General info | |
Project title | HERMES - Hotspot ecosystem research on the margins of European seas |
Project acronym | HERMES |
Associated programme | EU 6th Framework Programme |
Project website | http://www.eu-hermes.net |
Begin date | 2005-04-01 |
End date | 2009-03-31 |
Location | |
Geographic coverage | Spatial Coordinates - Longitude:Latitude: West Coordinate: -24.83 East Coordinate: 24.63 North Coordinate: 66.88 South Coordinate: 36.30 |
Sea area (C19) | Balearic Sea,Black Sea,Ionian Sea,Mediterranean Sea,Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin,Mediterranean Sea, Western Basin,North Atlantic Ocean,Northeast Atlantic Ocean (40W),Norwegian Sea |
Description | |
Data-themes (P08) | Biological oceanography,Chemical oceanography,Cross-discipline,Fisheries and aquaculture,Marine geology |
Abstract |
HERMES was designed to gain new insights into the biodiversity, structure, function and dynamics of ecosystems along Europe's deep ocean margin. It represented the first major attempt to investigate and understand deep-water ecosystems and their environment in an integrated way by bringing together expertise in biodiversity, geology, sedimentology, physical oceanography, microbiology and biogeochemistry. Europe's deep ocean margins cover an area of three million square kilometres and extend some 15000km, from the Arctic in the north to the Mediterranean in the south, and from the Atlantic in the west to the Black Sea in the east. HERMES could not study the whole margin, so key "biodiversity hotspots" were identified where the work could be concentrated. The hotspots included cold-water coral/carbonate mounds, cold seeps, canyons and anoxic environments where the geosphere and hydrosphere influence the biosphere through escape of fluids, presence of gas hydrates and deep-water currents. HERMES also investigated open slopes adjacent to these hotspots in order to compare them to the background, although these slope areas can also be disturbed by landslides or strongly affected by ocean currents.
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Coordinator | |
Coordinating organisation | National Oceanography Centre (Southampton)
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Country of Coordinator | United Kingdom |
Contact name | Prof Phil Weaver |
Title | HERMES Project Coordinator |
Contact organisation | National Oceanography Centre (Southampton)
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Edmerp metadata | |
Edmerp id | 7968 |
Collating centre | British Oceanographic Data Centre
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Latest update | 2011-12-02 |