Sea Care: Unipd monitors the seas and oceans on board the Amerigo Vespucci

08.08.2022

Aimed at assessing the environmental and human impact of chemical, physical, and microbiological contamination, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) and the Italian Navy signed the "Sea Care" collaborative project agreement on May 20, 2022. The project will monitor all marine environments by gathering data on the state of health of the seas and oceans from across the globe.  Samples will be collected from the Amerigo Vespucci training ship and other Italian naval units in domestic and international waters.

The three-year project includes contributions from researchers of the Department of Chemical Sciences (DiSC) of the University of Padua and ARPA Emilia-Romagna under the National Environmental Protection System. The goal is to analyze the impact of persistent and emerging pollutants, such as perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) widely found in our region, but also of microplastics, viruses and bacteria from a health and environmental point of view.

Analytical Chemistry Professor Sara Bogialli from the DiSC of the University of Padua will be on board the Amerigo Vespucci, where she will continue to engage in various projects on environmental issues, especially those interested in monitoring and managing the risk of chemical contaminants in water.

The experience gained on board the Amerigo Vespucci will allow Professor Bogialli to collect samples to develop and validate operationally sustainable reference methods. Various partners will continue to analyze collected samples, including laboratories of the DiSC which will search for unknown emerging organic contaminants not subject to conventional analysis.

Launching from the Atlantic Ocean, the monitoring campaign began in May and will continue throughout the Mediterranean. Prof Bogialli boards the Vespucci on the 23rd of August from the Port of Trapani sailing towards the Ionian Sea up to Taranto.