Hydrographic Survey in the islands of Faial and Pico

Certainly, you must have heard the famous expression, "We know more about the surface of Mars than the depths of Earth's oceans!" This is because the rigorous and high-resolution mapping of the ocean floor is a highly complex, demanding, and costly process, which is mostly not achievable using remote detection capabilities of the thousands of satellites orbiting our planet and constantly collecting and processing surface data. Despite its demanding nature, but not impossible, the team from the Hydrographic Brigade of the Hydrographic Institute works daily on collecting acoustic data. With the use of the most advanced equipment and worldwide acoustic detection techniques, these military personnel face the demanding conditions of the seas along our Portuguese coast, contributing to a better understanding of our ocean depths soon surpassing what we know about the surface of Mars.

During the month of July, another crucial step was taken in this direction. As part of a successful cooperation between the Hydrographic Institute and the Directorate General of Maritime Policies of the Regional Government of the Azores, a team of 3 military from the Hydrographic Brigade completed the coastal hydrographic survey of the islands of Faial and Pico. The gathered hydrographic information will be valuable for the Marine Spatial Planning process in the Azores, defining policies related to Marine Protected Areas, as well as updating nautical cartography of the region.

Here are some images from the final phase of the work so that you can get a better glimpse of the "natural habitat" of our hydrographic brigade military personnel and the data they collect.

A holistic, ready, useful, focused, meaningful, and technologically advanced navy once again contributes to keeping Portugal and the Portuguese at the forefront of scientific knowledge about the sea.