COSYNOPT

The Initiative COSYNOPT aimed to strengthen cooperation between the Hydrographic Institute (IH, Portugal) and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR, Norway), with a focus on enhancing the observation and research capabilities of the coastal ocean. Funded by the Bilateral Relations Fund of the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, EEA Grants, this bilateral partnership had the three main objectives:

(1) deepen the mutual knowledge of the missions, competences and areas of action of both institutions, identifying synergies and complementarity;

(2) promote coordination with other scientific and institutional entities in Portugal and Norway with a view to the design of a concrete collaborative action to be implemented in the short term;

(3) to disseminate widely in Portugal the capabilities and activities of the IMR, promoting the involvement of the scientific community, students and users of the marine environment.

The initiative culminated in the definition of a structured collaboration focused on the coastal area of Nazaré in order to test new approaches and technologies (such as marine robotics, eDNA and IA) to generate products useful for coastal management and blue economy. The COSYNOPT has thus contributed to strengthening bilateral cooperation and joint solutions to the challenges of coastal marine observation.

Developed Activities

January 2025

Visit of a IMR delegation to the IH (Activity #1 – 21 January 2025)

On 21 January 2025, the IH received a visit from a delegation consisting of 4 members from the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway, a reference institution in Europe in the fields of Marine Sciences and Technologies. This delegation included Henning Wehde (Head of Research/Research Manager – Department Program), Monica Sanden (Head of Research/Research Manager - Department of Sea Food Hazards), Lene Buhl Mortensen (Researcher - Department of Sustainable Development) and Cristian Muñoz Mas (Chief Engineer/ Senior Engineer - Department HI-Digital).

This visit aimed to deepen the knowledge between the IH and the IMR, allowing the identification of common interests and enhancing the development of future collaborations. The visit started at the IH facilities in Lisbon (IH-Trinas), with a session that included the participation of several Division Heads from the Technical Direction of the IH and other members of those divisions, during which the institutional video of the IH was presented, followed by a presentation of the IMR by Dr. Henning Wehde. After a period of discussion, the visit continued to the Divisions of Chemistry and Marine Pollution and Marine Geology (each conducted in the corresponding laboratory area), to the Division of Hydrology, the Technical-Scientific Data Centre, and the Division of Oceanography.

During lunch, at the invitation of the General Director of IH, CALM Ramalho Marreiros, the IMR delegation had the opportunity to meet with various members of the management of the Hydrographic Institute – General Director, Technical Director, Financial Director, and Head of the Hydrographic Ship Group – along with other members, and to exchange initial impressions about the reality of each institution, its history, and the activities currently underway.

The IMR delegation then proceeded to the South bank of the Tagus, for a visit to the IH facilities in Seixal (Azinheira Hydrological Base). There, the members of the IMR were able to visit IH-Sensortech and the Maritime Instrumentation Centre, interacting with a diverse range of equipment and infrastructures that play a fundamental role in carrying out the IH's mission. The day ended with the IMR delegation's journey to Nazaré, accompanied by 5 members of the IH.

• Meetings between delegations from IMR and IH and Portuguese research institutions and other entities (Activity #3 – 22 January 2025)

Throughout the day of 22 January, in Nazaré, delegations from IH and IMR were meeting with partners from other national research institutions and local entities to discuss the coastal ocean, its challenges and its impacts. The recognition of coastal ocean areas influenced by underwater canyons as key areas for advancing the understanding of the issues facing the coastal ocean encouraged a focus on a discussion centred on the areas affected by the Nazaré Canyon (in Portugal) and the Lofoten-Vesterålen Submarine Valley (in Norway). During this discussion, the group of 11 researchers - from IH, IMR, the Biology Department of the University of Aveiro (UA, represented by Dr Clara Rodrigues), the School of Tourism and Sea of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (ESTM-IPL, represented by Professor Paulo Maranhão) and the Laboratory of Underwater Systems and Technology of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (LSTS-FEUP, represented by Eng. Paulo Dias) - exchanged experiences and knowledge about the physical, geological, chemical, and biological processes, as well as the technological challenges posed to observation in these areas.

During the morning, the meeting also featured the participation of 3 representatives from the Municipal Chamber of Nazaré, Dr Salvador Formiga, councillor responsible for the Environment, Economy and Sea, Energy, and Public Infrastructures, Dr Carla Mauricio, Senior Technician and head of the Fisheries and Beaches Office of the CM Nazaré Support Centre for Fishing and the Sea (CAPMAR), and Dr Dino Casimiro, Senior Technician in the field of Sport and one of the main coordinators between the CM of Nazaré and the extreme waves surfing community in Nazaré. These individuals brought to the discussion particularly important aspects regarding the impact of oceanographic conditions on the communities of Nazaré and how knowledge and observation of the coastal ocean off Nazaré can be used to support those same communities.

