Mediterranean Science Commission

Organized in six scientific committees and various taskforces, CIESM spans a wide range of marine disciplines from geophysical, chemical and biological processes to high-resolution sea-bottom mapping. The illustration of Hacelia attenuata is reproduced from a plate created at the beginning of the century for a work dedicated to the oceanographic campaigns of H.S.H. Prince Albert I, aboard the yacht Princesse Alice. During the 1897 campaign, several individuals of this species were collected at a depth of 98 meters. Learn more about the biology and distribution of Hacelia attenuata here (descriptive sheet published in 1929). In service to society, the Commission continuously monitors crucial indicators of environmental change. This includes tracking warming trends in deep waters, the invasion of tropical species, and the alarming decline of shark populations and seabirds. The Mediterranean Sea is experiencing rapid and unprecedented changes. CIESM diligently monitors and analyses these trends across the entire Basin – from the impact of global warming on sea level and water masses to changes in marine biodiversity; from coastal morphological changes to the accumulation of trace metals in marine food chains.