COOPERATION ON CAMPAIGNS
EMEPC’s operational capacity enables it to expand the scope for carrying out oceanographic campaigns in collaboration with public or private institutions in other countries.
TAGUSMAG CAMPAIGN
The TAGUSMAG oceanographic campaign began between 8 and 20 October 2020, and the first in a series of high-resolution magnetic surveys in the Tagus delta area, from Oeiras to Guincho, up to a distance of about 13 km from the coast. A campaign by IPMA - Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera in collaboration with EMEPC.
EMEPC collaborated by providing its vessel Selvagem Grande and its technical team, as well as the magnetometer that will allow the execution of the first part of this survey.
This survey will continue in the near future.
Selvagem Grande Vessel and Technical Team in the Tagusmag campaign
EXPLOSEA CAMPAIGN
Between February 9th and March 19th, 2019, EMEPC memberswere in Antarctica to participate in the EXPLOSEA campaign, within the scope of the existing collaboration between EMEPC and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (CSIC / IGME).
The Antarctic campaign took place on board the Spanish ship BIO Hespérides (A33), off the Decepcion and Livingston Islands, in the South Shetland archipelago.
The objective of the EXPLOSEA project is focused on the study of underwater emissions associated with volcanism, to which EMEPC contributed, in addition to specialized equipment, with experience and technical knowledge in the operation of such equipment for data collection. Numerous CTD profiles (conductivity, temperature and depth), dredgers, water samples were collected and high resolution videos were recorded from the study areas.
It was an enriching experience and full of learning, because the operational challenges were faced in a more extreme environment, with more rigid rules and procedures that forced an adaptation, even for those who already have some oceanographic campaigns in their curriculum.
Official project page: http://www.igme.es/explosea/index.html
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Team of technical and scientific participants in the Explosea1 campaign
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Team of technical and scientific participants in the Explosea1 campaign
ALSSOMAR CAMPAIGN
Between August 29 and September 7, 2019, a team fom the of Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC), collaborated in an oceanographic campaign within the scope of the ALSSOMAR research project. Collaboration achieved through the participation of ROV Luso and its team of pilots, to carry out the planned oceanographic operations, and represented yet another opportunity for technical-scientific cooperation between Portugal and Spain.
The campaign took place on board the ship B / O Sarmiento de Gamboa, off the Alborán Sea, namely in the Cannon of Motril and Carchuna. The objective of the project was to study the upper part of a continental margin (platform and embankment) in an integrated way from a source-sink perspective and transfer / storage of sediments.
The campaign was coordinated by the Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (IACT), which was joined by researchers and technicians from several entities in addition to EMEPC, namely:
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IEO: Instituto Español de Oceanografía;
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HMI: Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina;
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UALG: University of Algarve (Portugal);
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UB: Universidad de Barcelona;
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UGR: Universidad de Granada;
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ULPGC: Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria;
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UTM: Marina de CSIC Technology Unit;
During the campaign ROV dives were carried out between 250m and 730m in depth, which allowed the collection of high definition images, data from multiple physical-chemical parameters of the marine environment and samples of various types (geological, biological, sediments and water) .
More information:
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Team of technical and scientific participants in the Explosea1 campaign
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Team of technical and scientific participants in the Explosea1 campaign
OOM2018 CAMPAIGN
The Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC) collaborated in the Oceanographic Campaign OOM-2018 of the Madeira Ocean Observatory on board the NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho of the Hydrographic Institute . OOM researchers embarked to collect opportunistic oceanographic data between the island of Madeira and the Savage Islands . The records were made with the ADCP and uCTD equipment, which were operated by EMEPC technicians. After 1840 miles traveled and more than 715 hours of navigation, the hydrographic ship Almirante Gago Coutinho ended its mission in Madeira, where it had been since 29 June. During this period, the ship carried out various scientific activities in collaboration with the Madeira Ocean Observatory, of which the EMEPC LUSO ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) operations stand out, which enabled the discovery of a coral garden to the south of the island. da Madeira in the Ribeira Brava area, and oceanographic surveys to study the atmosphere-ocean interaction on the south coast of Madeira.
ROV Pilot Team at the OOM 2018 Campaign
BLUE OCEAN EXPEDITION - 2018
Within the scope of the Oceano Azul scientific expedition, a new hydrothermal field was discovered in the Azores. Located at a depth of 570 meters, on the Giant Seamount, 60 miles from the island of Faial, this new hydrothermal field “Luso” is an area of high biological and mineral wealth.
