From July 7th to 9th 2026, the final sampling campaign of the BlueQ project was successfully carried out on the Žut island of the Dalmatian coast in Croatia, making the completion of the fieldwork phase of the project across the Adriatic-Ionian study areas.
The BlueQ team was based in Šibenik, where they hosted by the project partners from the Public Institution Nature of Šibenik-Knin County, whose support contributed significantly to the smooth implementation of the field activities and the overall success of the campaign.
The fieldwork focused on the collection of samples of Posidonia oceanica meadows, aiming to assess blue carbon stocks and perform comparative analyses among the project’s study areas (Pilot Action Sites). In parallel, drone-based remote sensing activities were carried out for mapping the study area. The successful completion of the campaign was achieved through close collaboration among all participants, as well as through the valuable contribution of the scientific diving team, which supported the sampling activities throughout the expedition.
The Institute of Geonenergy actively participates in BlueQ, contributing to the collection, processing, and analyses of samples, with the aim of improving our understanding of the contribution of Posidonia oceanica meadows to carbon sequestration and storage. The final campaign brought together the project partners: Foundation for Research and Technology (Greece), University of Aegean (Greece), University of Palermo (Italy), AULEDA-Local Economic Development Agency (Albania), Public Institution Nature of Šibenik-Knin County (Croatia) and Regional Education and Information Center-REIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
The completion of the BlueQ sampling phase represents an important milestone towards advancing knowledge on the role of seagrass meadows as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and the conservation of coastal ecosystems.
