The Azores and Mid-Atlantic Ridge area has special habitats associated with hydrothermal vents and sea floor morphology is distinct with recent crust spreading from the mid ocean ridge axis.

Why the Azores? Several international meetings promoted by the InterRidge community concluded that the Azores is the key area of the North Atlantic for continuous monitoring. This area extends over the Azores Islands and along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and offers a unique opportunity to monitor:

  • biodiversity of marine ecosystems
  • life in extreme environments,
  • the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
  • volcanic seamounts
  • response to environmental change
  • sustainable management of fishing resources/ biodiversity
  • chemical, geological, and geophysical processes
  • interactions over inter-annual to decadal scales of the air-sea interface, water column, seafloor and mantle


A regional seafloor system will be an important European contribution to the global network of seismic and magnetic Observatories, currently implemented to study the Earth's deep interior.

The MAR near the Azores is ideally located for this marine multidisciplinary observatory project: it is near port, allowing for short transit times for the deployment and retrieval of tools, and for cable deployment. It has been the focus of a great number of cruises in the past few years, as part of FARA (French-American Ridge Atlantic), the MARFLUX (MAST II, EC), AMORES and ASIMOV (MAST III, EC) and VENTOX (Framework V) European projects. The geological-geophysical background of this region is well constrained, as are the general characteristics of the known hydrothermal vents and the broad diversity of the associated ecosystems. From an oceanographic and climatic standpoint, an opportunity for remote observation of basin scale ocean circulation and its effect on long-term climate changes is possible.


Azores region cable to an observatory proposed by the MOMAR (Monitoring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) project (http://beaufix.ipgp.jussieu.fr/rech/lgm/MOMAR/)

The processes of interest are multi-scaled in space and time, requiring both fine and broad scale spatial sampling (cm to km), frequent temporal sampling, and sustained observation (inter-annual to decadal). Classical methods of observing the ocean fall short of such sampling requirements. They also fail to provide proper tools to detect and monitor episodic events (e.g. volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, bacterial blooms…). Long time-series measurements of critical biological, geological, chemical and physical parameters are needed; addressed only by establishing continuous long-term observing capabilities.

The MAR near the Azores is ideally located for this marine multidisciplinary observatory project: it is near port, allowing for short transit times for the deployment and retrieval of tools, and for cable deployment. It has been the focus of a great number of cruises in the past few years, as part of the FARA program (French-American Ridge Atlantic), the MARFLUX (MAST II EC programme), AMORES and ASIMOV (MAST III EC programme) and VENTOX (Framework V) European projects. The geological-geophysical background of this region is well constrained, as are the general characteristics of the known hydrothermal vents, and the broad diversity of the associated ecosystems. From an oceanographic and climatic standpoint, the MAR near the Azores also offers an opportunity for remote observation of basin scale ocean circulation and its effect on long-term climate changes.


3D Map of Azores region cable to an observatory proposed by the MOMAR (Monitoring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) project (http://beaufix.ipgp.jussieu.fr/rech/lgm/MOMAR/)

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