Advanced technologies for marine monitoring are needed to understanding the impact of natural and human-induced change on the environment, especially those related to ice melting. Within the UVASS (Unmanned Vehicles for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling) project, an unmanned marine vehicle (PROTEUS, Portable RObotic TEchnology for Unmanned Surveys), equipped with an automatic water multisampler, were applied to study the response of planktonic communities, particularly prokaryotes, in the extreme environment of Kongsfjorden (Svalbard Islands). During June 2017, seawater samples collected by those automatic systems along three transects located from glaciers to the open sea were analyzed for organic matter utilization by microbial activity, using Biolog-Ecoplates and extracellular enzymatic activity rates (leucine aminopeptidase, beta-glucosidase and phosphatase activities). Richness and Shannon-Weaver index and Principal Component Analysis were used to depict differences in the microbial catabolic potential. Variations in the functional diversity of microbial assemblages were observed.
Unmanned Vehicles for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling near glacier fronts in the Arctic region.
Azzaro M;Caruso G;La Ferla R;Maimone G;Azzaro F;Cosenza A;Rappazzo AC;Ferretti R;Odetti A;Bruzzone G
2020
Abstract
Advanced technologies for marine monitoring are needed to understanding the impact of natural and human-induced change on the environment, especially those related to ice melting. Within the UVASS (Unmanned Vehicles for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling) project, an unmanned marine vehicle (PROTEUS, Portable RObotic TEchnology for Unmanned Surveys), equipped with an automatic water multisampler, were applied to study the response of planktonic communities, particularly prokaryotes, in the extreme environment of Kongsfjorden (Svalbard Islands). During June 2017, seawater samples collected by those automatic systems along three transects located from glaciers to the open sea were analyzed for organic matter utilization by microbial activity, using Biolog-Ecoplates and extracellular enzymatic activity rates (leucine aminopeptidase, beta-glucosidase and phosphatase activities). Richness and Shannon-Weaver index and Principal Component Analysis were used to depict differences in the microbial catabolic potential. Variations in the functional diversity of microbial assemblages were observed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
