GESOther: Level of altered parameter

D7C2 Adverse effects from permanent alteration of hydrographical conditions (7.2, 7.2.1, 7.2.2)

D7C2 Adverse effects from permanent alteration of hydrographical conditions (7.2, 7.2.1, 7.2.2)

D7C2 Adverse effects from permanent alteration of hydrographical conditions (7.2, 7.2.1, 7.2.2)

LevelPressure

ImpactPressureWaterColumn

ImpactPressureSeabedHabitats

ImpactPressureFunctionalGroup

Hydrological7_1

HydrologicalWaterColumnHabitats7_2

HydrologicalSeabedHabitats7_2

HydrologicalFunctionalGroups7_2

CurrentVelocity, MarineCoast, MarineOceanic, MarineShelf, Mixing, NutrientLevels, OxygenLevels, pH, RedSalinity, ResidenceTime, Salinity, SeaBottomTemperature, SeaSurfaceTemperature, Transparency, Turbidity, Upwelling, VarSalinity

LBathRock, LBathSed, ShallMud, ShallMxdSed, ShallRock, ShallSand, ShelfCoarseSed, ShelfMud, ShelfRock, ShelfSand, UBathRock, UBathSed

FishCoastal, FishDemersal, FishPelagic, MammalsSeals, ReptilesTurtles

Good

Good

NotAssessed

NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

"We cannot know the trend over the next 12 years due to the fact that the natural decadal variability is much stronger than the mean anthropogenic trend. Furthermore, while the anthropogenic trend is one of increasing temperature and salinity, future projections do noy provide confidence regarding the future stratification of the water column"

"We cannot know the trend over the next 12 years due to the fact that the natural decadal variability is much stronger than the mean anthropogenic trend. Furthermore, while the anthropogenic trend is one of increasing temperature and salinity, future projections do noy provide confidence regarding the future stratification of the water column"

"We cannot know the trend over the next 12 years due to the fact that the natural decadal variability is much stronger than the mean anthropogenic trend. Furthermore, while the anthropogenic trend is one of increasing temperature and salinity, future projections do noy provide confidence regarding the future stratification of the water column"

We cannot know the trend over the next 12 years due to the fact that the natural decadal variability is much stronger than the mean anthropogenic trend. Furthermore, while the anthropogenic trend is one of increasing temperature and salinity, future projections do noy provide confidence regarding the future stratification of the water column"

"Since the 1980s the temperature and salinity of the Mediterranean are increasing, and these increases are expected to continue in the twenty-first century. These trends have been attributed to human activities: the temperature increase has been attributed to the –planetary scale– anthropogenic greenhouse effect, while the salinity increase has been attributed both to global and regional scale anthropogenic activities, the latter consisting of damming the major rivers of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. The above interference is extended throughout the Mediterranean. The current intensity of this interference is low; however, it is considered of great long-term importance. Further interferences exist at a very local, coastal level. Amvrakikos Gulf, a small portion of the Ionian Sea, exhibits dysoxia / anoxia in its bottom layer in the past 20-30 years. However, this phenomenon has been attributed more to fertilizers, extensive fish farming etc. and no so on interferences with the hydrological budget. Furthermore, another coastal basin, the Etoliko lagoon, has been historically been reported as naturally anoxic. "

The temperature and salinity increasing trends directly impact the local vertical stratification of the water column, and that can modify the overturning circulation of certain regions of the Mediterranean. However, as the Ionian Sea is not a region of intermediate or dense water formation, the temperature and salinity changes recorded (partly attributed to human activities) have not resulted to dramatic biological impacts as in the Aegean. During the Eastern Mediterranean Transient event of the early 1990s, new Aegean Dense Water filled the deeper basin of the Ionian in the vicinity of the western Cretan Straits, and thus introduced higher oxygen and low nutrients in the bottom layer. During this process the old Eastern Mediterranean Deep Waters were uplifted to deep-intermediate layers, thus their high nutrient – low oxygen signature moved to shallower layers. From the mid-1990s to mid-2000s the new, Aegean-originated bottom waters progressed toward the west, gradually mixing with the old EMDW water mass. Despite the strong physical and chemical signals of the phenomenon, the biological response was probably insignificant. Also, in the Ionian Sea the signs of tropicalization of the Mediterranean (through mostly the identification of Lessepsian species) are minimal.

The Eastern Mediterranean Transient event, potentially partly caused by human interference to the heat and salt budget of the Mediterranean Sea, appears to have had no significant physical, chemical and biological impacts on the seabed of the Ionian Sea, as there is no such bibliographic information – except maybe of a thermal history retrieved through temperature profiles through the sediment (Della Vedova et al., 2005).

As mentioned above, there are significant physical and chemical impacts of the warming and saltying trends of the Med, arising from decadal-scale changes in the overturning circulation. However, their effect on functional groups cannot be assessed due to the sporadic nature of information and the complicity of processes involved.

