The Island of Pantelleria (Sicily Strait, Italy): towards the establishment of a marine protected area. First oceanographic investigations

The Island of Pantelleria, located in the Sicily Strait (Italy), is not yet included on the list of Italian MPAs. A preliminary investigation about the hydrochemistry, at spatial and short-time scales, performed in late-summer 2001, is reported in this paper. Vertical, continuous measurements of temperature and salinity and discrete samplings of nutrients and chlorophyll a were carried out at 10 coastal stations. Results showed a strong thermal stratification, while the oligotrophic feature of the water column was pointed out by the low nutrients and chlorophyll aconcentrations. Short-time T and S variations (every 10 minutes for 5 days) at a selected station, by a self-recording probe moored at a 22 m depth, showed a very dynamic pattern, probably driven by the tide.