Thalassa 2024: Marine Science conference, Larnaca, Cyprus
University of Southampton academics participated at the Thalassa Marine Science conference at the end of May.
Thalassa 2024 was organised by the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI) , Maritime Institute of Eastern Mediterranean and Emerge.
This second biannual regional conference brought together marine experts and stakeholders from academic, research institutes, industry, NGO, and the public sectors. Their insight can be implemented to tackle current ocean hot topics in the regional context. These cover a wide range of marine science topics from Marine Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Marine and Coastal Governance, Oceanography, Maritime Cultural Heritage, to Marine and Coastal ecology.
Day 1 of the conference was opened by Andreas Vyras, Mayor of Larnaca and Zacharias Siokouros, the Director of CMMI. Speaker sessions covered Marine and Coastal Ecology and Marine and Coastal Governance. Each session began with a keynote speaker followed by a diverse range of other speakers on the topic. Cedric Muscat, a graduate from Civil, Maritime, and Environmental Engineering, Intelligent and Resilient Ocean Engineering represented the University of Southampton. Cedric presented his work on Finding space for offshore wind in Malta through GIS analysis. Download Cedric's presentation . The day closed with a poster session, a virtual reality demo of a virtual dive site MUSAN underwater museum near Ayia Napa and the wreck Kyrenia. This was followed by a social gathering.
Cedric Muscat presenting in the Marine and Coastal Governance session
Dr Felix Pedrotti from SMMI Centre for Maritime Archaeology was out in the marina testing the use of small ROVs to survey marina structures and visually inspect ships for damage and biofouling (sea life accumulation on hulls and propellers). This fieldwork, in partnership with the CMMI's Marine Robotics Innovation Centre (MaRIC) , is crucial for enhancing capacity to offer these services to marinas and to understand the improvements needed for higher quality results.
SMMI and CMMI surveying boat and marine structures using ROVs
Day 2 had sessions on Marine Biotechnology & Aquaculture, Oceanography and Marine Cultural Heritage. A highlight was the insightful presentation session featuring the University of Southampton's Maritime Archaeology team. Presenters included Dr Alexandra Karamitrou , Dr Felix Pedrotti, Professor Lucy Blue , Celia Prescott , and Dr Crystal El Safadi . They covered topics of the importance of digitalisation (photogrammetry) and databasing of maritime archaeological sites and assets, using AI to identify maritime heritage assets, and assessing the impact of climate change on maritime heritage assets, that are applicable in Mediterranean and globally.
Dr. Louis Hadjioannou, Chief committee member of Thalassa 2024, closed the conference. There was a final poster session, and coffee at CMMI house.
Cedric and Lucy participating in the MUSAN virtual dive demo