We have obtained scientific information of great interest from the seabed of the Mallorca Channel thanks to the second oceanographic campaign of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project.

Thanks to the second oceanographic campaign of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project , we have obtained scientific information of great interest from the seabed of the Mallorca Channel, which will improve scientific knowledge to declare this area as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) within the Natura 2000 Network and ensure its protection.

In this expedition, researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) have studied the seabed of the Ausias March, Ses Olives and Emile Baudot mountains in a comprehensive way, as well as the areas around them. The geological and deep habitat exploration carried out has allowed to obtain high-resolution information.

Among the initial results, the presence of maërl bottoms on the summit of the Ausias March and Emile Baudot mountains has been confirmed. This habitat of great ecological richness is made up of calcareous red algae, which in these areas reach a depth of up to 130 metres, greater than on the Balearic shelf. Bottoms with a high density and variety of sponges have also been found.

Scientists have also identified up to 160 bottom species in the Ses Olives, Ausias March and Emile Baudot seamounts, including starfish, urchins, sea cucumbers, shrimps, crabs, sea snails, bivalve molluscs, cephalopods and fish. This number of species will increase when samples from another hundred species, mainly sponges, are analyzed, whose definitive identification will require a subsequent study in the laboratory with expert taxonomists.

To obtain all this information, the scientists have collected samples of sediments and organisms from the ocean floor for 15 days on board the oceanographic vessel Ángeles Alvariño, have characterized the geomorphology of the area and have mapped an underwater area of about 1870 km², the equivalent of three and a half times the surface of Ibiza.

Fields of depressions generated by fluid leaks, known as pockmarks, have also been explored, as well as other geological structures of interest such as conical geometry mountains, Quaternary tectonic faults and submarine landslides, which allow us to initially interpret the intense geological activity of this region of the Balearic promontory. In fact, during the expedition it has been possible to confirm the volcanic nature of the Emile Baudot seamount.

This campaign is part of the actions planned in the LIFE IP INTEMARES, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the same ministry, the IEO, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.

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