The meeting on 22nd January also allowed a visit to the Fort of São Miguel Arcanjo, at Praia do Norte, a prime location for observing the giant waves generated by the presence of the Nazaré Canyon, which attracts visitors from all over the world, particularly during extreme wave surfing events. There, researchers from IMR and other Portuguese partners were able to see some of the coastal manifestations of the physical and geological processes associated with the Nazaré Canyon in real-time and visit the room of the Hydrographic Institute, where much of the knowledge about these processes, and about the installed capabilities for observing them, is made available to visitors.

The set of results arising from the meeting on 22 January 2025 is included in the report "Synergies for the Coastal Ocean between Norway and Portugal", produced at the end of the COSYNOPT project.

• Joint Seminar on Coastal Ocean Challenges (Activity #5 – 23 January 2025)

One of the central objectives of the COSYNOPT project aimed to take advantage of the visit to Portugal by members of the Institute of Marine Research to promote an action directed at the general community, through which it would be possible to discuss how the coastal ocean is being studied and observed in Portugal and Norway. This action was planned to take place in Nazaré, thus integrating into the public dissemination issues that had been previously discussed among the IH, the IMR, and a broader range of partners. During the planning of this activity, it was expanded to a wider audience, through actions that took place on 23 January 2025.

Session for schools in Nazaré:

Taking advantage of the presence in Nazaré of members from IH, IMR and UA involved in the project's activities, a session was held on the morning of 23 January 2025 for the students of the Escola Básica e Secundária Amadeu Gaudêncio, in Nazaré. The session was directly coordinated with the Nazaré School Grouping, through Professor Ana Silva Malhado, and brought together a group of over 50 students, accompanied by several teachers, taking place at the OONIFY Nazaré space. The session, lasting about 1 hour, allowed these students to learn about various aspects of the physical processes in the influence area of the Nazaré Canyon and the challenges in observing them (through presentations by João Vitorino and Inês Martins from IH), about marine biology (presentation by Clara Rodrigues from UA) or about the issue of marine litter and how efforts for mitigation are being developed in Norway (presentation by Lene Buhl Mortensen from IMR).

Seminar open to public participation:

The seminar "The Sea of Nazaré and the Challenges of the Coastal Ocean", organised by the Hydrographic Institute as part of the COSYNOPT project, took place on Thursday, January 23, in the auditorium of the José Soares Municipal Library, in Nazaré, from 2pm to 6pm. The event aimed to bring together Portuguese and Norwegian researchers with the coastal ocean user community, sharing experiences about the knowledge of the coastal ocean and the challenges posed to the observation of these areas.

At the opening of the seminar, the Vice-President of the Municipal Chamber of Nazaré, Dr. Orlando Rodrigues, and Commander Pires Barroqueiro, representing the Director-General of the Hydrographic Institute, welcomed the participants and emphasised the importance of knowledge of the coastal ocean for Nazaré . The seminar was composed of two complementary parts (Brochure). During the first part, the focus was centred on the influence area of the Nazaré Canyon, with contributions from the Hydrographic Institute and the University of Aveiro addressing the impact of this structure on the physical, sedimentary, chemical, and biological processes in that area of the Portuguese coastal ocean, as well as the technological capabilities that have been installed to address the challenges of observing this complex region.

After the coffee break, an excellent opportunity for informal discussion among the various participants, the second part of the seminar began, which focused on the Norwegian coastal ocean and included a series of presentations from the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) that addressed themes such as mapping marine habitats for spatial management, monitoring fish safety and environmental conditions, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on monitoring the coastal zone.

February 2025

The second set of activities developed under the COSYNOP project took place in Norway, from 18 to 21 February 2025. These activities were part of the visit to Norway by a group of 5 members from the Hydrographic Institute, including João Vitorino (Oceanography Division and Head of the COSYNOPT project), Inês Martins (Oceanography Division), Carla Palma (head of the Chemistry and Marine Pollution Division), Anabela Oliveira (Marine Geology Division) and Marina Miranda (Hydrography Division).

