AquaSense by Spoke 3: a new sensor for assessing coastal water quality

In the Gulf of Tigullio, between Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure, a research team from the Institute of Biophysics (CNR-IBF) has carried out the first operational tests of an innovative fluorescence sensor designed to measure organic matter in seawater.

The sensor was developed within the framework of Spoke 3 of the RAISE project, in collaboration with the company Dielectrik S.r.l., and represents a significant step forward in monitoring coastal water quality.

The organic molecules detected by the sensor can have both natural and anthropogenic origins. Their concentration results from all the biological processes occurring in the sea, and can therefore be considered a synthetic indicator of water quality and the health of the coastal ecosystem.

The field test was conducted in collaboration with the research group led by Prof. Paolo Povero from DISTAV at the University of Genoa. During navigation in the Gulf of Tigullio, the sensor collected real-time data, which were later compared with water samples taken for laboratory analyses.

The choice of Santa Margherita Ligure was not accidental: the area hosts an LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) site located within a marine protected area that has been studied for years by the University of Genoa. It is also a particularly dynamic environment, influenced by various sources of organic matter from the nearby Entella River, small harbors, aquaculture facilities in Lavagna, and urban discharges.

The goal of this first operational test is to verify the sensor’s performance under real conditions and to integrate the obtained measurements with other chemical, physical, biological, and satellite parameters. All these data will then be fed into artificial intelligence platforms developed within the RAISE project, in order to create early warning systems for the protection and sustainable management of the coastal environment.

This test represents a first step toward technology serving the coastal environment within the field of marine ecorobotics.