Public session to close the projects EEA Grants: PDP2: Atlantic Observatory – Data and Monitoring Infrastructure e PDP3: Mário Ruivo – Hull Mounted Scientific Equipment
On 16 April, the public closing session of the projects “PDP2: Atlantic Observatory – Data and Monitoring Infrastructure” and “PDP3: Mário Ruivo – Hull Mounted Scientific Equipment”, funded by the EEA Grants Blue Growth Programme, took place at the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere, I.P. (IPMA) in Algés. The opening session was attended by the President of IPMA, the Ambassador of the Norwegian Embassy, the Coordinator of the National Management Unit of the EEA Grants and the Director of Directorate General for Maritime Policy (DGPM). IPMA researchers and partners, both national and from the donor countries, gave speeches related to the objectives achieved in both projects.
IPMA has been receiving funding from the EEA Grants through pre-defined projects considered to be of major interest, and both projects, PDP2 and PDP3, have added new capabilities to IPMA, respectively, in the area of data management and sharing – with all the known advantages that this brings to the wider universe of the sea users, and in increasing the capabilities of ocean observation, with the installation of state-of-the-art equipment for geophysics, hydrography and fisheries areas.
PDP2 provides for the creation and operationalisation of an integrated and efficient oceanographic observation system that supports research and monitoring of the Atlantic Ocean, and acts as a portal to data access, information and services associated with the Atlantic Ocean, contributing to the improvement in the research and monitoring of the Atlantic Ocean, whilst supporting the sustainable management of marine resources. Financed by the EEA-Grants in 2M€, it is promoted and coordinated by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere, I.P. (IPMA), and includes national partners from Azores (FRCT – Regional Fund for Science and Technology) and Madeira (ARDITI – Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation), as well as partners from Norway (Institute of Marine Research; Norwegian University of Science and Technology and The University of Bergen) and Iceland (Marine and Freshwater Research Institute).
PDP3 involves the Research Vessel (RV) Mário Ruivo, which has been equipped with new scientific equipment for seabed and water column mapping fostering its capacity as a modern ocean sensing platform for fisheries, geological and geophysical research of national maritime areas, becoming a new research platform in the Atlantic Ocean at the service of the national and international scientific community, contributing to increasing scientific knowledge of the ocean and establishing more informed public policies. Financed by the EEA-Grants in 2M€, it is promoted and coordinated by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere, I.P. (IPMA), and a partner from Norway (Institute of Marine Research).
Through the EEA Grants programme, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have set themselves the goal of reducing social and economic disparities in Europe, strengthening bilateral relations with beneficiary states such as Portugal.