IEO researchers undertake an oceanographic campaign of the INTEMARES project in the Mallorca channel and an expedition in the Avilés canyon.

We are undertaking the second oceanographic campaign of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project in the Mallorca Channel, a new expedition that will take researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) to explore the seamounts of southern Mallorca and eastern Ibiza and Formentera for 15 days. This week also begins the oceanographic campaign, which has as its destination the Avilés canyon, in Asturias and Cantabria.

Both campaigns are part of the actions planned in the LIFE IP INTEMARES project, 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.

On this occasion, the objective of the campaign in the Mallorca channel consists mainly of the collection of geophysical data and biological samples, which in the future will allow the identification and mapping of benthic habitats, for the future declaration of the seamounts of the south of Mallorca as a Site of Community Importance (SCI). within the Natura 2000 Network.

To this end, IEO scientists, on board the oceanographic vessel Ángeles Alvariño, will focus their research on the Ses Olives, Ausias March and Emile Baudot seamounts and their surroundings. Previous scientific information on the benthic ecosystems of these seamounts, located on the Balearic Promontory, between the islands of Mallorca and Ibiza and Formentera, suggests a high ecological value, with the presence of species (deep-sea corals ) and habitats of interest (fluid expulsion fields and volcanic fields) for their preservation. However, this information is still insufficient to propose its declaration as an SCI. For this reason, this campaign and two others will be carried out in the following years. In addition, these are seamounts whose peaks may have emerged during the last glacial periods, when the sea level in the Mediterranean fell by just over 100 metres compared to the current level, which makes them of great interest from a scientific point of view.

As for the oceanographic expedition in the Avilés canyon, it will study between July 29 and August 8 the possible impacts of fishing in this protected area with the aim of improving knowledge of the area to draw up the management plan. Specifically, the crew on board the oceanographic vessel Ramón Margalef plans to evaluate the interaction of fishing gear such as longlining and gillnets with the habitats of the seabed in this area.

LIFE IP INTEMARES, the largest marine environment conservation project in Europe, has as its main objective to achieve a network of Natura 2000 Network sites managed effectively, with the active participation of the sectors involved and with research as basic tools for decision-making. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.

Do you want to know more about the oceanographic campaigns of LIFE IP INTEMARES?

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