Visit of the IH delegation to the IMR (Activity #2, 18-19 February 2025)

Entre 18 e 19 de fevereiro de 2025 os 5 elementos do IH conduziram uma extensa visita ao Institute of Marine Research, desenvolvendo uma interação aprofundada com diversos investigadores deste instituto. A visita decorreu em duas fases complementares:

-Visit to the IMR headquarters in Bergen (18th and 19th February 2025):

In the first phase, the visit of the 5 members of the IH focused on the central facilities of the IMR; in Bergen. On the morning of 18 February, in a session attended by N.G. Kvamstø, CEO of the IMR, the IH researchers presented the areas of activity and installed capacities of this institute and attended presentations on the activities carried out by the IMR in the sectors of Seafood and Environmental State (G.I. Hemre), HI Digital (L.C. Moholt), New monitoring methodologies (C. Brooms), activities related to the sunken submarine U-864 (S. Frantzen) and activities in the Oceanography group (V. Lien).

After the presentation sessions, the day continued with a visit to the microplastics laboratory and the facilities of the Research Vessels Department, located in the port of Bergen. Framed by I.A. Utåker, the IH team had the opportunity to see various robotic systems (AUVs, ASVs) used by IMR and to watch a demonstration of the piloting of an autonomous surface vehicle. The visit to IMR's central facilities in Bergen was completed on the morning of 19 February, with a visit to the laboratory for receiving and processing biological samples, followed by a visit to the laboratory for metals and organic compounds.

-Visit to the Austevoll research station (19 February 2025)

This set of visits to the laboratory facilities and equipment areas of the IMR was particularly interesting as it allowed for an in-depth interaction with the elements that operate similar capabilities at the IH. The exchange of experiences and sharing of the realities lived in both institutions constituted the first step towards deeper future interaction.

The visit to the IMR continued with the journey of the IH team to the Austevoll archipelago, located about 40 kilometres south of Bergen, for a visit to the Austevoll research station. There, under the guidance of K. Stensland, who is in charge of this station, the IH team became acquainted with the most modern techniques for producing various fish species, engaged in a lively discussion with the team conducting cutting-edge research in the area of different species' responses to environmental stimuli, and acquired specific information about the fixed monitoring platform installed off the station.

• Meeting between IH, IMR and other research institutions and Norwegian entities (Activity #4 – 20th and 21st of February)

The visit of a delegation of 5 members from the IH to Norway, within the framework of the COSYNOPT project, constituted an opportunity to deepen interactions with Norwegian partners in order to assess interest and availability to develop a broader collaboration on the coastal ocean, centred around the area of influence of the Nazaré Canyon (Portugal) but also involving the area of the Lofoten-Vesterålen submarine canyons (Norway). These discussions follow the meeting held in Nazaré, which brought together a group of Portuguese partners, and took place in two stages.

Meeting between IH, IMR and COVARTEC, in Bergen

On 20 February, at the IMR headquarters, a first meeting brought together the 5 members of the IH with the IMR researchers directly involved in the COSYNOPT project - Henning Wehde (Head of Research/Research Manager – Department Program), Lene Buhl Mortensen (Researcher - Department of Sustainable Development) and Cristian Muñoz Mas (Chief Engineer/Senior Engineer - Department HI-Digital) - as well as Dr. Dominique Durand from the Norwegian company COVARTEC, a partner institution of the IH and IMR in projects and initiatives related to the European Infrastructure for Coastal Observatories JERICO. The meeting allowed for the consolidation of various aspects discussed previously in Nazaré, namely confirming the interest and feasibility of an expanded collaboration focused on the influence area of the Nazaré Canyon and involving the Lofoten-Vesterålen area. This meeting also allowed for a detailed exploration of various aspects of the potential collaboration (e.g. AI approaches) bringing into the discussion some other elements of the IMR involved in these themes.

Meeting between IH and Fugro-Oceanor, in Trondheim

The visit of IH team to Bergen also created the opportunity for additional interaction between members of the IH and Norwegian partners potentially interested in becoming involved in a broader collaboration in the area of the Nazaré Canyon, involving the IH, IMR, and Portuguese and Norwegian partners.

At the end of the visit to the IMR in Bergen, on 20th February 2025, Dr Inês Martins from the Oceanography Division of the Hydrographic Institute travelled to Trondheim where, on that same day, she met with representatives from the company Fugro-Oceanor. This company manufactures oceanographic observation systems, notably the multiparametric buoys that the IH has installed off the Portuguese coast. A very good collaboration has been maintained between the IH and this company, and there is currently interest in collaborating on the development and testing of new sensors installed on multiparametric buoys. The meeting in Trondheim precisely confirmed Fugro-Oceanor's interest in joining an initiative that will be coordinated between the IH and the IMR in the area of the Nazaré Canyon.

The results of the discussions held in Bergen and Trondheim between the IH, the IMR and the other Norwegian partners will be integrated into the report "Synergies for the Coastal Ocean between Norway and Portugal", produced by the COSYNOPT project team.