New instruments for environment assessment and management: the SAM Coastal Monitoring Network

A coastal monitoring network, funded by the Italian Ministry for Scientific Research, was developed and installed. The network, which is managed by the “SAM” research program, mainly comprises a 15-meter boat, equipped for coastal monitoring, five buoys, moored at a 25-meter depth near Messina, Milazzo, Palermo, Mazara del Vallo, Siracusa, and an integrated Data Bank-GIS. Two more buoys were provided to “PIT AGEM”, another research program of the same Cluster 10, to be installed in Puglia. The boat is powered by two Caterpillar 570 CV engines; its max speed is about 35 knots and the cruise speed can reach 28 knots; it is equipped with instruments for traditional surveys and real time monitoring. The data transmitted from the seven buoys via SMS and e-mail, together with those acquired using the boat and the laboratory results, are collected in the data center of Messina for further elaboration and redistribution.