The Mare Sopra outreach project devised by the University of Trieste to raise public awareness of rising sea levels caused by global warming is now in full swing. With almost 100 kilometres of coastline, Friuli Venezia Giulia is particularly vulnerable to risks caused by coastal erosion and flooding that could threaten local communities and infrastructure. Rising sea levels in the region could jeopardise not only the environment but also many of the activities that gravitate towards coastal areas, such as fishing and tourism.

In order to better understand the state of Friuli Venezia Giulia's coastline, researchers involved in the Mare Sopra project have recently begun monitoring the Trieste coastline with a special vehicle, a sort of kayak-pedalo-catamaran equipped with modern technology. In addition to the measurements that will be taken, these marine expeditions will be used to gather a vast collection of images and footage, making use of underwater cameras and drones. All updates and videos of upcoming activities will be made available on the Mare Sopra playlist on the University of Trieste's YouTube channel. 

At the end of the summer, the project will continue with further outreach activities on the beaches for schoolchildren and members of the public. The shooting of 360-degree spherical aerial videos captured by a drone is sure to be of particular interest. Images will be selected from underwater dives in order to create a high-resolution virtual tour.

At the end of all these activities, the main coastal locations will be marked with two lines. A yellow line will mark where the sea will be in 2050 and a red line its level in 2100.

Mare sopra is an interdisciplinary project conceived by Professor Stefano Furlani (UniTS), implemented with the collaboration of several partners and the contribution of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It involves geomorphologists, sociologists and biologists from three university departments (Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences; Political and Social Sciences; Life Sciences), as well as citizens, schools and associations.