The Adriatic Sea - an ideal laboratory for a comprehensive view of oceanographic, geological, ecosystemic, climatic and anthropogenic drivers

Dr. Federica Foglini

The Adriatic Sea is a land-locked basin of the marginal Mediterranean Sea characterized by an anticlockwise oceanographic circulation and multiple geo-biological facets. In this perspective, a substantial amount of scientific information regarding geological, oceanographic, biological, and anthropogenic aspects and their interaction has been gathered through the years by the ISMAR-ISP community. The Adriatic Sea proves to be an elite region where to tackle with key questions regarding the spatio-temporal seabed response to diverse situations. For instance, it is suitable to investigate among other: (a) basinal tectonic responses to regional subsidence, (b) expanded stratigraphic successions in a robust chronostratigraphic framework, (c) sea-level changes, submerged landscapes and their evolution, (d) geohazard typologies with focus on mass wasting and fluid escape processes, (e) biotic and abiotic resources, and remediation strategies to coastal erosion (f) charismatic habitats, their biodiversity, controlling factors and fate, (g) climatic issues, like the role of organic matter flux for the budget of carbon cycle; (h) oceanographic modelling of a major Mediterranean sector for dense cold water production with regional and global implications; (h) impact of direct and indirect human activities in the marine system, from coastal lagoons (Venice) to the deep sea, (i) heritage of a prominent natural and historical maritime region. The Adriatic Sea offers a great challenge for the management of Big Data also in the light of the future scenarios in the Anthropocene. It is ideal to promote the integration, sharing, curation and re-using of data achieved over the years from different sources and for multiple scopes.

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