This week, the AIR Centre, represented by Executive Director Miguel Miranda, Deputy Executive Director Mafalda Carapuço, and researcher Ana Faria, is taking part in the CopernicusLAC Chile Caribbean Regional Workshop, taking place in Bridgetown, Barbados, from 16 to 18 June. The workshop brings together regional and international stakeholders from Latin American and Caribbean institutions, European Union Delegations in Chile and Barbados, and representatives from EU-LAC cooperation initiatives, to strengthen technical capacities and cooperation in the use of Copernicus-based Earth Observation services for environmental monitoring, coastal resilience, and climate-related challenges across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The workshop is providing technical training on CopernicusLAC Chile services for coastal and marine monitoring, land cover, urban monitoring, and in situ data integration. A key highlight of the event is the official launch of the Sargassum Monitoring Service under the KGWILAC initiative  (Key Global Warming Related Phenomena Indicators in the LAC Region), alongside the presentation of the operational Coastal Monitoring Service developed by CopernicusLAC Chile. The new Sargassum Monitoring Service is developing satellite-based tools for near real-time detection, monitoring, and forecasting of Sargassum influxes using Copernicus Sentinel data, oceanographic models, in situ observations, and artificial intelligence.

The AIR Centre’s participation in this workshop directly supports its broader mission to advance Earth Observation‑based Sargassum monitoring throughout the Atlantic basin. Since 2011, massive Sargassum arrivals have placed significant pressure on Caribbean ecosystems, triggering widespread environmental degradation as well as economic and public health challenges. More recently, coastal regions in Africa have also been affected by increasingly frequent and intense Sargassum episodes, highlighting the pressing need for reliable, satellite‑driven systems capable of detecting, tracking, and forecasting these events for scientific action and policy planning.

Funded by the European Union through the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) and implemented by the Center for Mathematical Modeling of the University of Chile, CopernicusLAC Chile operates within the framework of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance. The project works to build regional capacities across Latin America and the Caribbean for accessing, processing, and applying Earth Observation data, through technological infrastructure, public EO services, and technical training.

AIR Centre’s participation in this workshop reinforces its role as a key Atlantic partner in advancing Sargassum monitoring, coastal resilience, and Earth Observation‑driven solutions for some of the most vulnerable coastal communities in the Atlantic basin. Its engagement reflects a continued commitment to fostering scientific cooperation and delivering actionable knowledge to address shared environmental challenges.

[PC, 17 June 2026]