IOnian Sea water quality MOnitoring by Satellite data

The Ionian coast of Basilicata region covers about 35 km from Metaponto to Nova Siri. The Metaponto plain, that extends from the low hills of Matera to the Ionian Sea, is characterized by beaches of fine, golden sand; instead, the further south coast which looks to the Pollino National Park , has wide beaches of sand and pebbles .
Here, in the VIII sec. a.C, the cities of Megale Hellas (Magna Grecia: Metaponto, Heraclea (today Policoro), and Siris Pandosia were born. The signs of this important historical phase are visible in the archaeological sites of Metaponto and Policoro and in their major museums, which store a lot of objects.
The area represents the final delivery of 5 rivers (from SW to NE: Agri, Sinni, Cavone, Basento, Bradano) whose mouths have been recognized as Sites of Community Importance(SCI); the area is also home of several places of landscaped interest as the Bosco Pantano.
From the infrastructure point of view, the recent settlements of Port of the Argonauts in Metaponto and in particular the new tourist complex Marinagri in Policoro, have favored the tourism in the area. The whole area recorded about 11.2 million tourists in 2011, with an increase of 4.5% over the previous year (source: Basilicata Region).
On the other hand, the area has also its weaknesses. The Ionian coast of Basilicata region has been affected by enormous changes in landscape due to coastal erosion, which, in the decade 1998-2008, was the cause of disappearance of about 150 m of beaches.
Along the Ionian coast there is also the Taranto harbor, in which over 3000 ships transit each year, and industrial structures with high environmental impact as ILVA Taranto refinery, which is responsible of the production of over 150.000 barrels of oil per day.