Hydrographic Institute conducts survey Top Hydrographic in S. Torpes

The Hydrographic Brigade ended, on November 10, the third campaign of 2023 of the top-hydrographic survey in S. Torpes, after two months of hard work affected by unfavorable weather conditions caused by successive storms that occurred in October.

The Hydrographic Institute, at the request of the Administration of the Ports of Sines and the Algarve S.A, has since 2019, been evaluating and monitoring quarterly the effects that the expansions of port structures have on the evolution of the adjacent coastline, a work that will be completed after the processing of recently acquired data.

This port, which has been asserting itself as one of the main ports in southern Europe, being a gateway to world trade, has begun to strengthen its operational capacity through the expansion works of Terminal XXI in February 2021 (and its watering in February 2020). Therefore, all surveys carried out on this site were of particular importance, in particular for the environmental characterisation of the area. Over the five years, more than 20 data acquisition campaigns were conducted, with a total duration of more than 14 months and involving multidisciplinary teams consisting of military and civilian IH, belonging to the Hydrographic Brigades (supported by the garrisons of support vessels) and the division of Marine Geology. 

During the last mission, hydrographic surveys were carried out with multi-beam and simple beam probe systems, along the entire length of the port of Sines to Porto Covo. In order to evenly cover the entire coastal strip, the topography of the beaches of S. Torpes, Morgavel, Vale Figueiros, Burrinho, Foz and Samoqueira was performed by the military equipped with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers.

The effort put into implementing this monitoring reinforces the Hydrographic Institute's commitment to contribute to the knowledge of the dynamics of the coastal ocean, an essential and inseparable vector of the promotion of scientific research, economic development, the safeguarding of human life and the protection of the marine environment.