| Abstract | The project aims to investigate the area in Cilician Basin, in which few research has been conducted – the area between Cyprus and Turkish coastline - for the effects on ecosystem of the anthropogenic and natural changes. The previous studies that were conducted in between Cyprus and Turkey are limited and have no consistency so they cannot be considered as time series studies. Also, the knowledge about Northern Cyprus shores' oceanography, namely, onshore – offshore interactions, Cilician Basin's dynamics, time dependent bio-chemical changes, interactions with global climate changes and ecosystems is very poor and capabilities for determining “reference conditions” both for shore and offshore regions are little if non-existent due to the limited background research institutions in Northern Cyprus.
Within the framework of this project the oceanographic parameters (physical, biogeochemical, fisheries and sea-atmosphere interactions) will be observed during 2 years at the coasts of TRNC and Turkey and the open sea that lies between them. Furthermore the infrastructure of a time series station in Northern Cyprus coasts will be established and a foundation that enables scientists of these 2 countries to share their knowledge and experiences will be formed.
The obtained data will be evaluated, reference values will be assigned, the health of the ecosystem will be determined and the targets will be defined to reach the Good Environmental Conditions in regional waters to provide sustainability. The project will contribute to sustainable environment management and plans of actions in the region. Within this context, the entire food web, starting from primary producers to fishes as well as the effect of anthropogenic and natural variability on these components, will be explored. This project will be a baseline for the studies that will be conducted in the future.
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