The MER Project includes interventions for the restoration and protection of marine habitats, the strengthening of the national system for the observation of marine and coastal ecosystems and the mapping of coastal and marine habitats of conservation interest in Italian waters.
To date, the country has a cartography of Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa, created more than twenty years ago, and therefore now obsolete; with the MER project, the cartography will be completed in a single time interval across the entire national territory, ensuring greater uniformity and precision in the data.
CGR participates in the mapping of coastal habitats along the entire Italian coast using various cutting-edge technologies, including:
- Topographic and bathymetric LiDAR sensors from aircraft, covering 5,147 km² and 12,600 km²
- RGB-NIR images at 10 cm resolution,
- Hyperspectral surveys from aircraft, covering a surface of 977 km²
Aerial LiDAR topography and RGB-NIR images
Aerial LiDAR topography is one of the data acquisition and processing solutions for the MER Project. With this technology, the aerial survey is carried out using Leica Geosystem sensors, thanks to which nadir images are simultaneously acquired together with LIDAR data.
Topographic and photographic surveys will contribute to the identification of supralittoral habitats present on coastal dunes, beaches and cliffs, allowing the classification of vegetation, including seagrass meadows and other important coastal ecosystems, both dry and wet, of which the Italian coast is particularly rich.
The survey conducted within this specific project has an average density of 10 points per square meter, a maximum scanning angle of 36 degrees and a pulse repetition frequency of 1,200 kHz, although the technology used is capable of offering significantly higher performance.
The orthophotos (Leica FC 150 camera) have a mean ground resolution (GSD) of 10 cm. Flights are performed according to the camera focal length, at a relative altitude of 2,800 m above ground level (AGL), with an average survey speed of 150 knots, a longitudinal overlap of 60% and a lateral overlap of 30%.
Aerial Lidar Bathymetry
Within the framework of the MER (Marine Ecosystem Restoration) project, a major initiative is underway to map seagrasses using Airborne Lidar Bathymetry (ALB), an advanced technology for surveying underwater environments. Compared to traditional acoustic methods, which require the use of ships and can take up to a decade to cover the extensive Italian coastline, ALB represents a faster and more efficient solution, although subject to the challenges posed by the variability of water clarity.
The operations began in Parma, at the armament and maintenance base of the Compagnia Generale Ripreseaeree (CGR). Here, the CGR personnel, together with a team of experts from the Fugro offices in the United States, France and Germany, installed several sensors on board the aircraft, including:
- the RAMMS 2.0 sensor for bathymetric survey,
- PhaseONE cameras for RGB-NIR image acquisition,
- a strapdown gravimetric sensor for simultaneous gravity measurement.
Aerial Hyperspectral Imagery
CGR provides coastal mapping solutions with high radiometric accuracy. The HySpex VNIR-1800 digital sensor, with 186 bands acquired in the spectral range of 400 to 1000 nm, uses a state-of-the-art, actively cooled and stabilized CMOS scientific detector. This makes the VNIR-1800 the ideal camera for high-quality data acquisition, where high radiometric accuracy is required.
The airborne VNIR (Visible and Near Infrared) sensor provides high-resolution hyperspectral data that allows for accurate assessment of vegetation health, including the presence and health of seagrass beds, water quality and soil properties. It is particularly suited for environmental monitoring of coastal areas.
By providing detailed spectral information across multiple wavelengths, the survey will enable the identification of specific seagrass beds, allowing even subtle changes in the coastal environment to be detected.
Gravimetry
CGR, together with its partner Fugro, is jointly responsible for one of the largest airborne gravimetric surveys planned in the last decades, which will be performed in Southern Europe. The survey will be performed using the iMAR iCORUS-02 gravimetric sensor – owned by CGR – installed on board the CGR fleet. Intensive operations started at the beginning of the year to test, calibrate and validate the measurements coming from the sensors. Several test flights were performed near CGR’s headquarters in Parma and along the coast of Liguria and Tuscany. These activities will allow the correct and sustainable execution of all the gravimetric surveys planned during the MER project.
Gravimetric surveys are used to measure variations in the Earth’s gravitational field. These variations are caused by differences in the density of materials present in the subsurface and can provide valuable information on the underlying geology, water resources and changes in the physical properties of the land.
Global Navigation Satellite System
CGR is responsible for the GNSS – Global Navigation Satellite System – field campaign for the project. This solution is designed to establish ground control points and references in survey areas. The reference points will play a crucial role in validating the accuracy of the different data sets provided within the project, supporting satellite, naval and airborne surveys.
GNSS data acquisition during field campaigns includes the provision of precise georeferencing of sensor data, allowing accurate mapping and monitoring of environmental features over time. The field campaign ensures high positional accuracy for measurements taken from both airborne and ground platforms, which is crucial for aligning geospatial products with real-world locations. This improves the reliability of environmental assessments and supports more effective decisions for the conservation and sustainable management of resources.
The MER project within the PNRR
The PNRR Marine Ecosystem Restoration (MER) Project is the largest initiative ever carried out in Italy for the study and protection of the sea, within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Funded with 400 million euros for the period 2022-2026, the project is promoted by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and implemented by ISPRA.
The initiative is part of Mission 2 “Green revolution and ecological transition”, Component 4 “Protection of the territory and water resources”, and aims to restore and safeguard the seabed and coastal ecosystems.
Project contractors
