first preliminary results of the leg 1 of...
Rovere M., Mercorella A., Spagnoli F., Frapiccini E., Funari V., Pellegrini C., Bonetti A.S., Dell Orso M., Mastroianni M., Veneruso T., Ciccone F., Antoncecchi I., Tassetti A.N., Giuliani G., De Marco R., Fabi G.
Hydrocarbon seepage is overlooked in the marine environment, mostly due to the lack of high-resolution exploration data. This contribution is about the geophysical and geochemical investigation of two seepage sites on the shelf of the Adriatic Sea: an oil spill off Civitanova Marche, at water depth of 10 m; scattered biogenic seeps offshore Mt. Conero, at water depth of 84 m. The accurate detection of gas plumes was achieved with a multibeam system acquisition of the water column reflectivity. Dissolved benthic fluxes of nutrients, metals and DIC were measured by in situ deployment of a...
Di Fiore V., Lirer F., Budillon F., Pelosi N., Punzo M., Iavarone M., Scotto di Vettimo P.
The COSMEI survey was conceived and carried out in the wake of the emergency following the Casamicciola earthquake in 2017. The geophysical investigations were targeted towards two main objectives, i.e. identify possible active structures and to dimension the debris avalanche deposit on the northern offshore of the island. Single- and multichannel seismics, differential-magnetic and resistivity, MBES geophysical data were acquired in December 2017 on board the Minerva Uno oceanographic vessel. The first results ensuing the processing phase, allowed to gather further information on the...
L. Amato, G. de Alteriis, A. Scuotto
The Naples bay and, in particular, its harbor, can be rightly considered as precious geoarchaeological repositories. We have investigated the Naples harbor in 2016 with different geophysical survey techniques followed by divers visual inspections. The site location and its high anthropogenic noise have allowed to test the potential and the limits of such methods and the need of design site-specific techniques for both acoustic and magnetic methods. Some geological insights regarding the pre-historic/historic paleo landscape and the relative sea level oscillations, as well as some...
Sebastien Saintignan, Matteo Costantino, Andrea Giovannini, Guido Pietroluongo, Arianna Zampollo, Cristina Giacoma, Marta Azzolin
The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is one of the most abundant cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea, nevertheless it is classified as a vulnerable species for the Mediterranean basin, according to IUCN experts. Information about its distribution, population size, interaction with human activities, are crucial for its conservation. The Gulf of Corinth is a Protected Area that belongs to the European Network Natura 2000, and that is classified as an Important Marine Mammal Area, for the presence in its waters of the following species of cetaceans: striped dolphin (Stenella...
Matteo Costantino, Andrea Giovannini, Guido Pietroluongo, Sebastien Saintignan, Arianna Zampollo, Cristina Giacoma, Marta Azzolin
The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is one of the most abundant cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea, nevertheless it is recognised as a Vulnerable species for this basin, according to IUCN experts. The Gulf of Corinth is a Protected Area belonging to the European Network Natura 2000. The Gulf of Corinth is also classified as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA), for the presence in its waters, among others cetacean species, of striped dolphins. The Home Range is defined as the area occupied by an animal, or a group of animals, during daily activities. Estimating and identifying the...
Cataldo Pierri, Manuél Marra, Paolo Colangelo, Roberto Carlucci, Gianluca Cirelli, Annachiara Pisto, Giuseppe Corriero, Giovanni Scillitani
We present a model of habitat suitability for the loggerhead turtle nesting sites along the Apulian and Lucanian Coasts. The model is based on nesting records and seven environmental variables, i.e. distances from isobaths of 1500 m and 3200 m, absolute depth, mean monthly surface temperature of sea, mean monthly concentration of chlorophyll, mean monthly solar radiation and mean VIIRS Day/Night Band Nighttime Lights. Maps were computed for each variable and processed to obtain a MaxEnt distribution model of nesting sites suitability. The nesting suitability model shows that AUC estimate...
Stefano Bellomo, Francesca Cornelia Santacesaria, Carmelo Fanizza, Giulia Cipriano, Vito Renò, Roberto Carlucci, Rosalia Maglietta
A photo-identification study of P. macrocephalus was carried out from 2016 to 2018 in the Gulf of Taranto, providing information on its distribution. Photographs of flank and flukes of individuals were collected to identify their natural marking pattern. In addition, a catalogue of photoidentified individuals was stored and embedded in the digital DolFin platform. During the study period, 13 sightings were recorded in the Gulf of Taranto in a depth range between 550 and 1200 m with a mean value of 853 ± 193 m. The group size ranged from 1 to 7 specimens and calves were noted. Twelve sperm...
Francesca Cornelia Santacesaria, Stefano Bellomo, Carmelo Fanizza, Rosalia Maglietta, Vito Renò, Giulia Cipriano, Roberto Carlucci
Photo-identification data of Tursiops truncatus in the Gulf of Taranto were collected from 2013 to 2018, providing information on its residency pattern and spatial distribution in the study area. On a total of 1117 dolphins observed through the study period, 92 individuals were distinctly identified. Among them, 57 were re-sighted up to fourteen times and the occurrence of 36 individuals re-sighted in different years provides the evidence of multi-year resident, occasional visitor and transient individuals. These results suggest an important inter-annual variability in the habitat use of the...
Diana Di Luccio, Guido Benassai, Massimo De Stefano, Raffaele Montella
Extreme weather events have significant impacts on coastal human activities and related economy. In this scenario, the forecast of sea storms and sea level alteration in order to mitigate the effects of waves on shores, piers and coastal structures, is a challenging goal. To this end, we investigated the atmospheric pressure drop and sea level increase as a result of 29-30 October 2018 storm event. The dataset used to analyze these phenomena consists of wind-wave numerical modelling and in-situ measurements, validated with National Mareograph Network (RMN) and Tuscan regional wave network....