Title:
Environmental supervision on-board and biological analyses for exploratory offshore drilling operations in Block 11 – Alphee prospect area, EEZ Cyprus
Duration:
ca 4 months (March 2019 – June 2019)
Funded by:
TOTAL E & P Cyprus
Subcontracted by the joint venture:
HPC AG
Nicolaides & Associates Ltd
Project Description:
In April 2019, six zooplankton samples were collected with vertical tows of a plankton net (diameter: 50 cm; porosity: 200 μm), from 250 m to the surface in six locations situated in the Alphee prospect area. Zooplankton identification and enumeration of samples collected was completed in June 2019 and the data processing revealed a total number of 58 taxa. At the same time, six phytoplankton samples were collected at a sampling depth of 1 m from the surface in eight locations situated in the Alphee prospect area. The samples were preserved with Lugol iodine and stored in black polyethylene bottles at room temperature until the analysis. Overall, 36 taxa were identified employing the Utermohl method. In order to investigate the benthic community structure of Alphee prospect area, 94 samples were collected from each station, consisting of 2 replicates each, collected via a 50 cm x 50 cm box corer of 82 L in volume at depths of 1530 to 1604 m. The examined samples yielded a total of 863 individuals, belonging to 48 taxa.
