Development of a citizen monitoring program for the Barcelona coastal waters: the Scientific Patí Vela

Abstract

The first results of the PATI CIENTIFIC project are presented. This is a collaborative project funded by a Barcelona Institute of Culture’s grant for research and innovation under the 2019 Barcelona Science Plan. The main objective of this project is to develop a monitoring program for the coastal waters of Barcelona through a small -sailboat fleet of the traditional and sustainable Patí de Vela (sailing skate). This pleasure boat is to become a scientific sailing skate. This fleet will acquire the essential oceanographic variables along the Catalan coast, which will be incorporated and accessible in a web platform. We present the initial adaptations done to the Patí de Vela to have an onboard platform holding the scientific instruments (sensors and devices) for sampling the Barcelona coastal waters. These adaptations allow the systematic measurements of the essential physical and biogeochemical variables. These data, which will allow detecting variations along the coast, hence identifying potential sources of contamination and also providing the necessary knowledge of natural and anthropogenic seasonality, and will be freely available on a web platform. The PATI CIENTIFIC project will increase our knowledge of the coastal waters of the Barcelona coast, encouraging participation in sea monitoring activities and increasing social awareness on the need to love and protect our oceans.