The data of the new meteorological observatory installed by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) on the Island of Panarea, Aeolian Islands, are now online. The detection system will provide, in real time with updates every 15 minutes, meteorological data (temperature, wind and precipitation), information on air quality (PM10 and PM2.5 particles) and the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide to support studies related to climate change and ocean acidification. The new observatory will also provide a three-day forecast of weather conditions in the Aeolian island area.
“The observatory was purchased as part of the IPANEMA technological innovation project, thanks to funding from the NOP Research and Innovation, which involves the implementation of the ECCSEL NatLab-Italy laboratory in Panarea with the acquisition of cutting-edge instrumentation to identify the most suitable methodologies for monitoring, protecting and managing the marine ecosystem in offshore CO2 storage sites,” explained Cinzia De Vittor, OGS researcher, head of the laboratory.
The project funded by the NOP Research and Innovation 2014-2020, entitled IPANEMA (Italian acronym for Implementation of the ECCSEL Natural Laboratory and Marine Observatory in Panarea), is part of D.D. no. 424 of 28/02/2018 for the allocation of funding for the strengthening of research infrastructures, in compliance with Action II.1 of the Programme.
The Panarea laboratory has been equipped with new cutting-edge scientific instrumentation for laboratory and field use (for sampling, in situ observations and data acquisition) enabling multidisciplinary studies to be carried out in the physical, chemical, biological and geological sciences in this natural laboratory characterized by the most active submarine hydrothermal system in the Mediterranean Sea. The island was chosen because of the presence of natural CO2 emissions, even at shallow depths, making it an extraordinary natural laboratory for studying the effects of climate change, developing monitoring techniques and expanding knowledge of the impact of acidification on the marine ecosystem.
In 2015, the OGS inaugurated ECCSEL-NatLab Italy (funded by the Ministry of University and Research) which over the years has become an innovative and dynamic centre of knowledge production, well integrated and positioned in the European context, which will contribute to enhancing Italian scientific and technological excellence at international level.
“The ECCSEL-NatLab Italy laboratory is available to the entire national and international scientific community and to public and private stakeholders interested in the issues of climate change, carbon sequestration and ocean acidification,” said Valentina Esposito, OGS researcher in Panarea.
“The laboratory is part of the pan-European ECCSEL ERIC European Carbon Capture and Storage Laboratory infrastructure which links the best European laboratories involved in research on CCUS (Carbon Capture, Transport, Usage and Storage) with the aim of providing a useful tool for reducing CO2 emissions from the industrial sector and contributing to the fight against climate change and the achievement of the objectives set out by the Paris Agreement,” concluded De Vittor.
The data of the new observatory are available to all citizens on the website managed by the OGS: http://www.meteosystem.com/dati/panarea/.
