Commissioned: Consorzio Venezia Nuova
Period: 2003 - 2005
Country: Italia
The ICSEL (Integrazione Conoscenze Ecosistema Lagunare, or Integration of Knowledge on the Venice Lagoon Ecosystem) project was initiated in 2003 and represents a continuation of the MELa project, which conducted environmental monitoring that provided solid scientific information regarding the Venice Lagoon.This project falls into the realm of experimental ecotoxicology; the effects of the pollutants that are found in the lagoon’s waters and sediments were tested on various organisms (bacteria, algae, organisms that live in the sediment). In addition to chemical and biological aspects, Thetis also took physical measurements and studied turbidity, conducting continuous monitoring and measurement campaigns connected to particular interventions. In addition, experimentation, data processing and integrated data interpretation were conducted, in collaboration with the university and the National Research Council, for the purpose of increasing knowledge about the state of contamination of the lagoon sediments - particularly those in front of the Porto Marghera area – and experimentally evaluating the ecological risk to optimize the related management strategies.