It is the first time that an expedition organized by a Portuguese institution, led by Portuguese scientists and using ships and national means, locates a hydrothermal field in deep waters in our maritime territory.
The expedition is organized by the Blue Ocean Foundation in partnership with the Waitt Foundation and the National Geographic Pristine Seas , and in collaboration with the Portuguese Navy through the Hydrographic Institute , the Azores Regional Government and the Task Group for the Extension Platform Continental (EMEPC) with the ROV "LUSO" . This is one of the most complete expeditions carried out in national waters, and aims to explore areas still little known in the Azores to promote marine conservation under the "Blue Azores" program.
Scientists from several national research centers, such as IMAR , MARE , CCMAR , CIBIO and the University of the Azores , and internationals from the University of Hawaii , the University of California at Santa Barbara , the University of Western Australia , participate in the expedition. and CSIC , IEO and Museu do Mar de Ceuta in Spain.
See the campaign final report HERE
Chimney of the new field where hydrothermal activity is visible.
[Image courtesy of ROV "LUSO" Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf]
Giant seamount map (top right) showing the separation between the American and European plates
[Image provided by the Portuguese Navy Hydrographic Institute]
ROV dive "LUSO" seen aft of the hydrographic ship NRP "Almirante Gago Coutinho"
[Image courtesy of the Oceano Azul Foundation by Nuno Sá]
PES Medusa DeepSea CAMPAIGN
From the 31st of May to the 5th of June, the oceanographic PES campaign was carried out on board the Sarmiento de Gamboa Research Ship. The campaign was part of the PES Research project: Pockmarks and fluid escape structures in Esporão da Estremadura: implications for regional geology, biology and petroleum systems, with FCT funding (PTDC / GEO-FIQ / 5162/2014). This cruise started in Vigo on 31 May and returned to Lisbon on 5 June. The campaign was coordinated by IPMA with the collaboration of the Portuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC), the University of Aveiro and the Instituto Superior Técnico.
During this campaign, 270 nautical miles of multibeam bathymetry, 45 nautical miles of multi-channel reflection seismic (with two different systems and complementary resolutions) were acquired, 21 sampling stations and 1 dive with ROV Luso (EMEPC).
New occurrences of pockmarks were identified in Esporão da Estremadura and, the data collected, will allow to characterize the activity of these structures. This campaign also made it possible to successfully conduct sea trials of the AUV Medusa, developed under the MEDUSA DEEP SEA project (medusadeepsea.com).
Team of technical and scientific participants in the PES Medusa DeepSea campaign
Scientific work in the PES Medusa DeepSea campaign
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MOWER14-LEG1 CAMPAIGN
The MOWER14 Leg 1 campaign was carried out in the Gulf of Cadiz area and within the framework of the Spanish research project with the same name, between 1 and 12 September 2014 on board the Spanish research ship Sarmiento de Gamboa. The main objective of this project is to study the erosive aspects and sandy deposits associated with Mediterranean Water throughout Iberia, and their paleoceanographic, sedimentary and economic implications. After the success of the SUBVENT-2 campaign, the realization of the MOWER14 Leg 1 campaign represented yet another opportunity for technical-scientific cooperation between Portugal and Spain, using the EMEPC Luso ROV. In addition to the ROV Luso pilots, researchers from different countries and institutions, including Portugal, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, participated in this campaign. The MOWER14 Leg 1 campaign had the goal to investigate the morphology and nature of the sedimentary cover of the channels cut by the circulation of Mediterranean Water, also known as MOW (Mediterranean Outflow Water). ROV Luso performed several dives,, collecting biological samples, sediments and rock.
Team of technical and scientific participants in the Mower14 campaign
Spanish research ship Sarmiento de Gamboa, where MOWER campaigns were carried out in 2014
Sampling performed by ROV LUSO in the MOWER campaign
SUBVENT-LEG2 CAMPAIGN
Between the 9th of March and the 13th of April 2014, the SUBVENT-2 campaign took place, a joint seabed exploration expedition with the ROV Luso that made it possible to collect images of the deep seabed of the Gulf of Cadiz, the Canaries and Madeira. On board the Spanish oceanographic vessel “Sarmiento de Gamboa”, this expedition resulted from scientific cooperation between Portugal and Spain and had as main objective to sample and analyze the mud volcanoes existing in the Gulf of Cadiz between 1,000 and more than 3,000 meters in depth. In the Canary Islands, underwater images of all volcanic relief formed during the last eruption off the island of El Hierro beginning in late 2011 were also collected.
Team of technical and scientific participants in the Subvent 2 campaign
Team of technical and scientific participants in the Subvent 2 campaign