Pedro Madureira is Deputy at EMEPC and technical and scientific coordinator of the project to extend the Portuguese continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. He is responsible for the first stage of the iMirabilis campaign, where a multidisciplinary team of ROV technicians/pilots, geologists, biologists and oceanographers will be working on board the B/O Sarmiento de Gamboa. He has a background in Geology and his main interest in this first stage is the collection of geological data and sampling of volcanic rocks from the Azores-Biscay Ridge, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of the geological evolution of the North Atlantic.

Luisa Pinto Ribeiro is a geologist and works at the Mission Structure for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC), having been aboard several oceanographic campaigns. His main interest is the geochemical characterization of underwater volcanic rock samples and the study of deep magmatic processes at the origin of seamounts and underwater volcanic structures. He is particularly interested in the volcanic structures of the North Atlantic and in the extension area of the Portuguese continental shelf and his research has focused on the Seamounts Chain south of the Azores and seamounts along the Madeira-Tore ridge. During the first part of the iMirabilis cruise and with the ROV Luso, she will focus on geological characterization and sampling of volcanic rocks from one of the main seamounts located on the Azores-Biscay ridge.

Inês Tojeira is a deep sea ecologist dedicated to the study of biodiversity and the community structure of deep water ecosystems in the North Atlantic. She is especially interested in benthic communities, including cold water corals and deep sea sponge aggregations and their associated habitats. He has over 12 years of experience in deep sea sampling using remotely operated vehicles (ROV).

Teresa Rafael is a biologist and member of the EMEPC team. It is the first time that he has embarked on an oceanographic campaign at B/O Sarmiento de Gamboa and he believes that it will be a great opportunity to learn a lot about sampling and processing of deep sea samples and the challenges that arise in monitoring their environmental status.

Maria Simões is a specialist in Geographic Information Systems at EMEPC. He has extensive experience working with marine data. She is a first-year PhD student at the University of Évora. This expedition will help you to characterize the morphogenetic processes in the western Portuguese continental margin and adjacent ocean basins, based on the analysis of multibeam bathymetry data and seismic profiles.

Mónica Albuquerque has a master's degree in Marine Ecology and has been working at EMEPC since 2009 as a biologist. He is part of the team of biologists on board that will observe and sample the biodiversity and ecosystems of the deep sea using the Luso ROV.  He is responsible for EMEPC's Communication and Education, for which he will be responsible for dissemination of the work on board of the first part of the Campaign. This is his 6th campaign with the ROV Luso, the 2nd at the B/O Sarmiento de Gamboa, totaling 104 working days with the ROV Luso. 

Antonio Calado is the coordinator of the ROV Luso project at EMEPC, and is also responsible for the offshore scientific operations promoted by this institution. António has worked at EMEPC since the beginning of the project in 2005 and also coordinates the team of pilots of the ROV Luso. It participates annually in several oceanographic campaigns mainly focused on deep sea environments, led by EMEPC or partner entities, and coordinates the operational part of most of these campaigns. Spent over 500 days at sea since 2007!

Andreia Afonso has a degree in Marine Sciences, specializing in Physical Oceanography. He works at EMEPC since 2008, where he received pilot training and ROV technology, becoming part of the technical team of the ROV LUSO that dives up to 6000m. It participated in approximately 21 multidisciplinary missions, half of which were part of the Portuguese Continental Shelf Extension Project, involving deep sea research. She is very interested and motivated by the conceptualization, development and implementation of new technologies and tools. In this campaign, you will be in ROV operations, from piloting to launching and recovering the equipment, going through navigation and sampling with ROV Luso instruments. You will also carry out the maintenance and repair of this equipment on a daily basis.

Miguel Souto has a degree in Oceanography and a specialization in Hydrography. He has worked at EMEPC since 2008, in the Luso ROV project and in the continental shelf extension project. In addition to piloting the ROV, the focus of his work on board is computer maintenance, and ensuring the integration of different systems between the ship and the Luso ROV.

Bruno Ramos has a degree in Electrical Engineering and has worked at EMEPC since 2014, where he works as a pilot for the ROV Luso. In this campaign you will be in ROV operations as a pilot and in their daily maintenance.

Renato Bettencourt works at IMAR - Portuguese Institute of Marine Research since 2006 as a senior ROV Pilot with a lot of experience in multiple tasks involving maintenance and repair of systems. He has collaborated with EMEPC and the pilot team since 2010, performing multiple tasks involving hydraulics, system mechanics and operations planning, with a total of 102 hours of operating experience and a total of 290 days at sea. He also collaborates as a Technician/Operator of the Hyperbaric Medical Treatment System at the Public Hospital of Horta, where he has about 700 hours of experience.

