Publication Date:
2024-01-29
Description:
Recent advances in underwater and airborne robotic systems and ocean technologies have
opened new perspectives in marine geology and its applications in the context of coastal and
marine economic activities, whose sustainable development is increasingly acknowledged as a
pillar for the new blue economy. BridgET (Bridging the gap between the land and the sea in a
virtual Environment for innovative Teaching and community involvement in the science of climate
change-induced marine and coastal geohazard) is an EU ERASMUS+ project designed to develop
innovative and inclusive teaching methods to address a growing demand for strategic skills and
scientific expertise in the field of 3D geological mapping of coastal environments. Seamless
integration of the wide variety of multisource and multiscale onshore, nearshore and offshore
geospatial data is indeed one of the main areas for improvement in the implementation of
efficient management practices in coastal regions, where climate change, rising sea level, and
geohazards are considerable environmental issues.
BridgET involves a partnership consisting of six European universities with outstanding expertise
in the study of geological hazards, and climate impacts in marine and coastal areas (i.e., University
of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, Arctic University of Tromsø/CAGE - Norway, National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens - Greece, Kiel University, Germany, University of Liege – Belgium, and the
University of Malta), two Italian research institutes (INGV and INAF) and a German company
(Orthodrone GmvH) specialized in UAS-based LiDAR and photogrammetry data acquisition services and analyses.
Project implementation relies on delivering learning and teaching activities
through dedicated summer schools for MSc students by efficiently combining the partner’s
expertise. Schools focus on giving students a hands-on experience with the variety of methods
and procedures adopted in geospatial data acquisition and processing, including the use of drones
(Uncrewed Aerial System – UAS), acoustic remote sensing techniques and underwater robotic
systems, together with the progress made by computer visions and digital image analysis by
using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are also introduced to the opportunity to easily examine
multiple viewing angles of the seabed and coastal 3D surfaces by using immersive and nonimmersive
Virtual Reality (VR), to bring them closer to a more straightforward observation of
geomorphological data and geological phenomena.
The first Summer School was held in Santorini between the 3rd and 14th of October, 2022. It was
attended by 26 students coming from 13 different countries. Teaching and learning activities
included several classrooms, fieldwork, laboratory sessions, and seven seminars and cultural visits
dealing with transversal topics, allowing students to approach an integrated understanding of
human interaction with physical processes from social and economic perspectives. In this
presentation, we give examples of course content used to allow students to develop a deeper
understanding of theoretical and practical knowledge of climate-induced coastal and marine
geohazards. Participants' opinions on the quality of the offered learning/training activities of the
Erasmus+ BridgET Santorini Summer School (collected through a dedicated questionnaire) will also
be presented.
Erasmus+ BridgET Team: Varvara Antoniou, Fabio Luca Bonali, Clara Drummer, Theynushya
Esalingam, Luca Fallati, Susanna Falsaperla, Felix Gross, Hans-Balder havenith, Juri Klusak,
Sebastian Krastel, Iver Martens, Aaron Micallef, Paraskevi Nomikou, Giuliana Panieri, Danilo
Reitano, Julian Teege, Alessandro Tibaldi, Andrea Giulia Varzi, Fabio Vitello, Othonas Vlasopoulos
Description:
Published
Description:
Vienna (Austria)
Description:
OSA4: Ambiente marino, fascia costiera ed Oceanografia operativa
Keywords:
marine geosciences
;
education
;
Europe
;
04.02. Exploration geophysics
;
05.03. Educational, History of Science, Public Issues
;
05.04. Instrumentation and techniques of general interest
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
Conference paper
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