Remote Sensing
The need to develop new methods of spatial and temporal mapping of beaches in order to identify the areas of greatest accumulation of marine litter, has been the reason for a new line of research, in collaboration with other CNR institutes (Institute of Clinical Physiology IFC-CNR and Institute of Bioeconomics IBE-CNR). The aim was to analyze the mechanism that leads to the pattern of waste accumulation, investigating the fundamental aspect of the rate at which their accumulation occurs over time and in different areas, also taking into account the mode of incidence of major river events such as floods, overflows and inundations. In particular, anthropogenic wastes accumulated in protected coastal areas are very difficult to reach, because they are areas not served by roads or structures, and/or because of regulations that limit human intervention. In such a context, the use of aerial surveying by drone (or UAV in English, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), today an increasingly popular tool in the system for environmental monitoring, is a valuable aid. In fact, not only it significantly increases the amount of data acquired to study coastal deposits but it allows to limit, at the same time, further anthropogenic impact in protected areas. These and other advantages offered by such aerial systems are particularly suitable for the study of the pattern of aggregation and distribution of waste, also in relation to the concept of repeatability over time, in order to ensure a long-term study, with frequent sampling, of a particular area, limiting the time and the involvement of human resources. At present, the collaboration with the ReFly group of the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the CNR allowed to give a first estimate of the spatial and temporal distribution of anthropogenic wastes in a restricted area within the protected area of the Migliarino Massacciuccoli and San Rossore Regional Natural Park, (in the province of Pisa and located at the mouth of the Arno River) (Merlino et al., 2020). Moreover, further aerial surveys have already been conducted, which will allow to extend this first pilot study to a wider area, also in the same park. Finally, international collaborations have been initiated with other research groups that use drones for similar purposes, in order to compare and validate the methodologies used during such monitoring, and to establish common protocols for data acquisition (Andriolo et al. ,2021 and Merlino et al. 2021).
The need to develop new methods of spatial and temporal mapping of beaches in order to identify the areas of greatest accumulation of marine litter, has been the reason for a new line of research, in collaboration with other CNR institutes (Institute of Clinical Physiology IFC-CNR and Institute of Bioeconomics IBE-CNR). The aim was to analyze the mechanism that leads to the pattern of waste accumulation, investigating the fundamental aspect of the rate at which their accumulation occurs over time and in different areas, also taking into account the mode of incidence of major river events such as floods, overflows and inundations. In particular, anthropogenic wastes accumulated in protected coastal areas are very difficult to reach, because they are areas not served by roads or structures, and/or because of regulations that limit human intervention. In such a context, the use of aerial surveying by drone (or UAV in English, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), today an increasingly popular tool in the system for environmental monitoring, is a valuable aid. In fact, not only it significantly increases the amount of data acquired to study coastal deposits but it allows to limit, at the same time, further anthropogenic impact in protected areas. These and other advantages offered by such aerial systems are particularly suitable for the study of the pattern of aggregation and distribution of waste, also in relation to the concept of repeatability over time, in order to ensure a long-term study, with frequent sampling, of a particular area, limiting the time and the involvement of human resources. At present, the collaboration with the ReFly group of the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the CNR allowed to give a first estimate of the spatial and temporal distribution of anthropogenic wastes in a restricted area within the protected area of the Migliarino Massacciuccoli and San Rossore Regional Natural Park, (in the province of Pisa and located at the mouth of the Arno River) (Merlino et al., 2020). Moreover, further aerial surveys have already been conducted, which will allow to extend this first pilot study to a wider area, also in the same park. Finally, international collaborations have been initiated with other research groups that use drones for similar purposes, in order to compare and validate the methodologies used during such monitoring, and to establish common protocols for data acquisition (Andriolo et al. ,2021 and Merlino et al. 2021).