On Italy's Ligurian coast, biologists and environmentalists are working to tackle the effects of climate change in the Mediterranean with help from a so-called "Smart Bay". Marine biologists fear the Mediterranean is becoming hotter and more acidic, which would affect the habitat of many native species and also lead to violent changes in weather systems such as more frequent tornadoes.    

The Santa Teresa Smart Bay, in an area on the northwestern coast noted for tourism and diving, is Italy's first underwater "living" laboratory where scientists use aquatic invertebrate animals known as bryozoans and other organisms as live sensors.