The PANGEA project sets the baseline for NOA to fulfil its strategic goal for the establishment of the “PANhellenic GEophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA)“, following the monitoring standards of the Global Atmosphere Watch of the World Meteorological Organization (GAW/WMO). The island of Antikythera has been selected for PANGEA due to the fact that the geographic area is considered representative of the broader region in the Mediterranean since it is not affected by nearby anthropogenic activities. Furthermore, Antikythera is a significant location for monitoring the Hellenic Subduction Zone, a critical plate-boundary in southeast Mediterranean, along which the African and Eurasian plate converge. All the above make Antikythera an ideal natural laboratory, which at the same time is strategically located in an area that intercepts severe weather phenomena. In terms of temporal characteristics, the extended Mediterranean region around Antikythera underlies a rapidly changing environment, recognized by IPCC as one of the most sensitive and vulnerable to climate change regions on Earth.

The PANGEA Observatory, after the relevant decision of NOA’s Board of Directors (BoD), is being directed by a Provisional Committee (development team), led by the Director of NOA (Prof. Manolis Plionis), consisted by the directors of the 3 NOA Institutes (Prof. N. Michalopoulos, deputy director Dr. G. Drakatos and Dr. S. Basilakos) and the Scientific Committee SC which consists of one expert researcher from each of the three relevant to the PANGEA Research Entities (Dr. V. Amiridis – Head of the SC, Dr. C. Evangelidis and Dr. K. Bougatioti). This committee leads the development of the PANGEA Observatory on Antikythera Island, by coordinating the efforts of completion of the building and the procurement of the research equipment.