PERLE-4 cruise (27 march-29 April 2021)

Four researchers and engineers from MIO are part of the scientific crew of the PERLE 4 cruise. The PERLE programme ('Pelagic Ecosystem Response to dense water formation in the Levant Experiment - MISTRALS MERMEX project), and aims to describe the formation and dispersion of Intermediate Levantine Waters (LIW) in the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, these LIW, formed in the eastern basin, represent the only water mass common to the whole Mediterranean and play a key role for the general circulation, the redistribution of nutrients and the dynamics and planktonic communities. However, environmental changes due to climate changes seem to impact these LIW waters (circulation, structure...) which could have important environmental consequences. The objective of the programme is to assess the changes that are taking place in order to predict future environmental evolutions.

The PERLE-4 cruise focuses on the dispersion of Intermediate Levantine Waters and the evolution of their physical and biogeochemical characteristics, between the formation zone (Levantine basin) and the North-Western basin

A network of stations covering the study area will describe the physical, optical, biogeochemical and biological parameters of the water column (surface-bottom). These observations will be supplemented by physical and biogeochemical parameters collected by autonomous platforms (mooring line; profiling floats; gliders). Satellite data will also be used to monitor the evolution of the temperature and chlorophyll concentration of the surface waters over the entire area under study, as well as to identify the main (sub)mesoscale structures.

Institutions involved:

CNRS, IRD, SHOM, IFREMER, SU, AMU (France)

HCMR (Greece), SZN (Italy), IBF (Italy), IOLR (Israel)

PERLE 4 MIO Participants: Deny Malengros (CTD and other sensors), Thierry Moutin (pH, AT, CT, O2), Laure Chirurgien (O2, pH, AT, CT), François Carlotti (Zooplankton Net tows and processing)