European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

The field data campaign of 80 research cruises took place in two of the three project phases along the European continental shelf. The studies included regions of both narrow-shelf and broad-shelf environments. OMEX I was aimed at understanding, evaluating and modelling the processes happening along the northwest European shelf break. It collected extensive physical, chemical and biological measurements. A number of sites on the European continental margin were studied. The primary site was at the Goban Spur, to the south west of Cornwall, supported by comparison sites off northern Norway and Iberia. This phase ran from the beginning of April 1993 until the end of December 1995 and collected over 600 individual data sets during 47 research cruise legs.