Mario Sprovieri is Director of ISMAR-CNR and holds a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Palermo. He has served as Professor at the Universities of Palermo and Naples and as a visiting scientist at the Southampton Oceanography Centre and the University of Barcelona. His research focuses on marine pollution, chemical tracers in the Mediterranean, and paleoceanography using multi-proxy approaches. He has coordinated and participated in numerous national and international projects and oceanographic expeditions. He authored over 220 peer-reviewed publications. He is chair of the Venice Symposium ‘Transformative Ocean Science’.