European Research Council supporting the PANhellenic GEophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA)

An innovative research infrastructure, unique in Southeast Europe, was recently implemented on the island of Antikythira. The PANhellenic GEophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA) was created by the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), as a central reference station for tracking climate and geophysical parameters. The first actions and measurements of the Observatory have already been funded by ERC - European Research Council (ERC), as part of a research project that focuses on the study of dust transportation from the Sahara Desert.

The original idea and the realisation of the project began in 2017 with the active support of the Municipality of Kythera, the Kythera and Antikythera Commission for domestic property, the Region of Attica and the Ministry for Education and Religious Affairs.  ERC laid the foundations for the creation of the observatory and the early stages of operation through the participation of NOA in the Horizon 2020 research project D-TECT - Does dust TriboElectrification affect our ClimaTe’.

The prospect of a supersite on this remote island has captured the interest of the European Investment Bank which will invest 20 million euros in the atmospheric monitoring at the Observatory, while private companies and foundations in Greece also support the establishment (e.g. COSMOTE and Stavros Niarchos Foundation).

As noted in an NOA announcement concerning the implementation of the project, Greece is among the leaders of European research into climate change, the study of the impact on the development of early warning services and research into geophysical phenomena.