Outer Thermaikos Gulf-NW Aegean Sea

Phosphate concentration parameters in the water column; Nitrate concentration parameters in the water column; Silicate concentration parameters in the water column; Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Nitrite concentration parameters in the water column

Discrete water samplers

The aim of the project was to study processes which take place in the coastal zone, processes in the boundary zone of the terrestrial fluxes and in the mixing zone, processes of the matter transfer in the water column, processes in the sediment / water interface, biogeochemical cycles in general. In this context the following aspects have been approached: i) the role of the adjacent land area, as a supplier of the marine system, ii) the biological production and especially the dynamic of the C, N, P cycles, iii) the physicochemical processes of flocculation and aggregation mechanisms in the different stages of the mixing zone fresh / salt water, iv) the biogas production, v) the processes of the transfer of particulate matter, vi) the sediment-water interaction and especially the resuspension processes vii) the biogeochemical cycles and finally viii) the modelling of all these processes. The investigations took place in two sites in the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Lions and Thermaikos Gulf, ecosystems with similarities and differences. The comparative studies of these areas gave a more general understanding of the functioning of the coastal systems and they offered the opportunity for the development of scientific concepts in a wider dimension.

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography
46.7 km Athinon-Souniou Av. P.O.Box 712
Anavyssos

19013
Greece