Laboratories

Division of Chemistry and Pollution of the Marine Environment

The preservation of the marine environment implies knowledge of water quality in order to assess the consequences of direct or indirect introduction of substances or energy by humans, which have an impact on human health, damage to living resources and marine ecosystems.

The Laboratories carry out their activity by conducting monitoring studies to assess the state of marine quality, developing and implementing the appropriate analytical methodologies in the different compartments.

The methods used in our laboratories are properly adapted to the saline matrix, and therefore, are not standard methods. They are validated and some of them are accredited by IPAC. The laboratory carries out intercalibration exercises with European laboratories for the validation of results.

The laboratories are organized in two sectors: inorganic and organic sectors, according to the analytical methodologies used.

Sedimentology Laboratory – Marine Geology

The Sedimentology Lab is part of the Hydrographic Institute’s (IH) Marine Geology Department (GM). It is in this Lab that all of the sediment analyzes necessary to fulfill the attributions of the Hydrographic Institute are performed.

The Sedimentology Lab is located in IH’s main building, at Rua das Trinas in Lisbon, and is made up of the following sectors:

• Central lab, which includes the classic grain-size sector (sieving) ad core logging facilities;
• Sample reception and corer processing room;
• Sample grinding room;
• Optical instrumentation room;
• Laser grain-size room;
• Carbon/Nitrogen analysis room;
• X-ray diffraction room;
• Washing room;

Fully remodeled in 2006, these laboratory facilities allow the fulfilment of the highest and most demanding requirements, with several tests accredited according to the standard ISO/IEC 17025 (accreditation certificate IPAC L0490A1, 2017-03-10).

The Marine Geology Sedimentology Lab is an autonomous unit, with the capacity of performing laboratory analysis on estuarine and marine sediments as well as in suspended particulate material. These analyses are performed under the scope of several research and development (R&D) projects and internal and external service solicitations related with other similar institutions or in response to the Portuguese Navy solicitations.

Calibration Laboratory of the Maritime Instrumentation Center

The Calibration Laboratory is located in the Center of Marine Instrumentation where are carried out the calibration of hydro-oceanographic instruments in the area of hydrostatic pressure, temperature, electrical conductivity, relative humidity and sound propagation velocity.