INESC TEC Science&Society

Empowering the blue economy through innovation and technology

Eduardo Silva — 2023-07-05

The importance of our Oceans is widely acknowledged; not only in terms of economic activities but also in supporting life on our planet. Quantifying and valuing all activities associated with or supported by the ocean is quite complex.

Four-months of continuous operation of EMSO-ERIC Iberian Margin node

Mafalda Carapouço — 2023-07-05

The Atlantic dimension of Portugal led to the prioritisation of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory – Portugal (EMSO-PT) in the national scientific infrastructures’ roadmap. EMSO-PT is a research consortium that brings together 15 research institutions, aiming at implementing a network of multidisciplinary underwater observatories located along the Atlantic coast, laboratories, and data processing support infrastructures. The goal of EMSO-PT is to generate continuous scientific data on marine environmental processes related to the interaction between the geosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere and to develop new sensors and platforms which will extend ocean monitoring national capabilities soon.

SAILing to research Earth's climate

Susana Barbosa — 2023-07-05

In stormy weather situations, with thunder and lightning, we become aware (generally, and rightfully so, with a certain degree of fear) of the presence of electricity in the atmosphere. However, and although we don't always realise it, we are constantly surrounded by an intense electric field, even when the weather is good.

The development of a maritime technology and blue innovation ecosystem in the Northern region of the country

Rui Azevedo — 2023-07-05

The new European Innovation Agenda⁽¹⁾ sets an ambitious goal for the European Union: to lead the new wave of deep innovation, capable of presenting transformative solutions to address the challenges of digital transformation, decarbonisation, and circularity of the economy in favour of a more sustainable development model. To achieve this, it is necessary to combine scientific knowledge, technological development, and business capacity. Access to innovation infrastructures, the existence of testing and experimentation conditions, the ability to support and accelerate new startups, attract investment and endeavours are crucial conditions that need to be wisely combined to achieve the best possible results and address the different challenges posed by the demand for goods and services in the international market - in a sustainable manner.

Sharing Resources: The case for open maritime technology infrastructures

Paulo Mónica — 2023-07-05

With over 70% of the Earth's surface covered by water, the ocean constitutes a vast and largely unexplored frontier, holding untold potential for scientific discovery and innovation. It is also a still dormant source of much needed resources. Exploring the ocean may be one of the most dauting, fascinating and complex tasks that human beings have ever attempted.

The importance of creating a Technological Free Zone

João Piedade — 2023-07-05

The Decree-Law No. 67/2021 published in July 30 of 2021, established and defined the regime and governance model for the promotion of tech-based innovation through the creation of Technological Free Zones (TFZ).

Tackling Marine Litter with Technology: The Role of Innovation in Addressing a Global Problem

Hugo Miguel Silva — 2023-07-05

The world's oceans are facing a growing problem of marine litter, which is affecting marine life and the ecosystems that support them. The problem is so significant that it has been identified as a global issue that requires a coordinated effort from governments, industries, and individuals to mitigate its impact. While many initiatives and programmes have been put in place to address marine litter, can technology play a crucial role in tackling this problem? This article explores the potential of technology in addressing marine litter and the types of technology that can be used.

Marine Plastic Pollution: why is it a global concern? And how technology can help?

Sandra Ramos — 2023-07-05

Plastic is undoubtedly one of the most significant innovations of the last century. With its exceptional properties such as durability, resistance, and inertness, it has become a widely used material. This associated with its low production costs and versatile nature lead to an unprecedented overuse of plastic, resulting in an alarming amount of plastic waste in our ocean.

