Hydrographic Institute carries out topo-hydrographic survey in S. Torpes

The Hydrographic Brigade concluded, on November 10th, the third campaign of 2023 of the topo-hydrographic survey in S. Torpes, after two months of work strongly affected by unfavorable meteo-oceanographic conditions caused by successive storms that occurred in the month of October.The Hydrographic Institute, at the request of the Administration of the Ports of Sines and Algarve S.A, has been, since 2019, evaluating and monitoring on a quarterly basis the effects that expansions of port structures have on the evolution of the adjacent coastline, a work that will be completed after processing the newly acquired data.This port, which has established itself as one of the main ports in southern Europe, being a gateway to world trade, began strengthening its operational capacity through the expansion works of Terminal XXI in February 2021 ( and the respective jetty in February 2020). Therefore, all surveys carried out at this location were particularly important, particularly for the environmental characterization of the area. Over the 5 years, more than 20 data acquisition campaigns were carried out, with a total duration of more than 14 months and involving multidisciplinary teams made up of IH military and civilian personnel, belonging to the Hydrographic Brigades (supported by the support vessel garrisons) and to the Marine Geology division.During the last mission, hydrographic surveys were carried out with multi-beam and single-beam sounding systems, along the entire length of the port of Sines to Porto Covo. In order to uniformly cover the entire coastal strip, the topography of the beaches of S. Torpes, Morgavel, Vale Figueiros, Burrinho, Foz and Samoqueira was also carried out by military personnel equipped with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers.The effort put into carrying out this monitoring reinforces the Hydrographic Institute's commitment to contributing to the knowledge of the dynamics of the coastal ocean, an essential and inseparable vector for promoting scientific research, economic development, safeguarding human life and defending the marine environment .