The studied area covers the Amvrakikos Gulf, three lagoons situated by the north coast, as well as two inflowing, rivers (Louros and Arachthos) extending from 39° 55'00sN to 38° 00'00sN and from 20° 40'00sE to 24° 00'00sE. A total of 24 stations are sampled, 4 within the gulf and the rest within the lagoons, the rivers and in drainage ditches.

Ammonium and ammonia concentration parameters in water bodies; Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Dissolved metal concentrations in the water column; Particulate metal concentrations in the water column; Nitrate concentration parameters in the water column; Nitrite concentration parameters in the water column; Phosphate concentration parameters in the water column; Salinity of the water column; Silicate concentration parameters in the water column; Temperature of the water column

The aim of this project is to formulate an integrated proposal for a management plan of the area. The Amvrakiko Wetlands is an area of great environmental importance and it is included in the Ramsar convention. Among other information some oceanographic data are needed for the purpose of this project. The parameters listed above are measured seasonally (4 times per year) either in situ (physicochemical parameters) or in water samples collected using Hydro-BIOS sampling bottles. The samples are mainly surface samples (lagoons, rivers, ditches) except those collected from the 4 stations within the gulf (surface, 10m, 20m, 30m). Analyses on nutrients (NO3, NO2, NH4, PO4, Porg., SiO4) were carried out according to the standard photometric methods of Strickland and Parsons. The trace metal particulate phase was obtained after filtration through a 0.45Gm Millipore membrane filter. The filters were then digested with conc. HNO3. The dissolved phase was pre-concentrated on a CHELEX-100 resin and the metals were eluded with HNO3 acid. Special care was taken to eliminate any contamination problems during analysis. Trace metal concentrations were determined by using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The data are stored on a DBase III plus format with an index on sampling date, station and depth and can be processed in order to produce reports for each set of parameters (basic data, nutrients, each metal in dissolved and particulate phase) as a depth series per station per sampling date or an 'historical' report as a time series per depth per station. Both these reports are stored as text files.

Hellenic Society for the Protection of the Environment and the Cultural Heritage
28 Tripodon Str. Plaka
Athens

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Greece