Engineering Matters Podcast
Italy's Seagrass Meadows
Published
02 Apr 2025
Seagrass meadows are the engineers of the marine ecosystem. They provide habitats, support biodiversity, prevent coastal erosion and sequester carbon dioxide. For this reason, Italy has embarked upon a world leading project to map these coastal ecosystems at a national scale, enabling it to plan protection and restoration measures that will improve ocean health and meet legislative targets.
This is only possible thanks to recent advances in coastal mapping technology and the sophisticated integration of state-of-the-art data collected by a range of sources from satellite sensors, lidar and multibeam echosounders to hyperspectral cameras on autonomous underwater vessels.
Guests
Dr Hannah Brocke, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, PlanBlue
Benoit Cajelot, Regional Manager Climate and Nature, Europe and Africa, Fugro
Professor Francesco Cinelli, Professor of Marine Ecology at University of Pisa
Dr Knut Hartmann, Chief Operating Officer EOMAP, a Fugro company
Featuring
Giordano Giorgi, Project Director, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)
Partner
This episode was produced in partnership with Engineering Matters.
Ocean science and coastal resilience
Our oceans hold the key to an equitable and sustainable planet. We need to protect marine life and their coastal habitats to bring long-term benefits to our coastal areas. At Fugro, we help understand the changes and risks across our land, coastal, and marine environments. Together with you, we tailor a solution that meets quality, sustainability, schedule, and cost requirements.