High-resolution seafloor sedimentological mapping: the case study of Bagnoli-Coroglio site, Gulf of Pozzuoli (Napoli), Italy

ABSTRACT

We present a new seafloor sedimentological map of Bagnoli-Coroglio SIN (Sites of National Interest) in the Gulf of Pozzuoli (Napoli), Italy, based on the analysis of the acoustic backscatter, calibrated with grain size distribution of sampled surficial marine deposits. Geophysical and ground-truthing (geological) data were acquired during a series of marine surveys designed for a seafloor characterisation aimed at remediation of the marine environment offshore the dismissed industrial area of Bagnoli. This study describes the acquisition and processing of the multibeam echo-sounder (Reson SeaBat 7125 high-resolution) backscatter data recorded during geophysical survey and illustrates the approach followed in the construction of a high-resolution seafloor map of the Bagnoli-Coroglio offshore.

KEYWORDS:

• Multibeam
• backscatter data
• seafloor mapping
• ground-truth data
• Bagnoli-Coroglio Site of National Interest

Acknowledgements

MBES backscatter data used in this study were acquired in 2017 by the ISMAR (formerly IAMC)-CNR, Napoli on board the Research Catamaran ‘Idrosfera’ within the frame and thanks to the financial support of the research project ABBaCo (SNZ-CNR contract n. 2974).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Sara Innangi is a Researcher at ISMAR-CNR, Napoli. Her research work is focused to backscatter data processing for habitat mapping, using both manual interpretations and automatic (or semi-automatic) image analysis in GIS environment.

Renato Tonielli is a Technologist at ISMAR-CNR, Napoli. His expertise is related to seismic data processing and map production in GIS environment.

Gabriella Di Martino is a Researcher at ISMAR-CNR, Napoli. Her expertise is related to morpho-bathymetric data acquisition and processing aimed to the production of contour maps for geological interpretation and thematic maps creation.

Antimo Guarino is a Technician at ISMAR-CNR, Napoli. His expertise is related to sedimentological and stratigraphic descriptions of the seafloor samples.

Flavia Molisso a Technologist at ISMAR-CNR, Napoli. She has experience in sedimentology of siliciclastic rocks and facies analysis of sedimentary environments.

Marco Sacchi is a Researcher at ISMAR-CNR, Napoli. His research work has focused on sedimentology of siliciclastic-volcaniclastic environments, with a special interest in seismic and sequence stratigraphy of marine and continental strata.

Additional information

Funding

This research work has been conducted by ISMAR (formerly IAMC) – CNR Napoli within the framework of the ABBaCo Project (Italian project “Restauro Ambientale e Balneabilità del SIN Bagnoli–Coroglio” – pilot experiments for the environmental restoration and balneability of Bagnoli–Coroglio coastal area) coordinated by Stazione Zoologica Anthon Dohrn Napoli (SNZ-CNR contract n. 2974; Funding Institution MIUR; http://www.szn.it/index.php/en/research/integrative-marine-ecology/research-projects-emi/abbaco)