During the oceanographic cruise, “BOCCHE 2003” (Project: Geologia e geomorfologia terrestre e marina dell’insieme Corsica-Sardegna e della Toscana e applicazioni” PIC- INTERREG III) and “Sardegna 2010” (Project MAGIC – Protezione Civile Italiana”), Multibeam, Side Scan Sonar and GeoChirp data were obtained and samples of superficial sediment have been taken. The analysis of data highlighted on mobile funds, the presence of complex bedforms associations, typical of continental shelf environment affected by high flow rate currents, both mono or bidirectional. Integrated analysis of sismostratigraphic, Multibeam, Side Scan Sonar and sedimentological data, performed in a GIS environment, allowed to define, the distribution of sedimentary structures and the relative dominant bottom currents. Furthermore, a general circulation pattern of currents that highlights the existence of bottom currents flows westward, opposed to surface flow was assumed.

This paper describes an integrated control system architecture with a high accuracy navigation system for an underwater glider. To optimize the glider performances, a centralized control system called "Glider Integrated Control System (GICS)" is provided: part of this system oversees the navigation function, based on an INS reference. Unlike an UAV system, in our case, some important inertial navigation error terms cannot be neglected due to the peculiar mission.

Acoustic methods for seafloor mapping have been widely developed over the last decades. In particular, the development of swath bathymetry has allowed the creation of detailed maps of seabed topography and acoustic backscatter data; these data have been used to infer sediment and habitat types. So the Multi-Beam Echo Sounder (MBES) is a tool that allows getting information about bathymetric, morphological and compositional characteristics of the seabed surface. In addition to this, MBES can now also discriminate the acoustic imaging of the water mass by recording sampled reflectivity measurements along each beam. Infact new hardware and software modules for MBES have been developed, allowing the hydrographic community to exploit a series of powerful means to acquire water column backscatter. The aim of this paper is to present different surveys conducted by IAMC to show some examples of acquisition and processing and the results obtained to a correct interpretation of the data.

We propose a method to denoise 1D experimental signals using wavelet transform. Noise affecting experimental signals is indeed a problem shared by many different scientific and engineering fields and a proper strategy of denoising, avoiding the loss of useful information embedded in the original signal, is often essential. This is especially true for spectroscopic data, where significant features may be hidden by noise or covered by undesired components, which are not related to the physical content of the signal. In particular, we have applied the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) to infrared spectra collected at a synchrotron source, overcoming the limitations of other filtering strategies conventionally employed. The good results here obtained, and the other attempts presented in the recent literature, suggest that wavelet transform can represent a valuable tool, finding its ideal application in a number of many and diverse fields, including spectroscopy, marine science, meteorology, and engineering.

Active Fluid Seepage (AFS) at the seafloor is a global phenomenon associated with seafloor morphologies in different geodynamic contexts. Advances geophysical techniques have allowed geoscientists to characterise pockmarks, mounds and flares associated with AFS. We present a range of marine geological data acquired in the central Mediterranean Sea (northern Sicily continental margin, northwestern Sicily Channel and offshore the Maltese Islands), which allow us to identify AFSs. The AFSs are spatially distributed as clusters, aligned or isolated at different depths, ranging from few decametres offshore the Maltese Islands, up to 400 m offshore north Sicily and in the northwestern Sicily channel. Mounds have heights ranging from 2 to 15 m and form hummocky surfaces. Pockmarks with subcircular planform shapes and U/V-shaped crosssections are found in sizes ranging from 5 to 530 m. Gas flares occur on both the continental shelf and upper slope.