PLOATECH‘s Long-term Underwater Radioactivity Sensor Validation (LoRa) project has been selected under the 2026 EMSO ERIC Physical Access Call.
Led by PLOATECH, the initiative focuses on the long-term validation of an innovative underwater gamma-radiation sensor developed from a previous H2020 FET Proactive project.
The project involves participating researchers from the Remote Sensing Lab at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
The sensor is deployed at the OBSEA Observatory – UPC, where long-term operation under real marine conditions will allow researchers to evaluate its performance, stability, and reliability. Throughout a planned six-month monitoring campaign, the research team will assess the sensor’s operational stability, measurement performance, and long-term reliability, alongside its integration with a permanent ocean observing infrastructure.
OBSEA’s cabled infrastructure provides continuous electrical power, real-time communications, and remote access to deployed instruments, supporting the sensor’s long-term evaluation in a marine environment.
Radionuclides remain significantly under-measured in marine environments, despite their relevance to environmental monitoring, nuclear waste management, tectonic activity, and large-scale accidental releases.
For PLOATECH, the project represents a step toward moving its novel underwater sensing technology from development to validated, long-term operation in the ocean.
