Sustainable Management and Use of the Marine Environment
Measurement and modeling of the marine environment to support planning, monitoring, and restoration
Knowledge and Management Based on Marine Data
Development of studies of the marine environment that contribute to the design and implementation of plans, strategies, and programs to improve conservation, support restoration, and provide the knowledge required to ensure sustainable use of its resources and ecosystem services.
Specific Services
Characterization of the physical environment
- Mapping and digital models of the seabed
- Topobathymetry
- Propagation and dispersion models
Water quality monitoring and control
- Continuous monitoring of oceanographic parameters
- Implementation of automatic analyzer devices
- Application of satellite imagery for monitoring oceanographic parameters
Monitoring of marine habitats and biocenoses
- Bionomic mapping: spatial distribution of benthic communities, seagrass meadows, coralligenous, maerl beds, and other communities of interest
- Characterization of Posidonia meadows and other marine seagrasses
- Assessment of ecological indices for environmental quality evaluation
- Ecosystem restoration (Posidonia, dune systems, artificial reefs)
Study and monitoring of key species
- Study and monitoring of protected species populations
- Monitoring of cetacean presence
- Population studies of species of fishing or conservation interest
Sustainability and conservation of cultural heritage
- Underwater archaeological surveys
- Monitoring of fishing activity and collection of landing data
- Environmental feasibility analysis of Blue Economy initiatives
Software development applied to marine environmental control
Fields of Application
- Marine reserves and other protected areas
- Compliance with the Water Framework Directive
- Sanitary control of bathing water quality and shellfish production areas
- Monitoring of climate change and other widespread alteration processes
- Application of ROM 5.1-13 standard for port water quality
- Fisheries resource management and planning
- Restoration of degraded ecosystems: Posidonia oceanica, dune systems, artificial reefs
- Studies for the development of marine and coastal spatial planning
Materials and Methods
Facilities and support resources
- Laboratory for processing samples of marine organisms and water
- Recovery center
- Boats, vehicles – trailers, cranes, davits, warehouses, moorings, offices
Computers and external information sources
- Access to oceanographic and climate databases
- Access to satellite imagery and processing software
Data acquisition equipment
- Positioning
- Land and drone (lidar) surveying equipment
- GPS
- Echolocation
- Multibeam echo sounder for precision bathymetry
- Side-scan sonar
- Hydrology
- Multiparameter probes
- Telemetry buoys
- Autonomous turbidimeters
- Current meter
- Tide gauge
- Salinometers
- Handheld probe
Indirect sampling equipment
- Study and monitoring of protected species populations
- Monitoring of cetacean presence
- Population studies on species of fishing or conservation interest
Diving sampling equipment
- Underwater archaeological surveys
- Monitoring of fishing activity and collection of landing data
- Environmental feasibility analysis of Blue Economy initiatives
Laboratory equipment
- Analytics
- Water sample analysis equipment: nutrients and microorganisms
- Sediment processing and granulometry: sieve shaker, oven, scale
- Determinations
- Laboratory for sediment fauna identification
- Identification keys and bibliography
- Aquariums
Information processing equipment and software
- Special software for hydrographic data processing + QGIS + R + RStudio
- Database of proprietary oceanographic data
- Biostatistics and data processing software
- Calculation of biotic and ecological indices: AMBI, BOPA, MEDOC, POMI, VCS, CARLIT, EQR