MONIAQUA Project Campaign underway in the Costa Vicentina

The Hydrographic Ship NRP Andrómeda began on April 10th, in the coastal region between Vila Nova de Mil Fontes and Sagres, a MONIAQUA project campaign.

In this monitoring campaign, which runs until the end of April, several members of the Hydrographic Institute's Division of Chemistry and Marine Pollution are participating. In the first phase of the mission, 30 samples of sediment and seawater have already been collected.

The MONIAQUA project aims to carry out environmental characterization of sensitive areas through the collection of sediment and water samples, which are analyzed in the laboratories of the Hydrographic Institute to determine various physicochemical and microplastic parameters.

Sediment samples are collected using a Smith-McIntyre dredge, while water samples are collected using a Niskin bottle. In-situ measurements are made to determine classical physicochemical parameters, namely pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Surface microplastics sampling is done by trawling, while in the water column, a 300 µm mesh net, in cone format, attached to a cable that allows it to descend in the water column up to 20 meters, is used.