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Zebrafish Facilities

Published in 17/6/2022

Zebrafish lab is certified by DGAV (Direção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária) as an authorized lab for the utilization of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in scientific research and breeding (for internal use). Zebrafish facilities include two racks of a ZebTEC (Tecniplast) recirculating system with capacity for 2400 adult fish and a WTU (Water Treatment Unit). Culture water is obtained through reverse osmosis and activated carbon filtration of tap water, complemented with 0.34 mg/L salt (Instant Ocean Synthetic Sea Salt), and automatically adjusted for temperature, pH and conductivity. A 12:12-h light: dark photoperiod is maintained. Recirculating water is treated with mechanical and biological filters as well as with UV radiation. Two Stereomicroscopes (Nikon) are available to select zebrafish eggs for testing and to track embryo development during the assays (embryo development delays and anomalies). Locomotor behavior of zebrafish larvae and juveniles is studied by automated video-tracking using the equipment Zebrabox (ViewPoint) allowing the study of behavioral components such as activity (hyper or hypo activity), thigmotaxis and erratic swimming. In compliance with the 3 R’s for ethics in animal experimentation, zebrafish embryos are preferred for testing (using procedures based in the OECD guideline 236- Fish Embryo Toxicity assay). Zebrafish facilities are mainly used by ecotoxicologists that use the zebrafish as a model to assess effects and modes of action of several types of chemical compounds. Research topics include: -Effects and modes of action of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, nanoplastics, nanomaterials, etc. -Effects of environmental stressors (temperature, salinity, pH, UV radiation) and their combined effects with chemical contaminants. - Effects of emergent contaminants in environmental realistic scenarios. -Toxicity assessment of environmental samples (e.g. effluents, ashes, mining drainage, agricultural drainage). Images
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Research vehicles

Published in 31/3/2023

Toyota Hilux- Two and five seats For aditionl informations, please, send an email to: cesam-viaturas@ua.pt [aditional content only available in Portuguese]
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ICOS – Integrated Carbon Observation System

Published in 5/1/2021

ICOS – Integrated Carbon Observation System is a research infrastructure that has been born out of European scientific communities’ grand idea of having a consistent, sustained measurement network operating under exactly the same technical and scientific standards to enable high-quality climate change research and increase usability of the research data. Its mission is to produce standardised, high-precision and long-term observations and facilitate research to understand the carbon cycle and to provide necessary information on greenhouse gases. With its high-precision data, it aims to support policy- and decision-making to combat climate change and its impacts. The basis of ICOS’s operations is the measurement network that comprises more than 130 standardised stations across Europe which are coordinated and run by the ICOS National Networks. In addition, in the framework of the European Horizon 2020 project RINGO, nine countries are cooperating with ICOS in order to increase their readiness to become members of ICOS ERIC (ICOS European Research Infrastructure Consortium). Portugal is one of those countries and CESAM is currently operating two monitoring stations: one located in the city center of Oporto (urban station) and the other located in the outskirts of Aveiro (suburban station). Both stations are equipped eddy covariance towers for the continuous measurement of energy, water vapor and carbon dioxide fluxes. Monitoring activities at these sites are coordinated by Professor Mário Cerqueira (CESAM-UA).
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LABORATORIES

Published in 3/5/2023

CESAM has 2 laboratories in addition to the infrastructures associated to the departments of the Universities: Laboratory 3rd floor of building III, University of Aveiro Laboratory building 37, University of Aveiro The laboratory facilities have all the required equipment to perform research in the areas of physical oceanography, marine geology, meteorology, hydrology, analytical and environmental chemistry, atmospheric pollution, genomics, toxicology, ecotoxicology, biodiversity, ecology and environmental planning and management. More details on some of the available equipment can be seen here. CONTACTS: cesam-laboratorios@ua.pt | +351 234247313; Ext.: 25006
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ECOMARE - LABORATORY FOR INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES OF UNIVERSITY OF AVEIRO

