The 2021 Hydro-Oceanographic Campaign of Nave Galatea is underway

(To Marina Militare)
08/04/21

On Friday, March 26, Nave Galatea unmoored from the Naval Base of La Spezia, heading towards the Island of Elba, officially kicking off the central phase of the 2021 hydro-oceanographic campaign.

The Campaign saw the unit involved in a first activity called "Summer and Winter Intensive Monitoring in the LIGurian Sea" (SWIM-LIG21), part of the joint research program launched in 2018 byHydrographic Institute of the Navy (IIM). The project, in collaboration with the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development (ENEA), theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the National Research Council (CNR), is aimed at monitoring the thermal capacity of the Ligurian Sea.

To achieve this objective, on 26 and 27 March, the ship acquired the parameters of the water column, relating to the thermal balance, through the use of appropriate temperature and pressure sensors, in addition to the current profiles of the operation. The data collected allows to monitor the evolution over time of the masses of water that converge from the various sectors of the Mediterranean, in order to generate forecast models on the thermohaline circulation.

The hydrographic activities of Nave Galatea will now be concentrated in the waters surrounding the Island of Elba, for the execution of hydro-oceanographic surveys aimed at the geomorphological and morphodynamic study of the seabed. These surveys will allow a constant updating of the nautical documentation, providing a precious contribution to the safety of navigation, to the protection of the environment and to scientific research.

Nave Galatea is a hydrographic vessel that depends organically and operationally, through the Squadron of Hydrographic Units and Experiences (COMSQUAIDRO LA SPEZIA) and the Command of Mine Countermeasure Forces (MARICODRAG LA SPEZIA), from Command in Head of the Naval Squadron (CINCNAV).