The site
Geographical location
The mussel farms are located north-east of the river Axios mouth, which forms an extensive delta, together with the rivers Aliakmon, Loudias and Gallikos (a Ramsar Wetland named “Axios, Loudias, Aliakmon Delta”). The nearest town is Chalastra in Delta Municipality. The facility is close to the National Highway (A1), which runs from Athens to Thessaloniki, with the nearest exit at around 5 km from the site.
Water source and quality
The sea substrate in the Thermaikos gulf
ranges from silt and clay at the North and the West areas, to sand
and silt at the South and East areas of the gulf. The temperature of
the water varies between a maximum of 27 - 28 oC in the summer and a
minimum of 7 - 8 oC during wintertime. There is no freezing
occurrence around the mussel farm area. Concerning the
hydrodynamics of the area, the sea currents direction and velocities
are wind-driven in the mussel culture area where the prevailed winds
are northwest during winter while in summer prevail the southwest
winds. A huge influence in the hydrodynamics of the gulf turns up to
be the four rivers discharges into the sea, along the west
shoreline.
Water quality at the site varies and depends on the various activities that take place in the drainage basins (agriculture, industrial activities, urbanization, tourism) and also on the ones that take place in the marine area (navigation, mussel culture, fisheries). The water quality of the inner Thermaikos gulf (bay of Thessaloniki) and in a lesser extend the south- east costal zone, present eutrophic to mesotrophic conditions (>2,00mg/m3 chl-a, 0.60 – 2.00 mg/m3 chl-a), while the mussel culture area presents oligitrophic conditions (<0.10 mg/m3 chl-a). Data taken from the ARCHIMEDES II Project of ATEITH (2006-2007) entitled: “Water circulation in mussel culture areas and environmental management practices”.
Weather and climate
The climate is of Mediterranean
type with hot and dry summers and cold humid winters. The average
annual temperature is 14 oC. The hottest month is July with maximum
temperature 25 oC. The coldest month is February with minimum
temperature 5 oC. The contribution of rainfall presents high
variation. The mean annual precipitation is up to 55 mm. Winds of
North/Northwest direction predominate mainly during winter
(information taken from Hellenic National Meteorological Service
www.hnms.gr).
Infrastructure
The nearest town is Chalastra in Delta Municipality. The facility is close to the National Highway (A1), which runs from Athens to Thessaloniki, with the nearest exit at around 5 km from the site. The closest international airport to Chalastra in Thessaloniki is the Macedonia International Airport (about 23 km).