Published in 17/3/2023

Centre for Extension and Environmental and Marine Research (CEPAM): Ecology, Biodiversity and Ecosystem services; Aquaculture; Oceanography, Geology and Geophysics; Navy Engineering and Navy robotic applications; Coastal Engineering; Offshore Energy; Marine Geology and Geophysics; and Strategic studies for the evaluation of sea-related economic activities. Centre for Research and Rehabilitation of Marine Animals (CPRAM): Support to the rescue, rehabilitation and devolution of marine animals to nature (birds, reptiles and mammals); Research in the areas of population ecology, animal health, evaluation and mitigation of anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment, sustainable fisheries, and Marine Protected Areas. CEPAM: Responsible Ricardo Calado CPRAM: Responsible Catarina Eira LOCATION: Porto de Pesca Costeira do Porto de Aveiro3830-565 Gafanha da Nazaré, ÍlhavoGPS 40°38'19.2"N 8°43'42.2"WGoogle Maps 40.638676, -8.728379 VISITS: Due to its specific nature ECOMARE has a controlled access environment - only part of this facility (namely the research labs linked to the development of aquaculture and/or related projects - CEPAM) is open to the general public. A visit to the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Centre (CRAM) in ECOMARE consists solely on a presentation in the building's auditorium. This presentation will show, through images, the various activities undertaken in CRAM, including footage of some of the marine animals that were rehabilitated in ECOMARE.The animals in CRAM cannot be visited directly – they are in rehabilitation; thus, they cannot be subjected to visitor pressure and contamination; on the other hand, visitors (particularly children) should not be exposed to possible pathologies that admitted animals undergoing treatment may present. Visits, restricted to groups of up to 35 people, may be scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month, except August, at the following times: 10am to 12pm; 2pm to 4pm; 4pm to 6pm. Bookings and reservations have to be made by email to visitas@ua.pt and will be scheduled following order of arrival. However, school groups from Ílhavo and Aveiro municipalities will be given priority for the first and last visit periods, provided the reservation is made at least with 30 days in advance.
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RIA DE AVEIRO AS A NATURAL LABORATORY

Published in 29/11/2021

Ria de Aveiro is a shallow coastal lagoon located on the NW coast of Portugal (40?38’N, 08?45’W) including the Vouga River estuary and connecting the Vouga River catchment area to the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of a complex network of tidal channels, tidal flats (mud and sand flats), seagrasses, salt marshes, and supra-tidal sand isles. Ria de Aveiro has c. 45 km in length and is 10 km wide, covering an area up to 83 km2 of wetlands (during high tide), and it exhibits a longitudinal salinity gradient range from c. 0 to about 36. Ria is classified under the Natura 2000 network, entailing a Special Protection Area (SPA) that includes extensive salt marsh habitats, the largest area of contiguous salt marsh in Portugal and one of the largest in Europe, and the adjacent marine area. The lagoon has a unique geomorphology and a relevant record of historical contamination in an inner basin of 2 km2 (Largo do Laranjo) due to industrial activity. This way, Ria de Aveiro is a valuable natural laboratory where a wide range of research areas can be developed, including ecology, biodiversity, ecosystem services, ecotoxicology, etc. Ria de Aveiro is part of LTER network, a Long-Term Ecological Research network of sites, being an International network (ILTER) which is grouped at a regional scale, in turn including the European network (LTER-Europe). As a LTER site, part of the LTER Portugal network, Ria de Aveiro long-term ecological research aims at monitor and create relevant data bases on natural sciences (from organisms to ecosystems) and on social sciences (from citizens to institutions) trough transdisciplinary approaches. LTER is currently part of the e-infrastructures PORBIOTA and LifeWatch ERIC. Environmental data collected under the scope of LTER Ria Aveiro site is stored in DEIMS-SDR database, an information management system that compiles/stores long-term data from ecosystem research sites around the globe. CESAM is also a data provider in GBIF, namely on Zostera noltei seagrass meadows spatial distribution. Additional links with information of Ria de Aveiro as a natural laboratory: LTER Ria de Aveiro (SPECO) Video on Ria de Aveiro - LTER site Projet on the biodiversity of Ria de Aveiro Fauna and flora of Ria de Aveiro as Natura 2000 Visualization list of fauna and flora of Ria de Aveiro Ictiology, fisheries and aquaculture laboratory Fishing activity
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NEREIDE scientific research vessel, 9.5m long and 3m beam, with capacity for 8 people

Published in 26/4/2023

The vessel is equipped with a hydraulic load pole for moving instruments on board, which can hoist up to 300kg, as well as rotate approximately 350. The winch, equipped with 300m of steel cable and a cable drop counting system, allows lowering/upping operations of sensors (like CTD) to a maximum depth of 200m, at a speed of approximately 1m/s. The vessel is permanently equipped with an autonomous 230V single-phase power generator, with a minimum autonomy of 3 hours, supplying about 7.0kW of power. This vessel has oceanographic, geophysical and hydrographic instrumentation that allows the acquisition of multi- and trans-disciplinary data (see equipment list). To request usage of the vessel and eventual additional equipment, please contact cesam@ua.pt.
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METEOROLOGICAL TOWERS