Combining Biotechnology and Robotics to tackle Oil Spills

Ana Paula Mucha — 2023-07-05

Marine oil spills are catastrophic events that lead to high losses of marine life and ecosystems. Oil spill incidents occur regularly during the exploration, production, refining, transport and storage of petroleum and petroleum products. In recent years, several oil spill disasters have occurred, with Deepwater Horizon (2010) being considered one of the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, leading to the spill of over 500.000 tons of crude oil, at the Gulf of México. In the last 50 years, several major spills occurred in the NW Iberian Peninsula, one of the main routes of oil cargo in Europe, because of tanker accidents. In 1975, the oil tanker Jakob Maersk, which was loaded with 80.000 tons of heavy crude oil and 4.000 tons of heavy fuel, hit a sandbank while entering the sea harbour of Leixões (Porto, North of Portugal) and ended up exploding and breaking apart. As a result, around 50.000 tons of oil were consumed by fire, 25.000 tons were drifted at sea and 15.000 tons came to shore. More recently, in 2002, the oil tanker Prestige sank 250 km from the coast of Galicia (North of Spain) spilling more than 60.000 tons of crude oil, polluting thousands of kilometres of coastline and causing great harm to the local fishing industry. This was considered one of the larger environmental disasters in the history of Iberian Peninsula. Jakob Maersk and Prestige cases occupy the 13th and 20th position, respectively, at the ranking of the worldwide major oil spills (ITOF 2015).

Recent Portuguese technological advances benefiting deep-sea biological research

Antonina dos Santos — 2023-07-05

Recently the exploitation of deep-sea resources, particularly the mesopelagic species, is gaining interest, as they are perceived as assets with significant potential for the pharmaceutical and food industries. But, despite some research programmes focused on their study, the existing technologies and methodologies are a major drawback, especially in Portugal. To increase the knowledge on deep-sea species, the HiperSea project developed competences and technologies through the construction of a hyperbaric system to capture living specimens in the seabed and the water column at high depths, transferring them to the surface and maintaining them alive in a hyperbaric aquarium.

Power from the seas – Why wind farms will turn into multi-source offshore energy parks

Simon Stark — 2023-07-05

The European offshore energy system is in the middle of a massive transformation that is driven by the ambitious large-scale targets for offshore wind expansion. In order to ensure a sustainable long-term development of the energy system on- and offshore, it’s crucial to foster a continuous innovation. With offshore floating solar and wave energy, the EU SCORES project demonstrates the integration of two innovative offshore energy technologies in offshore wind farms. To this end, the project demonstrates the technical feasibility while addressing key stakeholder challenges and specific scenarios for the large-scale implementation of multi-use energy parks.

Can deep-sea minerals help propel the world towards net-zero?

Bramley Murton — 2023-07-05

It is widely accepted that the use of fossil carbon-based fuels is environmentally unsustainable, causing significant and increasingly adverse effects on climates and ecosystems worldwide. As a result, there is a growing demand for alternative sources of energy, that are either renewable or carbon neutral. The aim, set by many industrialised nations, is to reach zero-net carbon by the second half of the 21^st Century [1]. This ambition will require a huge increase in production of base metals like copper, nickel, zinc, as well as scarcer minerals and elements critical to enabling a transition to low-carbon energy generation and transport.

Societal challenges and marine geology

Fátima Abrantes — 2023-07-05

The ocean is not only vast, but also complex. Nowadays, we cannot perceive it exclusively as a part of the Earth's hydrosphere - although this notion alone makes the ocean a complex system, consisting of water masses with specific physical and chemical properties, which move in different directions and at different depths.

The opportunities, challenges and advantages of deep-sea mining

Stef Kapusniak — 2023-07-05

Mining in the sea is not a new activity. It has been done since the times of the Roman Empire, an example being with the mining of copper-bearing ores around parts of the coast of Cyprus. Mining underneath the seafloor is also not a new activity, with historic mining of coal underneath the seafloor having taken place off many coastlines across the world. The safety and environmental standards that society expects to be met have become tougher to meet over time and what was once deemed as socially acceptable is not necessarily acceptable today. Currently, dredging in relatively shallow coastal areas for aggregates, tin, titanium, gold, diamonds, salt and other minerals takes place at many places across the world and is considered by many as socially acceptable. Deep-sea mining, often classified as beyond 500m water depth, is not being carried out on an industrial scale, although there have been several prototypes and tests done at various ocean sites.

