AI-based Monitoring of Coastal and Marine Environments

Human and natural processes continuously threaten coastal and marine ecosystems. Human being has, since the last century, undermined the coastal equilibrium, accentuating or sometimes triggering irreversible erosive phenomena and causing salt wedge intrusion in areas where agricultural production represents a relevant inducement for the local economy. Also critical is the overexploitation of sandy shores, with the consequent alteration of the beach environment, and sometimes the disfigurement of the maritime territory, with the consequent loss of landscape and economic value. In particular, the uncontrolled release of large quantities of plastic material into the environment is increasingly threatening our seas and their marine living organisms. Aiming at addressing the challenges from the above context, the CVPR and CI&SS Labs, both affiliated with the interdisciplinary Lab Neptun-IA of the Department of Science and Technology at the University of Napoli Parthenope, started working on several tasks related to beach and undersea litter detection and recognition through Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vison-based techniques.