Sandra Velez is a laboratory technician at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Évora. Tem    experiência    em amostragem de rochas (onshore) e sedimentos marinhos. He participated in several oceanographic campaigns in partnership with several institutions. In the first part of the iMirabilis2 campaign, you will help organize and handle the samples collected by the Luso ROV. She feels motivated to be part of this team and looks forward to the whole experience.

Pedro Farias is a PhD student in microbiology with an interest in microbial communities in places impacted by anthropogenic action and in the tools developed by these organisms. He has a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Coimbra and has been working in the field of microbiology for 8 years. At iMirabilis2, he will be responsible for processing water and sediment samples from benthic environments for further microbiological analysis. This is his first time participating in this adventure and he is excited to make his contribution and learn more about microbial communities different from the ones he usually studies.

Nuno Vasco Rodrigues is a marine biologist with a master's degree in Integrated Ocean Studies. Throughout his career, he was involved in several marine conservation projects and participated in a large number of scientific expeditions, which provided him with a deep understanding of marine life. He is the author of dozens of scientific articles and 3 books on marine fauna, having contributed to many others. As a photographer, he specialized in marine conservation, using the image as a study and communication tool, aiming at conservation. His images have been widely published in books, newspapers and magazines and also exhibited worldwide, with several of them having been awarded prizes in international competitions.

Ricardo Capela has a degree in Aquatic Sciences from the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences and is currently finishing his PhD in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. He is developing his work in the Endocrine Disruptors and Environmental Contaminants (EDEC) group, at the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), a research and training institution at the University of Porto.

Ana Rita Pereira is a geologist and one of her main interests is the study of the mineralization of the seabed. During his master's thesis he studied ferromanganese crusts from the North Atlantic and, at the moment, is doing a professional internship at the aspiring Geoparque Oeste.

Participation in the iMirabilis2 expedition is very important because it will be your first oceanographic expedition. During this expedition, you will help the EMEPC geology team. He hopes to collect some samples of ferromanganese crusts, as these mineralizations are one of his main interests for future studies.

Caio Fontes is an oceanographer with a master's degree in Physical Oceanography. It integrates Colab + ATLANTIC in the Data Sciences subdomain. He has extensive experience in data processing, qualification and analysis, from in situ collection to remote sensing. Most of the time, he worked developing tools to monitor, process and qualify data from different sources, from oceanographic buoys to autonomous vehicles (glider). He is also a glider pilot. In this campaign, you are interested in knowing and better understanding the functioning and capabilities of the Luso ROV so that you can design ways to use this type of equipment in offshore operations (inspections and maintenance), for example, in wind farms._cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_

Kelsey Barnhill delved into Deep Sea Ecology for her PhD after studying tropical corals for her Masters in Tropical Ecology and Natural Resource Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. A member of the Changing Oceans Study Group at the University of Edinburgh, Kelsey is an iAtlantic Fellow, Early Career Researcher at One Ocean Hub and Atlantic Ocean Youth Ambassador to the UK. His research focuses on the impacts of multiple stressors on the habitat-structuring cold-water coral, Lophelia pertusa. This will be Kelsey's fourth cruise and she is excited to participate in the entire iMirabilis2 campaign, boosting onboard dissemination by integrating the scientific team.

Beatriz Vinha is a marine biologist and currently a first-year doctoral student. With special interest in deep sea benthic megafauna. The iMirabilis2 expedition is extremely important for the work you will carry out during your PhD. With the videos collected by ROV Luso, it intends to characterize and quantify, for the first time, the deepwater megabenthic communities of Cape Verde in terms of biodiversity and spatial distribution patterns. Beatriz will also collect samples to investigate the trophic ecology of Cape Verde's benthic habitats using stable isotopes and fatty acid analysis.

Herculano Dinis has a degree in Biology and is Executive Director of the Projecto Vito Association. The Vito Project is one of the largest Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in Cape Verde and works in the conservation of marine and coastal resources.

Nadito Barbosa has a degree in Biological and Environmental Sciences and is coordinator of the Cape Verde Seabirds project on Fogo Island at the Vito Project Association. PO Projecto Vito is one of the largest Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in Cape Verde and works in the conservation of marine and coastal resources.

Carlos Arabella is a freelance biologist. He works as an ornithologist, conservationist and naturalist. In the Imirabilis2 campaign you will participate in the seabird observation team. The onboard task will focus on the census of oceanic birds such as shearwaters and petrels, but you will love to observe any other animals (whales, turtles, fish... are also welcome) . Hope the sea conditions allow it. And honestly, it's going to take a lot of pictures for sure!