Shapes and colours in the Tindari coastal ecosystem: New prospects for preservation and management

On the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily (Italy), in the centre of the Patti Gulf, is located an area very interesting for its naturalistic, historical and archaeological features. Because of its biological and ecological exclusiveness it has been included, since 1981, among the Natural Reserves of the Sicilian Region. In particular the humid area, located below Cape Tindari, has a great scientific interest for its biological heritage and structural heterogeneity. In fact this small brackish ecosystem is characterized by a marked geomorphologic dynamism which determines an high ecological complexity. In the framework of the Cultural Heritage Project, the Istituto Sperimentale Talassografico (C.N.R.- Messina, Italy), is actually carrying out, an integrated study of this area, finalized to the identification of the main morpho-dynamic and ecological processes which regulate its evolutive trend. To this aim the analysis of the space-temporal evolution of this area and its environmental features (biological, trophic, chemical and physical parameters of waters and sediments) was conducted, by both traditional and innovative methods. Also a close co-operation was established with the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution - LARA Project (C.N.R. - Pomezia, Italy), that performed an hyperspectral airborne survey, by using the Multispectral Infrared Visible Imaging Spectrometer (MIVIS). This system, that records the spectral behaviour of the surface materials from Visible to Thermal Infrared, allowed to determine the shape of the pools and the surrounding coast, and to accurately define the algae and vegetation distribution. In this poster we will expose the main results of the researche so far performed, that have allowed us to hypothesize new strategies for the preservation and management of this ecosystem.