The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and the International Seabed Authority - Contributions to Responsible Ocean Management

Ulrich Schwarz-Schampera — 2023-07-05

The world oceans cover 361.90 million square kilometres, representing 70.9% of the Earth’s surface. While about half of the oceans are part of coastal countries and under national jurisdictions, a total of 181.63 million square kilometres does not belong to any country or entity; or better, belong to everyone. Similar to the better known Antarctic treaty which regulates legally the international status of Antarctica, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982, regulates the international areas of the world oceans – called the ‘Area’ - in terms of navigational rights, territorial sea limits, economic jurisdiction, the legal status of resources on the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, the passage of ships through narrow straits, the conservation and management of living marine resources, the protection of the marine environment, a marine research regime and binding procedures for settlement of disputes between States. The Convention is an unprecedented attempt by the international community to regulate all aspects of the resources of the sea and uses of the ocean as the common heritage of humankind. UNCLOS outlines the areas of national jurisdiction as a 12 nautical-mile territorial sea, an exclusive economic zone of up to 200 nautical miles and a continental shelf. The international seabed Area is defined as “the seabed and ocean floor and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.”

Underwater Robotics: Sustainable Prospecting and Exploitation of Raw Materials

José Miguel Almeida — 2023-07-05

The prospecting and exploitation of underwater minerals has emerged as an important subject over recent years, due to the growing global demand for resources. Over the past decade, we've witnessed a significant global transition towards more sustainable practices and the pursuit of environmentally responsible solutions. This sought-after green transition puts pressure on the supply chain of much-needed raw materials to increase energy production and storage capacity, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels, and consequently decreasing dependence on non-renewable natural resources. The need to explore new raw material sites and re-evaluate existing prospecting sites is increasingly becoming a key element for the success of the green transition and for reducing Europe's dependence on raw material imports. The importance of exploring raw material sites is intrinsically associated with the need to optimise the extraction and exploitation of finite resources, mitigating the environmental impact linked to these activities - in which underwater robotics plays a key role, as it is crucial for said harnessing.

Digital Twins of the Ocean: a unified technological approach to understand, manage, and preserve our future.

Pedro Jorge — 2023-07-05

The oceans are the main regulator and stabilizer of the planetary ecosystem and its primary source of life.

Presently, many factors associated with human action (rising temperature, acidification, overuse of plastic…) are putting the homeostasis of such complex system at risk, seriously compromising the future habitability for humans and other species. In this context, we need to monitor a diversity of physical and chemical parameters at a global scale, to better understand, and learn to modify our actions in ways that promote the natural balance and regeneration capability.

The Role of Robotics in the Assessment and Protection of Marine Ecosystem Services: A Refreshing Look at the Oceans

José Miguel Almeida — 2023-07-05

Oceans play a key role in society and are extremely important to our well-being and survival. They provide a wide range of essential ecosystem services, like regulating global climate, absorbing a significant amount of carbon dioxide, providing food and marine resources, and harbouring an impressive diversity of marine species. However, the oceans face several challenges, e.g., overfishing, pollution, climate change and the degradation of coastal habitats. Protecting and assessing ocean ecosystem services is crucial to ensure the health of marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal communities. This involves creating marine protected areas, establishing sustainable fishing practices, reducing marine pollution, and promoting the preservation and requalification of coastal habitats. The assessment of ocean ecosystem services allows for an in-depth understanding of the benefits provided by marine ecosystems, facilitating informed decision-making for the sustainable management of marine resources and the preservation of marine biodiversity.

Modular robotics for ocean assessment - A research programme at INESC TEC

Anibal Matos — 2023-07-05

The adoption of autonomous robotic platforms for the exploration and exploitation of the ocean has been steadily increasing throughout the last decades. The benefits of these platforms in terms of costs reduction, gains in amount and quality of gathered data, time and space extension of operations, or the increase of operations safety are already field validated, highly contributing to the maturity of this technology.

There are already multiple commercial solutions, addressing different applications and several operational scenarios. Hundreds of end-users worldwide are currently employing and benefiting from platforms. At the same time, they bring novel requirements and opportunities pulling new developments and novel research questions.