High

Moderate

Non related GES component

Non related GES component

Increasing

Increase

One of the major human activities that interfere with the hydrological processes of the marine environment is the burning of fossil fuels, thus increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the consequent enhancement of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, resulting to increased temperatures at the surface of the Earth. According to IPCC report increased temperatures and about 30% more drought in the Mediterranean basin are expected. The second human activity interfering with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. The second human activity that interferes with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. One last group of activities, capable of playing a local role, is the interference with the land-sea water exchange at local level. River damming, the use of water for cooling coastal powerplants, desalinization plants, urban water sewage facilities can disturb the freshwater, heat and salt balance of a coastal area, depending on the rate of renewal of its water body. Of the three above classes, the major disturbances arise from river damming (and also large sewage and water deflection facilities), however as most of the construction took place in the 1970s and 1980s, there is a lack of data for assessing the effects of damming on the local coastal hydrological balances. There are no recorded examples of significant local disturbances of the hydrological processes in theIonian Sea due to heat or salt pollution from local human activities

One of the major human activities that interfere with the hydrological processes of the marine environment is the burning of fossil fuels, thus increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the consequent enhancement of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, resulting to increased temperatures at the surface of the Earth. According to IPCC report increased temperatures and about 30% more drought in the Mediterranean basin are expected. The second human activity interfering with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. The second human activity that interferes with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. One last group of activities, capable of playing a local role, is the interference with the land-sea water exchange at local level. River damming, the use of water for cooling coastal powerplants, desalinization plants, urban water sewage facilities can disturb the freshwater, heat and salt balance of a coastal area, depending on the rate of renewal of its water body. Of the three above classes, the major disturbances arise from river damming (and also large sewage and water deflection facilities), however as most of the construction took place in the 1970s and 1980s, there is a lack of data for assessing the effects of damming on the local coastal hydrological balances. There are no recorded examples of significant local disturbances of the hydrological processes in theIonian Sea due to heat or salt pollution from local human activities

One of the major human activities that interfere with the hydrological processes of the marine environment is the burning of fossil fuels, thus increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the consequent enhancement of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, resulting to increased temperatures at the surface of the Earth. According to IPCC report increased temperatures and about 30% more drought in the Mediterranean basin are expected. The second human activity interfering with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. The second human activity that interferes with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. One last group of activities, capable of playing a local role, is the interference with the land-sea water exchange at local level. River damming, the use of water for cooling coastal powerplants, desalinization plants, urban water sewage facilities can disturb the freshwater, heat and salt balance of a coastal area, depending on the rate of renewal of its water body. Of the three above classes, the major disturbances arise from river damming (and also large sewage and water deflection facilities), however as most of the construction took place in the 1970s and 1980s, there is a lack of data for assessing the effects of damming on the local coastal hydrological balances. There are no recorded examples of significant local disturbances of the hydrological processes in theIonian Sea due to heat or salt pollution from local human activities

One of the major human activities that interfere with the hydrological processes of the marine environment is the burning of fossil fuels, thus increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the consequent enhancement of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, resulting to increased temperatures at the surface of the Earth. According to IPCC report increased temperatures and about 30% more drought in the Mediterranean basin are expected. The second human activity interfering with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. The second human activity that interferes with hydrological processes is the alteration of land-sea freshwater exchanges mostly through the construction of dams and use of water in human activities. It has been shown that the construction of dams throughout the Mediterranean is accountable for about 40% of the observed salinity rise (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004; Skliris et al., 2006), and that estimate could be higher after consideration also of Central and Eastern European rivers outflowing in the Black Sea. This activity, after reaching its peak in the 1970s is now gradually reduced, and the regionally-induced freshwater balance changes are being stabilized. The construction of Suez canal can be included in this activity. The connection to the Red Sea is a salt source for the Mediterranean, however its effects regarding the direct hydrological processes and the saltwater budget of the Mediterranean are minimal, when compared with the river damming. One last group of activities, capable of playing a local role, is the interference with the land-sea water exchange at local level. River damming, the use of water for cooling coastal powerplants, desalinization plants, urban water sewage facilities can disturb the freshwater, heat and salt balance of a coastal area, depending on the rate of renewal of its water body. Of the three above classes, the major disturbances arise from river damming (and also large sewage and water deflection facilities), however as most of the construction took place in the 1970s and 1980s, there is a lack of data for assessing the effects of damming on the local coastal hydrological balances. There are no recorded examples of significant local disturbances of the hydrological processes in theIonian Sea due to heat or salt pollution from local human activities

• AgricultForestry
• Industry
• NotReported

• AgricultForestry
• Industry
• NotReported

• AgricultForestry
• Industry
• NotReported

• AgricultForestry
• Industry
• NotReported

There definitely exists lack of information, mostly due to the spatially sporadic provision of information, which stalls any effort to produce results relating interference of hydrological processes with physical, chemical or blogical impacts. To this effect we propose a national-wide network of stations to be regularly sampled on the required parameters.

There definitely exists lack of information, mostly due to the spatially sporadic provision of information, which stalls any effort to produce results relating interference of hydrological processes with physical, chemical or blogical impacts. To this effect we propose a national-wide network of stations to be regularly sampled on the required parameters.

There definitely exists lack of information, mostly due to the spatially sporadic provision of information, which stalls any effort to produce results relating interference of hydrological processes with physical, chemical or blogical impacts. To this effect we propose a national-wide network of stations to be regularly sampled on the required parameters.

There definitely exists lack of information, mostly due to the spatially sporadic provision of information, which stalls any effort to produce results relating interference of hydrological processes with physical, chemical or blogical impacts. To this effect we propose a national-wide network of stations to be regularly sampled on the required parameters.