Published in 21/9/2018

CESAM has two meteorological towers equiped with pyranometers, anemometers and pluviometers. These towers collect data that allows the continuous monitoring of environmental conditions, constituting a long-term data record of invaluable importance.
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WIND TUNNELS

Published in 6/7/2020

Open circuit wind tunnels where studies concerning obstacle aerodynamics (buildings, low speed vehicles, etc.), pollutant dispersion in urban areas, pedestrian wind comfort, complementary studies of urban planning in present and future scenarios of climate change, amongst others, are performed. The Laboratory of Atmosphere Aerodynamics has two wind tunnels: Tunnel 1 (6 m total length with a test section of 1.30 m x 0.25 x 0.30 m and a maximum speed of 70 km/h) Tunnel 2 (12 m long, a test section of 6.5 m x 1.5 m x 1.0 m and a maximum speed of 36 km/h) For information on technical description, terms and conditions please contact Ana Miranda (miranda@ua.pt) or https://www-new.ua.pt/pt/gemac/page/11440.
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AQUATIC MESOCOSM FACILITY

Published in 13/7/2020

The basic concept of this indoor aquatic mesocosms facility is to provide a versatile system for experimental manipulation of environmental (chemical and physical) parameters and ecological scenarios, which may affect aquatic communities and ecosystem functional endpoints. This system is composed of 36 artificial channels and was developed to allow researchers to work over a wide range of configurations and address specific questions. Each system module is composed of three experimental glass channels (0.225 m high, 2.000 m long and 0.200 m wide) with a maximum functional volume of approximately 80 L, designed to be used either with or without sediment. The system can be operated in a flow-through or recirculated regime: being tanks connected to a common filtration pump (0.500 m high, 0.900 m long and 0.630 m wide), operating with a maximum functional water volume of approximately 280 L. The design allows the use of different pollutants, to control abiotic factors (water and air temperature, flow, water, chemistry, nutrition, photoperiod, light intensity, etc.) and to use statistically robust experimental designs (replication) for community ecology/ecotoxicology research.
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BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH COLLECTION OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES (COBI)

Published in 9/5/2019

The Biological Research Collection (COBI) is a repository of natural history specimens and jointly curated collections such as frozen tissues and other physical samples, e.g. DNA libraries and digital images. The collection contains specimens from coastal to deep-sea environments collected under sampling programs of several Research Projects. The specimens are being prepared in a way that ensures their utility and are accessible to all qualified users. Specimen-associated information is managed through archiving in Specify 6 and GIS databases. COBI also has a bibliographic collection of more than 4000 references that gives support to the biological collection. CONTACTS: aravara@ua.pt | +351 234247159
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COMPUTATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF UNIVERSITY OF AVEIRO

Published in 9/6/2021

High Performance Computational System (ARGUS), a platform capable to fulfill the research work demands, namely on: Ocean modelling Atmospheric modelling Estuarine and Coastal modelling Air quality modelling Bioinformatics The cluster is an initiative of several departments and Research Units at University of Aveiro, namely: Department of Environment and Planning Department of Physics Department of Chemistry CESAM CICECO I3N Hardware 1 front-end with two 10-core Intel ® Xeon ® E5-2670 @ 2.50 GHz processors and 62 GB RAM 25 compute nodes each one consisting of two 12-core Intel ® Xeon ® E5-2690 v3 @ 2.60 GHz processors and 125 GB RAM 15 compute nodes each one consisting of two 14-core Intel ® Xeon ® E5-2690 v4 @ 2.60 GHz processors and 125 GB RAM Grand total of 1020 cores spread along 40 nodes and ~5115 GB RAM 1 High-performance, low-latency, temporary storage server with SSD disks (4.2 TB) 1 persistent storage system (140 TB) High throughput, low-latency network connection (InfiniBand) between all servers 10 Gbps connection to the ‘outside world’ For additional information please contact cesam-argus@ua.pt.
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TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Published in 28/9/2018

The technical and administrative services of CESAM are located on the 5th floor of Building III - UA.
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DEPARTMENTS

Published in 28/9/2018

CESAM aggregates researchers from 5 Departments from University of Aveiro: Biology Chemistry Environment and Planning Geosciences Physics CESAM also has a group composed mainly by members of the Animal Biology Department, University of Lisbon and integrates researchers from the National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and the Polytechnic of Porto - School of Engineering (ISEP).
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