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The Platform for Long-lasting Observation of Marine Ecosystems (PLOME) project seeks to enhance communication capabilities for stand-alone seafloor platforms. A pivotal innovation within PLOME is the integration of pop-up buoys, enhancing monitoring by transmitting crucial data and enabling its early access. These buoys, evolving from conventional retrieval mechanisms, now incorporate sensing, processing, and communication features, representing a significant advance in marine observation technology. The ongoing development focuses on electronics integration, buoy design, autonomy optimization, release mechanisms, and satellite transmission enhancement, aiming to overcome operational limitations and improve observational capabilities in marine environments., Peer Reviewed

In addition to the potential global impact of climate change on marine ecosystems, the extensive use of high-impact fishing methods is a primary catalyst for benthic biodiversity degradation in the Mediterranean Sea. Implementing fishery no-take zones (FNTZs) emerges as a key measure for the sustainable recovery and management of overexploited stocks and habitats. To identify appropriate geographical scales for their implementation, it is crucial to understand the spatial connectivity of species and ecosystem functioning during long periods. Therefore, it is necessary to implement robust spatio-temporal multiparametric monitoring procedures, allowing the synchronous collection of biological (i.e., image-based), oceanographic and geochemical data. For this, we developed a spatial cooperative network of fixed (i.e., landers) and docked mobile (i.e., AUVs) platforms with wireless intercommunication capability (i.e., by acoustic modems). This system is designed for intelligent observation monitoring and mapping (i.e., AI-based recognition of species and bioturbation features) over extended periods with real-time, remote supervision and data transmission through the water column to an ASV., Peer Reviewed

This work introduces the Modular Open Data Infrastructure, an information system that leverages existing open-source tools and services into a unified software infrastructure for marine data management. It includes a comprehensive integration layer that seamlessly manages and integrates all underlying services, providing a centralized service management and a novel approach to address the challenges of handling diverse scientific data in the realm of marine research.