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MedEX - Inter-basin exchange in the changing Mediterranean Sea: Impact on the ecosystems in the vicinity of the Straits connecting the Mediterranean Sea with adjacent Basins

Summary information

Funding:MarinERA ERA-NET project
Ec contribution:811356
Start date:2009-05-01
End date:2012-05-01
Duration:36 months
Coordinator:Alvaro Peliz (ajpeliz@fc.ul.pt)
Organisation:Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon - Portugal
Project name:MedEX - Inter-basin exchange in the changing Mediterranean Sea: Impact on the ecosystems in the vicinity of the Straits connecting the Mediterranean Sea with adjacent Basins
Project summary:Precipitation reduction across southern Europe and Northern Africa together with global warming are having significant impacts on the hydrology and circulation, affecting the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem to an as yet unprecedented extent. It is certain that the interbasin exchange will respond, affecting not only the hydrology of the entire Mediterranean Sea, but also the ecosystems in the marginal and communicating seas, like the Gulf of Cadiz and Alboran Sea to the west, and the North Aegean Sea to the east. MedEx will geographically “zoom” over these areas and focus on the changing inter-basin exchange processes impacting the ecosystems and will complement existing knowledge on local ecosystem dynamics, especially concerning processes directly dependant on the exchange between the Mediterranean and adjacent seas (the North Atlantic and the Black Sea). In order to achieve this goal, MedEX brings together a team of scientists from a broad range of disciplines and from both ends of the Mediterranean Sea with the aim to:
• perform a synthetic description of the physical processes directly associated with the inter-basin exchange between the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent basins that affect the pelagic ecosystem in the vicinity of the Straits (Gibraltar and Dardanelles);
• depict the main trends of inter-basin exchange in the last 20 years as a regional driver of the marine ecosystems changes;
• implement/adapt an Atmosphere-Ocean-Ecology regional modelling system to investigate and predict ecosystem changes in the vicinity of the Straits, in hindcast/ forecast mode, and in a process-oriented perspective, and to assess the predictive skills of existing modelling systems.