A team of researchers from the University of Algarve has recently completed the installation of the MARREAL underwater observatory, next to the islets of Martinhal, in Sagres. With MARREAL it will be possible to see, hear, and monitor the ocean floor in real time.
The infrastructure intends to be a point of connection between scientific research, schools and the general public, regarding the observation of the ocean.
The observatory is located at a depth of 20 meters and includes several types of sensors, such as: underwater video camera, CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth), for measuring the temperature and salinity of the water, Acoustic Back Scatter, for observation of particles in the water column, and an acoustic sensor, for listening to underwater noise.
The observatory allows real-time recording of data collected by all sensors on the platform, which will soon be made available to the entire community via the internet.
The observatory was founded by a joint team that involved elements from the University of the Algarve, the Center for Technological Research of the Algarve (CINTAL), the scientific diving center of the Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), and INESC-TEC ( Harbor).
The installation was supported by Docapesca de Sagres which, among other support, provided the space for the installation of part of the infrastructure.
The ship “Mar Profundo” of the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC-TEC), was used in the anchoring operations, which also had the support of the Captaincy of the Port of Lagos, the Lagos Marina and the Region of Algarve Tourism.
This observatory was an initiative of the Tec4Sea research infrastructure, a project funded by the PT2020 program, which was joined by the KTTSeaDrones project, funded by INTERREG.
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