Progetti di ricerca

BridgET aims at addressing a growing demand for highly skilled professionals in the coastal and marine geosciences sector, who can be innovative in visualization, analysis, model creation, interpretation and communication of geological and environmental data in 3D. Digital geologic mapping… Leggi tutto is a mature technology, although dramatically improved recently with the advent of new state-of-the-art techniques such as Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and progress in computer vision and image analysis. Environmental reality-based 3D models can now be generated particularly through the aid of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). But the key advance has been the ability to easily construct high-resolution, photorealistic terrain models (as a base surface for 3D mapping) in the underwater environment. The submarine domain has always been less accessible and more economically challenging to investigate than the terrestrial one. But these technologies are now transforming field studies, enabling the resolution of problems that were extremely complex without technological progress, especially in industry (e.g. oil and gas, renewable energy, etc.), marine spatial planning and sustainable coastal and offshore environmental management practices. New methods and techniques have allowed a seamless combination of terrestrial and marine data, that is supporting the development of a more solid holistic approach to understand our changing environments and design appropriate management measures accordingly. The ability to easily examine multiple view angles of seamless seabed’s and coastal 3D surfaces, outside the logistical constraints, becomes even more efficient when 3D models can be experienced in Virtual Reality (VR). In this case, a true cognitive breakthrough is provided giving the potential to launch a new generation of studies as well as to promote inclusive teaching and learning that value the diversity of all learners and so actions for a sustainable future. Efforts are needed, however, to provide best practices for appropriate workflows when using VR in the field of coastal and marine geosciences in its many applications, and to outline how this technology can help inclusive 3D learning. The interdisciplinary European partnership of our project is made up by marine geoscientists and professionals with tracked expertise in geohazard assessment and climate-driven impacts in tectonically and/or climatically sensitive areas. The team will focus on learning and teaching how to build reality-based 3D model of selected submarine and coastal regions, to improve their exploration through the medium of VR, with a goal of developing an ad-hoc curriculum at postgraduate level to help students acquire and build their own advanced skills in these areas. BridgET aims at deeply renew the way in which applied marine geosciences can be taught, strengthening digital readiness, resilience and capacity in students. The most challenging impact we would like to achieve will be the promotion of a change toward a greater inclusion in the labor market commonly involved in delivering new tools, approaches, platforms and sensors for seafloor mapping, marine spatial planning and marine renewable energy, with the view of pursuing a more robust approach to diversity and inclusion in the field of marine geosciences, where there's a documented lack of diversity. The project is based on the delivery of innovative and inclusive learning and teaching activities through the organization of dedicated summer schools for MSc students. Schools will focus on giving students a hands-on experience of the variety of methods and approaches adopted in geospatial data acquisition and processing for the seamless generation of 3D models (i.e. Digital Terrain Models – DTM) of coastal regions. Three case studies will be selected to approach a coastal geohazard assessment based on an immersive observation of geomorphological data/geological phenomena and human interaction with physical processes from multiple perspectives. Practical activities will be in particular carried out in Santorini, on the shores and slopes of mount Etna and in Maldives. In Maldives we will take advantage of a research facility of the University of Milano-Bicocca (MaRHE - Marine and High Educational Research - Center), established in 2009 with the purpose of carrying our research and high education activities. All areas have been and are currently studied by project participants that already have collected consistent amount of data in these regions, that are particularly sensitive to a number of different geohazards and pose different challenges to the local population and socio-economic framework. We will prepare a defined multiscale and multisource geospatial datasets for each coastal regions that will be further supplemented with dedicated surveys during summer schools. Their geospatial integration will allow the creation of a VR learning environment (implementing the dataset with proper tools and dedicated software) that will allow all students and teachers to navigate in real-time and study and analyze processes and environments that otherwise would be impossible to observe. Students will test the application of their knowledge to provide coastal geohazard assessment and proposal for management measures, for each of the proposed case study (one for each summer school). All the involved universities will promote the inclusion of new approach for teaching and training activity, in the field of marine geosciences, in their educational program at MSc level. We planned three transnational project meetings to define and plan precisely, from the beginning and through the progress of the project, all project activities, especially the summer schools, the expected project results and the organization of two multiplier events.