The E2M3A site is a two mooring system where the main one hosts the surface buoy instrumented with meteorological station and radiometers to collect air-sea interaction measurements, sensors for physical (temperature and salinity) and biochemical (oxygen, partial CO2 and pH) parameters distributed in the mixed layer, telemetry and services. The surface buoy collects the acquired data and transmits them in real time to the on-line server. The secondary mooring line houses an instrumental chain with sensors at different depths for physical and chemical measurements from the sea floor to the intermediate layer. The site has been working almost continuously since 2006 and provides the longest high-resolution time series of physical parameters in the open sea to assess the response of the Adriatic to climatic influences. It is devoted to the study of dense water formation processes, water mass properties, biogeochemical cycles and cascading in the southern Adriatic Sea, and to the understanding of ecosystem functions, especially related to carbon sequestration dynamics and acidification processes in deep waters.

The site provides data in NRT (surface layer and meteo), while the intermediate and deep layers are made in delayed mode. NRT of the thermohaline measurements of the intermediate and deep layers will be available after 2025.