Campaign to Madeira–Tore Complex
2025-10-22 (IPMA)
The oceanographic campaign AMPO2025 concluded on 18 October 2025 in Funchal, aboard the NRP D. Carlos I (Figure). The campaign was conducted within the framework of the project coordinated by the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA, I.P.), titled “Management and Monitoring Plans for Oceanic Marine Protected Areas: Ecological Characterization of Seamounts in the Madeira–Tore Geological Complex and Adjacent Areas (Oceanic MPAs)”, funded by the Fundo Azul.
The campaign departed from the Alfeite Naval Base on 10 October 2025 and included teams from the Hydrographic Institute (IH), the Centre for Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE) of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon (FCUL), and INESC TEC. The first operations took place off Cape São Vicente, involving the maintenance of the EMSO RF IbMa-CSV oceanographic observatory moorings (Figure). Subsequently, three Argo floats were deployed (Figure), followed by visual sampling (Figure) conducted with the EVA hybrid underwater vehicle developed by INESC TEC.
Through these initiatives, Portugal takes a decisive step forward in contributing to global ocean monitoring efforts, strengthening national scientific and operational capacity for systematic and continuous marine environmental observation. Such information is vital for understanding the ocean’s role in the Earth’s climate system, enabling more accurate climate change predictions, and improving operational meteorological and ocean forecasting as well as climate modelling.
Main objectives of the sea campaign:
- To maintain and operate the Iberian Margin Regional Facility (IbMa-CSV), located off Cape São Vicente, a regional node of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory - European Research Infrastructure Consortium (EMSO ERIC) (https://emso.eu/).
- To conduct CTD and water sampling (Rosette) stations in the IbMa-CSV area.
- To deploy three Argo floats and conduct CTD stations at the deployment sites, within the scope of Argo.PT, Portugal’s national contribution to the International Argo Programme (https://argo.ucsd.edu/).
- To carry out visual sampling transects with the EVA hybrid ROV/AUV (Figure), operated by INESC TEC, at the Coral Patch Seamount.
- To conduct additional CTD stations at the Coral Patch Seamount.
- To perform acoustic monitoring using a hydrophone installed on a drifting buoy at the same seamount.
Acknowledgements:
- The team expresses gratitude to the crew of NRP D. Carlos I.
- The Argo floats were funded by the project “OBSERVA.PT – Observations on Board Portuguese Commercial Vessels to Support the Protection and Restoration of Biodiversity in the Marine Ecosystems of the Portuguese Sea” (MAR-01.04.02-FEAMP-0002), financed by the Operational Programme Mar2020, and by the project “Atlantic Observatory – Data and Monitoring Infrastructure”, funded by the EEA Grants.
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