Climatology and Volcanology are scientific areas that should be developed in the Azores, says Brito e Abreu
The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology visited today the Climate Research Observatory on Graciosa, where he became acquainted with the ARM project (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement); the latter is part of an international programme promoted by the U.S. Department of Energy that is developed through the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In the Azores, this project is supported by the Regional Government and the partnership with the University of the Azores, through the Centre for Climate, Meteorology and Global Change, the entity responsible for all technical management.
Fausto Brito e Abreu acknowledged the work that has been developed by the ARM project, stressing that the project being developed on Graciosa "has the possibility of extending the research and collection of scientific data in the field of Climatology in the Region."
The ARM project began as a mobile station that later became to be definitive, which "demonstrates the strategic location and the centrality of the Atlantic position of the Azores," stressed Fausto Brito e Abreu.
"Currently, Graciosa is an important research hub in the field of Climatology that has the conditions to attract more international partners," stressed the Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology.
The ARM project of Graciosa's Climate Research Observatory conducts a three-dimensional evaluation of the atmosphere and, next year, will incorporate an x-band radar to measure rainfall.
With this project, we will have the opportunity to work with the latest technology for atmospheric and climate sciences under a structure of calibration and validation of data that will be available to the international scientific community.
During his visit to the island of Graciosa, the Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology also visited the IS42 Infrasound Station. This is one of the 60 stations that make the international network of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), whose maintenance falls under the responsibility of the Centre of Volcanology and Geological Risk Assessment at the University of the Azores.
Opened in 2011, the IS42 Infrasound Station has the capacity to detect various types of occurrences, at distances that can reach several thousand kilometres. It plays a decisive role in monitoring nuclear testing, but also in studying and monitoring seismic and volcanic activity.
"It is very important to develop scientific areas that distinguish our Region in the international scientific context, such as Climatology and Volcanology," said Fausto Brito e Abreu at the end of the two visits.
For the Regional Secretary, "the projects being developed on Graciosa are extremely interesting for these areas since they can build bridges between them and create new multidisciplinary projects, in addition to playing a relevant role in the surveillance of natural disasters."