Advancing Marine Science and Marine Ecosystem Health through Early Diagnosis: Insights Driven by Autonomous Vehicle Platforms
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "New Sensors, New Technologies and Machine Learning in Water Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: electrochemical and electromicrogravimetric sensors and biosensors; molecular imprinting (MIP) and immunoaffinity; environmental applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: : algae; environmental DNA; marine biology and ecology; marine bioconstructions; marine conservation; habitat-forming macrophytes; phylogeny; systematics; taxonomy
Interests: analytical chemistry; voltammetry for environmental analysis; atomic absorption spectroscopy; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry; environmental monitoring; heavy metals and organic contaminants in marine organisms; trace elements in seawater and marine sediments; heavy metals in insects; mineral water; river water
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: Computational electromagnetics, Electric and magnetic fields and circuits, Devices and sensors for environmental monitoring
Interests: Robots (Categoria DBpedia) Unmanned vehicles (Categoria DBpedia) Vehicles (Categoria DBpedia) UAVs and drones (Categoria DBpedia) Surveillance (Categoria DBpedia)
Interests: Internet of Things, Distributed Systems, Autonomous Systems, Computer Vision
Interests: marine robotics design; marine vehicles design; marine propulsion; environmental monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Comprehensive monitoring of aquatic environments requires inspecting physical, chemical, and biological states, but in situ biological sensing remains a significant challenge. Unmanned marine vehicles (UMVs) offer a powerful platform to bridge this gap through integrated sensing and sampling. Inspired by the Interreg Italy–Croatia BRIGANTINE project, which uses an Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) to monitor Adriatic ecosystems, this Special Issue invites contributions on the advancement of autonomous marine systems for environmental protection.
We seek original research and case studies on the design, optimisation, and application of both surface and underwater vehicles in marine water, marine habitat monitoring and protection. Submissions may cover topics including novel materials, onboard sensors and software, control systems, and autonomy.
We particularly encourage practical implementations that showcase how these platforms can drive new scientific insights for the early diagnosis and assessment of marine ecosystem health, thereby advancing the multifaceted field of water science. The overarching goal is to establish a baseline of current UMV capabilities and readiness, ensuring their development supports marine conservation, aligns with critical environmental objectives, and adheres to the ‘Do No Harm to Society’ (DNHS) principle.
Dr. Sabina Susmel
Dr. Fabio Rindi
Dr. Anna Annibaldi
Dr. Smiljko Rudan
Dr. Francesco Trevisan
Dr. Massimo Caccia
Dr. Ivan Scagnetto
Dr. Angelo Odetti
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Environmental Sensor Fusion
- Water Quality & Oceanographic Monitoring
- Ecological Sampling
- Aquatic Ecosystem Monitoring
- Coastal Management & Maritime Surveillance
- Autonomy & Onboard Intelligence
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