%0 Journal Article
%A Carbo Gorosabel, Andrés
%A Muñoz Martín, Alfonso
%A Druet Vélez, María
%A Llanes Estrada, María Pilar
%A Álvarez García, Juan
%T New Gravity Map of the Western Galicia Margin:The Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone Project
%D 2004
%@ 0096-3941
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/52608
%X Since 1995, the most intensive mapping ofthe seafloor off the Spanish coast has beencarried out in the framework of the SpanishExclusive Economic Zone Project (ZEEE).Themain objectives of this project are to obtainimproved multibeam bathymetric cartographyof the areas off Spanish coastlines, and to performa geophysical survey,well-suited with a10-knot navigation velocity (some techniquesrequires lower navigation velocity).The geophysical survey includes gravity, geomagnetism,and low-penetration seismic techniquesin order to infer the geological structureof the seafloor. Other oceanographic variablessuch as current, surface salinity, and temperatureprofiles, can be recorded without compromisingthis systematic survey effort.The ZEEE Project has carried out its surveyactivities for one month every year.Dataacquisition is achieved aboard the SpanishR/V Hesperides. Until 1997, surveying effortsconcentrated on the Balearic Sea and ValenciaGulf, both in the western Mediterranean Sea.Between 1998 and 2000, the ZEEE Projectinvestigations were conducted offshore theCanary Archipelago. Since 2001, the thirdphase of the program has been focused onthe West Galicia Margin in the northeasternAtlantic Ocean.Survey results on the West Galicia Margin areaare of interest for two key reasons. First, thereis great scientific interest in the improvementof the knowledge of this non-volcanic riftingmargin, since this margin offers good conditionsfor the study of the processes that takeplace in this type of geological context,becauseit is sediment-starved.Second, the obtained results also have majorsocioeconomic repercussions because theycan prove significant to defining the expansionof the Spanish shelf,beyond Spain’s EconomicExclusive Zone distance of 200 nautical miles.All of the gravity data acquired to date onthis area have been stored as a database, withthe aim of preparing gravity anomaly mapson a scale 1:200,000.The database and gravityanomaly charts from the ZEEE Project willprovide the most coherent and complete gravityperspective available for this area.This article describes the efforts and accomplishmentsof the project to date.
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