Lead institution:
Heritage Malta – Malta
Heritage Malta’s UCHU launched the WreckLife project to enhance our comprehension of the intricate interactions among historically significant wrecks in Maltese waters located at depth and the subsequent implications of their degradation on marine organisms and their surrounding environments.
Through considering temporal changes in climate and the subsequent effects on the marine environment, the adverse impacts of wreck site degradation can be deduced through a synthesis of legacy data and the creation of new baseline datasets. Employing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach, the project aspires to refine predictions regarding potential future degradation of the wrecks, addressing concerns of seabed pollution. It seeks to devise effective mitigation strategies for the preservation of these sites from a cultural heritage management perspective, contributing to the protection of benthic communities that have flourished and formed ecological hotspots within these underwater sites.
Start Date: 01/01/2022
End Date: 31/12/2030
Lead Contact: Timmy Gambin (timmy.gambin@gov.mt)