The AIR Centre’s Executive Director, Miguel Miranda, participated in the International Conference on Sustainable Fishing and Aquaculture (CIPAS 2025) in Luanda, Angola, showcasing the application of Copernicus Earth Observation data to enhance ocean monitoring and support fisheries operations in Angolan waters.
Organized by Angola’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources under the theme “Responsible Fishing and Sustainable Aquaculture: A Challenge, a Commitment, a Mission Uniting the Nation,” the two-day conference brought together national and international experts to foster dialogue on sustainable fisheries.
On November 5, Miguel Miranda presented “Integration of Copernicus Data into the INIPM Portal: Supporting Ocean Monitoring and Fisheries Operations” as part of the Science, Data and Ocean Monitoring panel. His presentation highlighted the AIR Centre’s collaboration with Angola’s National Institute of Fisheries and Marine Research (INIPM) to enhance ocean observation capabilities using advanced satellite data. He also promoted the sea state forecasting service supported by the AIR Centre, which provides real-time data on significant wave height, peak period, currents, temperature, salinity, and elevation for Angola’s coastal waters – essential parameters for safe and efficient fisheries operations. This service is now fully accessible via INIPM’s official portal.
By integrating Copernicus data into local monitoring systems, the AIR Centre is supporting Angola in strengthening its capacity for evidence-based fisheries management and ocean surveillance, bridging Earth Observation technology with practical applications for ocean sustainability.
The conference was opened by José de Lima Massano, Minister of State for Economic Coordination, who emphasized Angola’s commitment to the National Development Programme 2023-2027 and the National Strategy for the Sea of Angola 2030, aligning with the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the African Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050.
The AIR Centre’s participation in CIPAS 2025 reinforces its commitment to supporting sustainable ocean management and fostering international collaboration in marine science across the Atlantic basin.
Oceans in the solar system
On August 19, we held our second Roundtable on Current Issues. This session, entitled “Oceans in the Solar System: exploring the origin of life and habitability of water bodies on Mars, Europa and Earth”, discussed the evidence for water bodies outside the Earth, and their implications for the origins of life and planetary habitability. Our first speaker was Dr. Timothy Goudge from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin and the UT Center for Planetary Systems Habitability (CPSH). He reviewed the current geologic and geochemical clues that point towards a Martian surface that may have been entirely covered by rivers, lakes, and oceans. He will also discussed our next steps forward in planetary exploration, namely the scientific goals of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which will explore an ancient water body. Dr. Krista Soderlund, also from UT Austin and UT CPSH, journeyed us further into the depths of the Solar System to explore the present-day possibility of oceans in Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons. Her work comprises planetary fluid dynamics and geophysical numerical simulations, and will play a key part in the upcoming NASA Europa Mission. Lastly, Dr. Mary Voytek, Director of the NASA Astrobiology Program, focused on the possibility of life in the exciting habitats outlined by Dr. Goudge and Dr. Soderlund.
Summer@LSTS 2020 – Class #2 with Carlos Barrera (PLOCAN)
Summer@LSTS 2020 – Course on Introduction to Marine Robotics with applications to ocean observation, underwater archeology and ecosystems mapping – continued on August 14th, 2020, 10:30-11:30 AM UTC, with Carlos Barrera, who presented PLOCAN: A dedicated infrastructure for autonomous ocean-vehicles base. Carlos Barrera is the Head of the Ocean Vehicles Unit (VIMAS) at PLOCAN since 2009. He is responsible for the technical and operational tasks and time-shared desk activities related to R&D project coordination, ocean governance initiatives and services management. Carlos holds a degree in Oceanography (1998) by University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). He has twenty five years-experience in marine technology with focus on autonomous ocean observing platforms, over a five-hundred field operations on research vessels, sixty international research projects joined, eighty international publications and two patents related to ocean observing systems.
Summer@LSTS 2020 – Session #1 with Kanna Rajan (LSTS FEUP)
Summer@LSTS 2020 started on August 7th, 2020, 2:00-3:30 PM UTC, with Kanna Rajan, who presented Explorations in AI for Maritime Robotics. Kanna Rajan is a Visiting Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Univ. of Porto affiliated with the Underwater Systems Technology Lab. He was the Principal Researcher in Autonomy at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (http://www.mbari.org) a privately funded non-profit Oceanographic institute which he joined in October 2005. Prior to that he was a Senior Research Scientist for the Autonomous Systems and Robotics Area at NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, California.