SARTI–UPC has successfully completed its latest oceanographic campaign aboard the R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa, marking the final field operation of the year within the framework of the BITER and LIFE ECO-REST projects.

During the campaign, the team carried out the retrieval and redeployment of several benthic landers at approximately 100 m depth off the coast of Tossa de Mar. These autonomous platforms are designed for long-term ecological monitoring of sensitive benthic habitats and for testing marine restoration techniques.

After one year on the seafloor, all previously deployed landers were successfully recovered using acoustic pop-up release systems. As expected, the structures showed significant biofouling, confirming stable long-term exposure. Notably, the camera-equipped lander operated continuously throughout the entire deployment, delivering one full year of uninterrupted visual data from the gorgonian restoration experiment. These datasets will now undergo detailed scientific analysis to assess coral condition, growth, and habitat evolution.

The campaign concluded with the redeployment of the benthic landers, initiating a new monitoring cycle. Each unit is equipped with high-definition imaging systems and a comprehensive suite of environmental sensors, including CTD, chlorophyll fluorometers, and current meters. In front of the cameras, monitoring grids with Gorgonacea corals have been installed, together with control substrates, enabling comparative assessment of active restoration versus natural colonisation.

Over the coming year, the landers will autonomously collect continuous environmental data and time-lapse imagery, contributing to the evaluation of scalable, low-impact restoration strategies for deep and coastal Mediterranean ecosystems.

This campaign reinforces the role of SARTI–UPC in the development and operation of advanced marine observation technologies, supporting evidence-based approaches to marine habitat conservation and restoration.