Science and Secrets of the Lagoon

Luca is a geologist who has been working for the last 15 years as a coastal oceanographer for the National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Marine Science, Venice. His research has been focused on many aspects of the management of the lagoon ecosystem, from the assessment of contamination in the water and sediments of the city canal network prior to dredging to the monitoring of the input of freshwater and contaminants from the tributaries of the drainage basin. More recently, with his staff of technicians, he has been involved in studies on the hydrodynamics and transport of sediments in the tidal channel and shallow water areas of the lagoon, as well as the monitoring of the environmental effects of the works for the protection of Venice and its lagoon from floods. In cooperation with European and American institutions he is also working on research focused on the determination of submarine groundwater input in lagoons and coastal areas.

Gian Marco is an Environmental Scientist graduated at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. He is a PhD student working for the National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Marine Science, on the effects of ship wakes on the morphology of the Venice Lagoon. Since 2014 he has been investigating the hydrodynamics effect generated by marine traffic in sensitive environments. He expanded his research abroad studying the City Cat wakes in Brisbane River (Australia) and the fast ferries in Tallinn’s bay (Estonia). His strong interest for the environment is also shared in his side job as sailing instructor. Recently he is also working on micro-plastics deposition in marine environment and aerial photogrammetry to evaluate morphological changes and sediment resuspension. In his free time, he keeps himself connected to the subject of his research by surfing and windsurfing.

Francesco is a physical oceanographer with a background in marine biology. He is working since 2011 at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Venice where he focuses on physical and biological oceanography using both observations and numerical modelling tools. His major research interests are the processes that leads to the formation of dense waters and their dynamics, riverine plume dynamics, pollutants and particle dispersion in marine environment. Lately he also started to study the physics of lakes and of their circulation. His research interest span from mesocale dynamics to microscale and turbulent processes.