EGU25-21531, updated on 15 Mar 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-21531
EGU General Assembly 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Bridging the Gap Between Land and Sea: Integrating Technological Innovation with Geomorphological Contexts for Seamless Coastal Models
Alessandra Savini1,2, Varvara Antoniou3, Fabio Luca Bonali1, Clara Drummer4, Luca Fallati1,2, Susanna Falsaperla5, Adam Gauci6, Felix Gross7, Hans-Balder Havenith8, Juri Klusak4, Sebastian Krastel7, Iver Martens9, Aaron Micallef10, Paraskevi Nomikou3, Giuliana Panieri9, Danilo Reitano5, Julian Teege4, Alessandro Tibaldi1, Andrea Giulia Varzi1,2, Fabio Vitello11, and the EU Erasmus+ BridgET team*
Alessandra Savini et al.
  • 1University of Milano-bicocca, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Milano, Italy (alessandra.savini@unimib.it)
  • 2MaRHE center, Magoodhoo, Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives
  • 3National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 4National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 5National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), Catania, Italy
  • 6University of Malta, Malta
  • 7Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
  • 8University of Liege, Liege, Belgium
  • 9Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Tromso, Norway
  • 10Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Moss Landing, CA, USA
  • 11National Institute For Astrophysics, Catania, Italy
  • *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract

Cutting-edge developments in ocean mapping sensors, underwater robotic systems, and aerial platforms have transformed the integration of terrestrial and marine geospatial data, addressing the long-standing challenge in coastal geomorphology of creating seamless, high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs).

The EU ERASMUS+ project 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) sought to tackle these challenges by testing a wide range of seafloor and coastal mapping technologies. These efforts culminated in three summer schools conducted in diverse geomorphological settings: Santorini (Greece), Mt. Etna and its offshore domain (Italy), and the Magoodhoo reef in the Republic of Maldives. The resulting datasets underscored the critical role of geomorphic processes in guiding the selection of appropriate technologies to achieve reliable and informative integration of multisource and multiscale geospatial data.

This integration is essential for the sustainable management of coastal regions, particularly in addressing the impacts of climate change, sea-level rise, and geohazards. Moreover, the project highlighted the transformative potential of seamless DTMs, particularly when combined with immersive Virtual Reality (VR) tools, to enhance understanding and decision-making in coastal zone management. BridgET demonstrates the importance of technological innovation in marine and coastal geosciences to effectively address emerging environmental challenges.

EU Erasmus+ BridgET team:

Stefano Malatesta, Daniel Carlson, Othonas Vlasopoulos,

How to cite: Savini, A., Antoniou, V., Bonali, F. L., Drummer, C., Fallati, L., Falsaperla, S., Gauci, A., Gross, F., Havenith, H.-B., Klusak, J., Krastel, S., Martens, I., Micallef, A., Nomikou, P., Panieri, G., Reitano, D., Teege, J., Tibaldi, A., Varzi, A. G., and Vitello, F. and the EU Erasmus+ BridgET team: Bridging the Gap Between Land and Sea: Integrating Technological Innovation with Geomorphological Contexts for Seamless Coastal Models, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-21531, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-21531, 2025.