The project HERMES is designed to gain new insights into the biodiversity, structure, function and dynamics of ecosystems along Europe's deep-ocean margin to underpin the future development of a comprehensive European Ocean and Seas Integrated Governance Policy. It represents the first major attempt to understand European deep-water ecosystems and their environment in an integrated way (geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere of a pan-European range). HERMES aims to compare and contrast selected environments around the European margin from high northern latitudes (focus of this IPY proposal) to the Black Sea.

I thought I was the first Portuguese to study Wandering albatrosses but I was five hundred years too late. When fifteenth-century Portuguese sailors first ventured down the coast of Africa, they encountered large black and white birds with stout bodies, which they called alcatraz, the Portuguese word for large seabirds; English sailors later corrupted alcatraz to albatross. I was studying aspects of their diet and feeding behaviour in ways that could not be done five hundred years ago, information which may help save them from extinction. That made me feel better... Read more here This is an essay...

LATITUDE60! is the Portuguese Program for education during the International Polar Year. It is directed to all levels of education to reach every age group, from early childhood to adulthood. The program was launched at the Geographical Society of Lisbon on the 5 July 2006 but various presentations of the program will be carried out through the country, including Azores Islands until October 2006. The main objectives of this program is to educate all generations about the polar regions, provide examples of the high quality science the Portuguese has been carrying out in collaboration with other countries and engage young students to polar research. A collaboration with associations caring...