The team led by Okeanos from the University of the Azores has secured funding for research ship time under the OCEANOSDO MAR program that will allow the exploration of areas of the Portuguese sea as of yet unexplored.
The investigation of deep sea ecosystems requires complex technological equipment and capabilities, large oceanographic vessels and specialized crews, which are very costly. Access to resources such as this are rarely available to national scientific communities. The funding now guaranteed to the Okeanos deep sea research group at the University of the Azores will allowfor a 17-day scientific expedition to explore unknown areas of the Middle Atlantic Dorsal. The mission is named “iMAR: Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems along the Mid-Atlantic Coast in the Azores region”.
Download here the press release
