A new study about the public engagement of coastal geoscientists was published by CIMA researchers Ana Matias and A. Rita Carrasco, in collaboration with Bruno Pinto (MARE-FCUL) and Neide Areia (CES-Universidade de Coimbra).
According to the study, coastal geoscientists and engineers prefer direct interaction with audiences over indirect ways of communicating (e.g., media). The public sector and school students were the preferred audiences, and the main communication topics were coastal risk and climate change impacts. Participant scientists' prevalent motivations were to engage with society and to help citizens make informed decisions.
For most analysed aspects, differences in opinion according to gender, age, and professional category were not significant. This study used an online questionnaire to collect the experts’ perspectives and practices on science communication.
Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103943
CIMA researcher Nélia Mestre is co-author of a study that proposes a framework that could be applied to compare the environmental impacts of deep-seabed with those from land-based mining. This framework (Environmental Impact Wheel) includes a suite of physicochemical and biological components, rather than a few selected metrics, surrogates, or proxies.
This study resulted from collaborative work with researchers from all over the world: Canada, Australia, the USA, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, Norway, Brazil, India, Belgium, and Ireland.
It is available for open access through the link: Metaxas et al. 2024. Comparing environmental impacts of deep-seabed and land-based mining: A defensible framework. Global Change Biology
Cima researchers Juliano M. Vilke, Tainá Fonseca, Joanna M. Gonçalves, and Maria J. Bebianno, in collaboration with researchers from Italy, Sweden, Spain, and Brazil, just published an article evaluating the impact of the leachate of abandoned and lost finishing nets on the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
The results published in this article bring the first insight regarding the potential toxicity of metals and organic chemical additives used in the manufacture of fishing nets and cables. Ecotoxicological data provide strong evidence of the hazards posed by these plastics to marine organisms.
The full paper was published as open access and is available through the link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134479.
CIMA researcher Ana Matias is co-author of a study about the effectiveness of communication of a podcast on sustainability.
Podcast episodes were produced about Portuguese research in sustainable food, and news pieces with similar information and reading times were written. More than 100 students from two universities in Lisbon participated in the experiment.
It was found that there were no significant differences between the two tested media in both the knowledge retention and interest. Nevertheless, the recent popularity of podcasts may justify its production as a new and flexible way to communicate science.
The full paper has been published as open access and is available at:
CIMA researchers Susana Costas and Katerina Kombiadou, and PhD student Luisa Bon de Sousa, in collaboration with researchers from Spain and Australia, published an article that investigates the initiation and maintenance of feedback processes in coastal dunes by analysing the early development stages of incipient foredunes, combining data on the evolution of the plant cover and communities and dune morphology.
The results quantitatively demonstrate the impact of marine conditions on the distribution of vegetation and sand accumulation during the initial stage of coastal dune formation. They also highlight how vegetation distribution influences the resultant morphological type as the system evolves.
This work shed new light on the complex process of dune initiation, which can benefit future foredune management practices.
The full paper was published as open access and is available through the link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173548.
Antes do 25 de abril existia a Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica criada na Presidência do Conselho e tinha como objetivo planear, coordenar e promover a investigação científica e tecnológica em território nacional.
Falamos com a investigadora Maria João Bebianno que realizou a sua licenciatura em Engenharia Química de 1968-1974 no Instituto Superior Técnico na Universidade de Lisboa.
Durante a sua licenciatura, a Doutora teve a possibilidade de ser “monitora”, ou seja, professora. E, enquanto dava aulas, as condições eram bem diferentes das atuais.
M. J. Bebianno: “a universidade completamente cheia de polícias e cães-polícias ... e tinha que dar aulas nem que aparecesse só um aluno”.
Contou-nos também que havia um grande controlo de pessoas dentro da universidade, com um sistema com cartão de identificação “ultramoderno” polaroid.
E o movimento? A revolução?
M. J. Bebianno: “antes já tinha havido várias manifestações ... entre as quais um piquenique com a direção e depois foi o 25 de abril”.
Antes da revolta dos cravos, o apoio à ciência e à investigação era reduzida. Havia poucos doutoramentos a serem financiados.
M. J. Bebianno: “eu quando vim para aqui (Universidade do Algarve) não tinha doutoramento, mas já tinha 10 anos de serviço. Depois como não tinha, a universidade achou por bem financiar os doutoramentos”.
Antes da revolução a investigação era feita “dentro das universidades” e depois?
