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Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO) is a international partnership, between the academic community and the private sector in the field of research and education on climate change and the environment in the Mediterranean region.

NEO started its full operation in 2010 as a collaboration between Stockholm University, the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA) and the Tourism Enterprises of Messinia S.A. (TEMES), and has already become an international hub for research and education, where scientists from all over the world meet to exchange knowledge and ideas.

NEO Station is located at Costa Navarino, Messina, Greece and is open to researchers and students from Stockholm University and collaborating institutions as well as to other universities from Greece, abroad and other interested societal stakeholders. Together, they learn and share their challenges and propose solutions for sustainable development.

Our vision for the future

For the past 10 years, researchers associated with NEO has studied climate change and its impacts on natural environment and human activities in the Mediterranean region, with a focus on atmospheric composition, water resources, current climate variations and future climate projections.

For the next five years, NEO intends to serve as international hub in Mediterranean region to:

1. Explore the current lack of knowledge on climate change in the Mediterranean region

2. Review and investigate Mediterranean land degradation problems connected with extreme events

3. Identify water and food security issues in the Mediterranean region

4. Investigate the impact of climate change on Mediterranean economic sectors

5. Develop solutions and business roadmaps under ongoing climate and anthropogenic changes and evaluate their feasibility in Mediterranean region

6. Bring together scientists, business companies and policy makers to address complex issues of environmental management

7. Tackle global challenges through research,

collaboration activities and business partnership

Research

NEO is running a wide range of research topics which support several of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations Agenda 2030, as well as of the Paris Agreement. In the follow schema you can see all of the research topics and click on them for further information.

Agriculture & Food systems

Human-induced Interventions: Impacts & Responses

Society & Sustainable Development

Water Resources & Management

Atmospheric Composition & Aerosol Dynamics

Past Climate Variability & Geomorphological Evolution

Biodiversity- Ecosystems, Conservation & Restoration

Climate Change

For our Research Projects

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Environmental observations

NEO's researchers have installed a monitoring network in order to collect missing data and study the hydroclimate and atmospheric parameters of the region.

To better understand the processes (natural and anthropogenic) affecting the wetland, apart from field observations (e.g. birds, reptiles), NEO has established a network of sensors for monitoring basic water physical-chemical parameters (see map below). The network, consisting of a meteorological station and several water monitoring stations, was first installed in 2016 (NEONEA_20), and it has been updated in 2021. The parameters we are measuring are:

Hydroclimate parameters

Electrical conductivity
Temperature
Depth
ReDox potential, pH
Dissolved oxygen

Meteorology

Precipitation
Temperature
Soil radiation
Wind speed & direction

An atmospheric monitoring station operates at NEO (Methoni, Greece) since 2011, to track climate change signals and air pollution in Mediterranean region. It is an important part of a European Network and fills the gap of missing data from this part of Europe. Physical, optical and chemical properties of aerosols and local-to-regional scale pollution and atmospheric composition are monitored and analyzed in relation to observations on a wider scale of the Mediterranean region.

Monitoring and analyses of socio-ecological parameters in the nearby coastal lagoon (Gialova lagoon) and adjacent streams, rivers and cultivated land, were initiated in 2016 aiming to provide viable alternatives for long-term biodiversity conservation, eco-tourism, and sustainable agricultural development. The process takes into account resilience to future climate changes and minimization of the impact of tourism and agricultural activities on the Natura 2000 sites, exploiting the expertise and experience of local stakeholders.

Education

NEO facilities are open to teachers and students from Stockholm University, Swedish schools and collaborating institutions, as well as to other Universities and schools from Greece and abroad.

Starting from the school level all the way up to the PhD level, subjects studied include geology, geomorphology, water resources, climate change and resilience, earth sciences, geography and interdisciplinary environmental management and sustainability among others.

The courses are organized by several universities from Sweden, Greece and other European countries, and attract many high esteemed scientists as lecturers or trainers. Many courses are being taught at NEO station annually.

If you are interested on doing your internship at NEO

Click here

Outreach

Workshops and popular events, such as café-NEO, are organized to promote research and to bring together academics, corporates and policy-makers to discuss important issues of local, regional and global interest.