“Scienziati da mare”: a podcast from the research vessel Gaia Blu telling the story of the ITINERIS’ EYES campaign in the Mediterranean

Six podcast episodes, recorded on board the CNR research vessel Gaia Blu during the ITINERIS’ EYES campaign in July 2025, give voice to those who study the invisible Mediterranean and advance Italian marine research.

In July 2025, the research vessel Gaia Blu of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) sailed across the western Mediterranean Sea for the ITINERIS’ EYES oceanographic campaign, a core activity of the marine domain of ITINERIS, the Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System. On board, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Italy, France and Spain investigated how climate change is altering plankton biodiversity and affecting the marine food web and carbon cycle in one of the planet’s most sensitive semi‑enclosed seas.

“Scienziati da mare” (“Scientists at sea”) is a six‑episode podcast produced by the Institute of Marine Sciences of the CNR (CNR‑ISMAR) and recorded directly on board Gaia Blu during ITINERIS’ EYES, to tell this campaign from the inside. Through interviews and on‑board storytelling, the podcast brings to the public the voices of oceanographers, biologists, technicians and experts in autonomous platforms and research infrastructures who face the open sea to observe processes that are invisible to the naked eye.

The ITINERIS’ EYES campaign combined in situ observations, innovative experiments and autonomous platforms to monitor areas of the western Mediterranean that are usually poorly covered by traditional observing systems, including the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Sardinia Channel, the Algero‑Provençal Basin and the Ligurian Sea. Instruments and services provided by national and European research infrastructures partnering with ITINERIS made it possible to integrate physical, chemical and biological data, strengthening the capacity to monitor marine heatwaves, ocean acidification and other impacts of climate change.

Gaia Blu, the main oceanographic vessel of CNR, is at the heart of this effort, designed to support geological, oceanographic and biological research and to serve as a strategic platform for Italian marine science in offshore waters. The ITINERIS’ EYES campaign marked an important step in fully exploiting the ship’s potential for collaboration among Italian institutions – including CNR‑ISMAR, CNR‑ISP, OGS and INFN‑LNS – and European partners such as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (Sorbonne Université – CNRS), the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and the company Space 42.

Within this framework, “Scienziati da mare” acts as a science communication tool that invites listeners to “come on board” and discover how oceanographic research and long‑term observing systems help us understand and protect the Mediterranean Sea. Episode after episode, the podcast explores daily life at sea, the challenges of collecting measurements in offshore environments, the use of advanced technologies and the personal motivations of those who dedicate their careers to studying the ocean.

The podcast “Scienziati da mare” is available on the main listening platforms, including Spotify, and is promoted by CNR and ITINERIS as part of their outreach and education activities on ocean literacy and environmental research. Students, decision‑makers and all interested citizens are invited to listen and follow the Gaia Blu journey to better understand why observing the sea is crucial for the future of the Mediterranean.

Join us on board Gaia Blu, put on your headphones and dive into “Scienziati da mare” to hear the voices of those who explore the invisible Mediterranean and work every day to understand and protect our sea.