Integrated Multilevel Active Passive Ocean Current Education Advancement Network (I.M.A.P.O.C.E.A.N) experiment successfully started on the 30th of August 2020 at 08:50 am, UTC in the South East Ionian Sea, offshore Pylos (Peloponnese), Greece  (36º84’N, 21º61’E). Due to necessary vessel repairs by the Access Provider (HCMR), deployment was scheduled for April 2020. Unfortunately, COVID-19 halted countries’ sea going research activities worldwide, as well as travel restrictions and long periods of lockdowns.

HCMR AEGAEO RV started its cruise on the 29/08/20 from Heraklion Port and arrived at Pylos station. On the 30th two pairs of passive monitoring tools (Sea Horse Tilt Current Meters) were deployed at different depths on Hellenic Marine Research Center (HMCR) Deep Sea Research Buoy in Pylos, Greece, provided by the TNA-user-team (chief scientist Ariadne Dimoulas and the scientific team of the IMAPOCEAN project).

We look forward to the results of this experiment which is a new application for both teams involved, HCMR and Paramount Planet Product Company.