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Description
Programme outcome the project contributes to: “Enhanced performance of Portuguese research organizations” The project will support acquisition to the Mar Portugal research vessel in order to make this a fully-fledged multidisciplinary scientific platform equipped with modern hull mounted survey equipment for seabed mapping, environmental, ecology and fisheries research to support marine knowledge and insure sustainability of Blue Growth economic activities. The project will fund investment on acquisitions, such as: full oceanic range multibeam for seabed, habitat mapping, water column studies and to retrieve baseline data for economic uses and activities at sea; acoustic probes to increase the quality of fisheries monitoring and assessment;a sub-bottom profiler for subsurface studies and supporting I&T infrastructure.
Summary of project results
Sea operations costs are high and therefore oceanic research vessels must be prepared for multi-purpose operations and acquire as much as possible oceanographic and other environmental data, to be made openly available to the whole community. When acquired by IPMA in 2015, the research vessel (RV) Mário Ruivo undertook significant transformations to become a new platform to conduct research on the Atlantic Ocean for fishing research and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations. Still, further improvements under the present project, through the installation of a set of hull-mounted sensors to optimize the acquisition of oceanographic data during ship operations allowed the fulfilment of this predefined project objectives.
The installation of scientific equipment on the hull of the vessel, equipped the vessel with:• Scientific Split Beam Echo Sounder Simrad EK80, 6 Channel System + Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP 150kHz) for continuous ocean current measurements;• Omnidirectional Sonar Simrad SX95 to better estimate biomass and distribution of mesopelagic and epipelagic fishes or macrozooplankon;• Deep Water Multibeam Echo Sounder EM 304 for detailed seafloor mapping; and • Sub-bottom profiler TOPAS PS 18 to image the sub-seafloor.
The project allowed to improve IPMA’s vessel capacities and provide the Portuguese and international scientific community with a state-of-the-art multipurpose platform and tools to increase the robustness of studies related with habitat mapping, acoustic oceanographic monitoring and research, or interaction with seafloor and water column observatories, contributing to increase scientific knowledge, specially within the application of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
Summary of bilateral results
All the phases of the selection, adaptation and upgrade of the research vessel have been developed in the framework of the cooperation between IPMA and the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR). IMR has a vast experience in managing and operating research vessels, with highly qualified staff in the acquisition, maintenance and operation of scientific equipment used in the vessels. IMR deep experience in marine technologies, oceanographic surveys and scientific equipment operations were crucial to the definition of the technical specifications of the hull-mounted equipment, but also during drydock and sea acceptance tests. Furthermore, as a donor partner, IMR is actively involved in European Research Vessel operators (ERVO) and International Research Ship Operators (IRSO) and therefore has all the knowledge and updated insights in the latest solutions for improving services to the scientific community and developing best practice in the operation of research vessels (RV). Close collaboration with this bilateral partner provided a unique opportunity to exchange information on their national fleets, highlighting trends in the requirements for sea-going vessels and new technological developments for RV operations