November 27th 2024
Winter Research Expedition in the North Aegean with a Focus on Lemnos
The winter research expedition of the Archipelagos Institute continues on in the North Aegean and the Thracian Sea up to the waters near the Athos Peninsula, despite the difficult weather conditions of the last few weeks. Our starting point is Lemnos and the port of Myrina, which hosts the research vessels Triton and Naftilos, as well as the interdisciplinary team of 32 researchers of various specialties from 15 countries. This important conservation action that has just begun and will continue in the coming months is being implemented with the valuable cooperation of the citizen organization Lemnos Marine Conservation and other organizations of Lemnos.
The focus of the research is to record the very important populations of marine mammals that survive in the waters of the area, the distribution of alien and invasive species, the oceanographic parameters from surface to deeper waters, and the coralligenous ecosystems at large depths, as well as Posidonia seagrass beds using various types of ROVs (remotely operated vehicles). Lemnos and the wider North Aegean region is characterised by a wealth of marine biodiversity of global environmental importance, due to its geographical location, the geomorphology of the area and its extensive coastline that exceeds 260 km.
In addition to scientific research, by taking advantage of the days of stormy winds, we also focus on a very important aspect of this mission, which is none other than to inform, raise awareness and inspire the students of Lemnos for their crucial active participation in the protection of the unique marine biodiversity of their island. So far, we have already visited 14 schools and 1060 students of all levels: kindergarten, primary, middle, and high schools.
With the full support of Lemnos Marine Conservation, we have set up a temporary information center and relevant awareness material, which is a venue for successive meetings with the island’s organizations and citizen groups. At the same time, we have already started and are continuing meetings with the local authorities, citizen organizations, groups of educators and the fishermen of Lemnos.
The Archipelagos Institute and Lemnos Marine Conservation are collaborating to create a permanent environmental observatory that will focus both on monitoring the region’s rare marine biodiversity and the impacts of climate change in real time, as well as the problems that local communities will be called upon to face.