M. J. Bebianno: “fazia-se com os meios que havia ... mesmo no início foi muito difícil ... aqui a Universidade não tinha nada, foi a partir do zero... foi com o dinheiro dos projetos que as pessoas tinham”.
O 25 de abril possibilitou a internacionalização, tão importante para a ciência e investigação, mas houve primeiro uma necessidade de recuperar a economia.
M. J. Bebianno: “aqui nunca ninguém nunca apostou na investigação ... a investigação foi uma coisa que demorou muito tempo”.
Só mais tarde, em 1986, com a criação do Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia e com a criação de outras universidades que se começou a formar o que conhecemos hoje.
M. J. Bebianno: “tiveram o professor Mariano Gago como o impulsionador disto tudo”.
O 25 de abril provocou uma reforma do governo em Portugal, possibilitando a liberdade para muitos. Hoje celebramos não só os 50 anos do movimento, mas também a evolução da ciência e investigação em Portugal.
What is ARNET?
Is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese National Technology System.
Acting in the context of global change and anthropogenic pressures, ARNET promotes science-policy-action exchange in order to provide the best scientific knowledge available on aquatic environments.
What is an associate laboratory?
Is a group of researchers who work together to solve problems in areas such science, health and society. They want to atract talent to Portugal, obtain funding from different sources, including the European Union and contribute to public policies.
What is the role of CIMA?
Arnet is composed of 3 investigation centres: CIMA, CBMA and the various campus of MARE.
With this ARNET is based on 5 domains: Novel Approaches in Aquatic Exploration and Monitoring,Environmental Sustainability under Global Change,Assessment and Management of Environmental Risks,Biotech-& Nature Based Solutions for Blue Economy, and Governance, Citizen Science and Ocean Literacy.
DEEP-REST aims to develop a novel approach to improve our capacities for science-based spatial planning and management in two ecosystems threatened by deep-sea mining. This consortium is composed of 15 partners from Portugal, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland and Norway.
Our researchers, Nélia Mestre, Cármen Sousa, Juliano Vilke, Leandro Marinho, Santiago Correia, Pasqualina Gaetano, and Tainá Fonseca, contributed significantly to improving the knowledge about ecotoxicology impacts of deep-sea mining in deep-sea invertebrates in Northern-Mid Atlantic and Pacific Ocean ridges.
This meeting was held on the 14th-16th of May in the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve, Faro (Portugal).
Two new articles by our researcher Erwan Garel, together with current CIMA collaborator Luciano Júnior.
Meagre (Argyrosomus regius) move westward with favourable flows along the south coast of Portugal. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 108770.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108770
This research shows that meagre (Corvina) travel westward with favourable currents along the South Portugal coast, in response to temperature variations. This finding is highly relevant for efficient management of this important fishery resource.
Spatiotemporal variability of the coastal circulation in the northern Gulf of Cadiz from Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite radar altimetry measurements. Advances in Space Research. 73.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2024.02.054
This study presents a generalised characterisation of the surface circulation over the northern shelf of the Gulf of Cadiz, based on high-resolution satellite altimetry data. Overall, the similarity of the results to those obtained from in-situ systems supports the use of altimetry data to support coastal oceanographic studies.
O projeto DEEP REST do CIMA, que investiga o impacto da mineração no mar profundo, foi recentemente destacado na revista Notícias Magazine. Este projeto envolve a colaboração das Universidades do Algarve, Aveiro e Açores, todas participando no esforço europeu para analisar “o riscos e a capacidade de recuperação dos ecossistemas devido à exploração de recursos”. Segundo a investigadora do CIMA, Nélia Mestre, “a mineração no mar profundo irá destruir os habitats no local onde são removidos os minerais de interesse”.
Link notícia (Notícias Magazine)
Nélia Mestre, Carmen Sousa, Juliano Vilke e Leandro Marinho marcaram presença na conferência SETAC Europe 2024, realizada em Sevilha, Espanha, de 5 a 9 de maio de 2024. Durante esta intensa semana, eles apresentaram os seus trabalhos e participaram em diversas sessões e discussões sobre o impacto de contaminantes no meio ambiente. Este ano a conferência foi dedicada ao tema “Soluções baseadas na ciência em tempos de crise: Integração da ciência e da política nos desafios ambientais”.
Esta equipa do CIMA apresentou os trabalhos em curso nos diferentes projetos em desenvolvimento, incluindo o BiDiRisk, DEEP-REST e UALG-BGR:
