Baseline and Pollution Assessment
© HCMR / Yiannis Issaris
© HCMR / Yiannis Issaris
© HCMR / Yiannis Issaris

Impact of Athens metropolitan area sewage outfalls on the Saronikos Gulf ecosystem

Discharges of domestic sewage « produced » by large cities are among the major pollution problems in the Mediterranean Sea, since they affect considerably the marine ecosystems stability. Saronikos Gulf, located in the oligotrophic South Aegean Sea, receives the sewage effluents of Athens metropolitan area (about 4 million inhabitants). The monitoring study of Saronikos Gulf has been performed by HCMR during the last 20 years and continues until now under the funding of EYDAP. Sampling is done six times per year at 11 stations and temporal (seasonal and inter-annual) variability of the following parameters are studied according to the requirements of the European Directives WFD and MSFD: temperature, salinity, turbidity, currents, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, particulate organic carbon, chlorophyll-a, phytoplankton species composition, mesozooplankton biomass and species composition, heavy metals in the sediments, phytobenthic communities of the upper infralittoral zone and soft bottom macrozoobenthic communities.

Monitoring of benthic communities in the Antikyra Bay, with emphasis on thermophilic species.

Monitoring of benthic communities in the Antikyra bay after the warm water discharge from the installations of the Gas-fired Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant, owned by MYTILINEOS S.A., in the Energy Complex of Ag. Nikolaos (Viotia, Greece). The aim of the project is to study the benthic ecosystem on its composition and effects produced by human activities in the coastal under study area, to determine the presence rare or protected species, to evaluate the potential presence of new settled alien/thermophilic species and finally to monitor the sewage treatment plant of the Antikyra and Aspra Spitia villages.

Environmental baseline study and sea water quality from Perama to Faliro and especially to Kifisos river discharges, 2018-2020.

This baseline study funded by the Attica Prefecture aim to assess the ecological status of the coastal waters of the Kifissos discharge to Perama, based on collection of oceanographic data taking into account on Water Framework and Marine Strategy Guidelines so that it can meet requirements for the implementation of EU Directives. A possible change in the ecosystem characteristics in relation to the past and the assessment of the impact of the different phases of the planned redevelopment of the coastal area is also investigated.

Monitoring in marine area of the Apollonas Naxos (Municipality of Naxos & Small Cyclades)

Monitoring of the marine area of Apollonas Naxos island in relation to the disposal of treated wastewater of the Apollona Naxos Biological Treatment and foaming phenomena in the area. Measurements of physicochemical characteristics (temperature, salinity), dissolved oxygen, inorganic and organic nutrients, soluble and particulate organic matter, surfactants, specific biomarkers, chlorophyll and phytoplankton in the water column will be conducted. These measurements will be made on a selected network of stations in the area seasonally over a year. In addition, measurements of geochemical characteristics, metals, organic carbon and organic matter will be made in surface sediment in the same network of stations once a year.