Resident staff and students from the Oceanography Malta Research Group (OMRG) of the Department of Geosciences (Faculty of Science) recently participated within which was organised within the evocative Palazzo dei Normanni setting in Palermo.
Almost 500 scientists from all across the Basin registered for the Congress. A total of four studies were presented at the same Congress by resident academics Prof. Alan Deidun and Dr Adam Gauci, by scientific officer Ms Audrey Zammit and by PhD student Mr Alessio Marrone.
The studies in question revolved around the findings of the Spot the Alien Fish citizen science campaign, the workings of the ANDROMEDA microplastics smart phone app, the determination of sea bathymetry from space and around the determination of water column temperatures within Maltese coastal waters through the deployment of loggers at permanent moorings.
The Commission, known through the English acronym ICSEM (International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea) was founded in 1910, under the Presidency of Prince Albert I, with headquarters in Monaco, having grown from the eight founding countries of its origin to 23 Member States today.
These support a network of several thousand marine researchers, applying the latest scientific tools to better understand, monitor and protect (see activity map below) a fast-changing, highly impacted Mediterranean Sea. Structured in six committees and various taskforces, CIESM runs expert workshops, collaborative programs and regular congresses, delivering authoritative, independent advice to national and international agencies. CIESM was created to promote international research in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.
CIESM represents a rare forum for the exchange of ideas and scientific findings across a particularly sensitive, often conflictual region.
On the margins of the same Congress, Prof. Deidun, in his capacity as national delegate, participated in the CIESM Bureau meetings where all the 23 CIESM Member States are represented and which decides upon strategic issues related to the Commission's operations. As per standard praxis, the Congress was opened by the CIESM President Prince Albert II of Monaco, with whom Prof. Deidun had the opportunity to discuss in detail Malta鈥檚 potential contribution to future CIESM-related initiatives.
Further information about the CIESM Congress can be found .
