The present collection of articles, edited by the Department of Earth
and Environment - National Research Council (DTA-CNR) of Italy,
represents the different research activities and technologies
developments carried out by CNR in the field of marine environment and
its resources. Marine Research is a challenging field whose issues
are tackled by expertise coming from different research sectors and with
an overarching perspective. The main coordinating initiative at
national level today is the RITMARE Flagship Programme, The Italian research for the sea,
led by CNR and bringing together the experience of a wide audience of
national stakeholders and research performing organizations. In
this framework, the effort by DTA-CNR in spreading, transferring and
improving marine research activities, is actually summarized in this
milestone publication. The initial idea is due to Giuseppe Cavarretta,
to whom I wish to express my heartfelt thanks for the initiative. Marine Research at CNR
shows the potential of the DTA-CNR´s research network with activities
ranging from marine biology to observational and operational
oceanography, from Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic and Antarctic Seas,
from technology engineering to policy support. Articles published
in this book have been revised by a selected group of referees and are
organized in eight different themes: Fishery and Sea Resources, Coastal
and Marine Spatial Planning, Marine Ecology, Marine Geology, Observing
Systems and Forecasting, Oceanography, Risks and Technologies.