"EMSO-SA" campaign operations completed aboard Gaia Blu

The EMSO-SA (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory – Southern Adriatic) oceanographic campaign organised by the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) has come to an end. Conducted aboard the CNR’s research vessel “Gaia Blu”, the campaign also benefited from the participation of the OGS.

Setting sail from the port of Bari, the mission focused on the southern Adriatic Sea and was dedicated to the maintenance of underwater observation sites, which are part of a European network for continuous ocean monitoring.

The ship transforms into a full-fledged floating laboratory. Sensors, sediment traps, and buoys operate on the seafloor and throughout the water column, collecting real-time data on temperature, currents, oxygen levels, and biodiversity, thus providing a dynamic and constantly updated snapshot of the state of the ocean. Instruments from underwater observatories are retrieved, data is downloaded from their internal memory, and batteries are replaced. Following inspection, they are then returned to the sea, where they can keep working for months or years, even under extreme conditions.

A central role is played by the oceanographic moorings that are part of the European EMSO-ERIC infrastructure. These are instrumental platforms anchored at depths of over 1,000 meters, capable of continuously collecting physical and biochemical data from the deep ocean. These infrastructures operate as true ‘sentinels of the sea,’ essential for monitoring marine variability and the long-term effects of climate change on ecosystems and ocean circulation.

Scientific activities also featured CTD deployments: CTDs are multiparameter probes capable of measuring conductivity, temperature, and depth, all of which are key parameters to determine salinity. Such operations were complemented by water sampling, which was used both to calibrate the sensors on the moorings and for biogeochemical analyses focused on studying the carbon cycle and ocean acidification processes.