Top Hydrographic Survey S. Torpes – 3rd Campaign 2021

From 6 to 29 October, the Hydrographic Brigade carried out the top-hydrographic survey in São Torpes, which is integrated into the monitoring project of the effects of the construction of port structures in the port of Sines. The mission was attended by five BH military personnel and UAM Atlanta garrison.

This project, resulting from the request of the Administration of the Ports of Sines and the Algarve (APS), will take place over 5 years, 2021 being the third year of the project. It is therefore intended to assess the effect that port expansion works will have on the oceanographic and sedimentary dynamics of adjacent coastal areas, particularly in the beach area of S. Torpes. 

The start of the expansion works of Terminal XXI in February this year (and its watering in February 2020) is an essential step towards strengthening the operational capacity of this port, which has been asserting itself as one of the main in southern Europe, contributing to the economic development of the region and the country. Consequently, the various works that will be developed by the Hydrographic Brigade and the divisions of Hydrography, Marine Geology and Oceanography by 2023 are of particular importance.

During this campaign, hydrographic surveys were conducted with a high-resolution multi-beam probe system, using the UAM Atlanta (KONGSBERG EM2040C MKII), and with a simple beam probe Odom Echotrac CV100 installed on a pneumatic boat. In order to evenly cover the entire coastline, the topography of the beach was performed by the military equipped with GNSS receivers. At the end of the survey, a bathymetric model with a resolution of 50 cm and a backscatter mosaic was created to support the selection of sites to perform sediment samples.  

The task of the BH was successfully completed, and the mission continues aboard the UAM Atlanta, which remains in the field to support the division of Marine Geology in collecting sediment samples for further laboratory analysis.