Ocean Bottom Seismometer installed

Posted on 05/11/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

The third reference instrument, an ocean bottom seismoter, was installed on November 4, 2026, by the team from the Madeira Oceanic Observatory using the tuna fishing vessel Ponta Calhau.

It is a DUNE-type OBS, designed and built at the Dom Luiz Institute. It is equipped with a 120-second (broadband) Güralp seismometer, a gyroscope for absolute orientation, temperature and pressure sensors, and biological traps for studying deep-sea bacteria. It is a free-fall deployment and buoyancy-ascent instrument.

The OBS was deployed at a depth of 2,400 meters, in a position that ensures the safety of the EllaLink cable even in the event of horizontal drift.

The station’s name is NEMO, one of the suggestions from the students in class 5G.

This marks a milestone for the ECHO project.

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Land station deployed

Posted on 23/07/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

The second reference instrument, a seismic land station, was deployed on 22/07/2026.

It was installed inside the Praia Formosa Cable Landing Station, where the GeoLab cable begins.

The station name is NEKAPI, following the suggestions from the 5G class s/tudents.

This is another milestone for project ECHO.

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Whale vocalizations

Posted on 08/06/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

The following pages document the vocal repertoires of baleen whales recorded in the waters surrounding Madeira Island.

Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales)
Family Balaenopteridae

Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales)
Family Ziphiidae

Family Physeteridae

Posted in WP7 - Soundscape and Marine Mammals | Leave a comment

Data Management Plan

Posted on 19/05/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

Version 1.3 of the Data Management Plan for project ECHO describes the framework for data acquisition, scrubbing, storage, distribution, and publication of the different datasets used.

ECHO_D1.1_Data_Management_Plan_v1.2_enDownload
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ADCP deployed

Posted on 28/04/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

The first reference instrument, an ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler), was deployed close to the GeoLab cable on 28/04/2026.

The station name is AQUA, following the suggestions from the 5G class students.

This is a milestone for project ECHO.

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Student drawings

Posted on 10/04/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

Following the OBS naming outreach activity, several students made drawings about the instruments

Gabryel
Gabryel(11 years old)
Marta
Marta(10 years old)
Ana Beatriz
Ana Beatriz(10 years old)
Maria Leonor
Maria Leonor(10 years old)
Deivson
Deivson(10 years old)
Solange
Solange(11 years old)
Rodrigo
Rodrigo(11 years old)
Melissa
Melissa(11 years old)
Matilde
Matilde(10 years old)
Clara B.
Clara B.(10 years old)
Inês
Inês(11 years old)
Clara R.
Clara R.(11 anos)
Ana Leonor
Ana Leonor(11 years old)
Joana
Joana(10 years old)

Posted in WP8 - Dissemination and Outreach | Leave a comment

Instrument naming activity

Posted on 19/03/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

As part of the outreach component of the project, fifth grade students from the Escola Secundária Padre Alberto Neto, in Queluz, were invited to choose the names of the instruments that will be deployed close to the GeoLab cable.

On March 18th 2026, their regular Portuguese class was replaced by an activity centred on DAS and the objectives of the ECHO project.

Class 5G1, after the outreach activity at the Escola Secundária Padre Alberto Neto, in Queluz

At the end, there was a secret vote for the new names of the OBS that will be deployed close to the GeoLab cable.

Probably inspired by the colour of the OBS, the winner was Nemo, and the runner-up Glowy.

For the ADCP, they all decided to use one of the alternate names, Aqua.

  1. Photograph used with the written informed consent of all the minors’ legal guardians. ↩︎
Posted in WP8 - Dissemination and Outreach | Comments Off on Instrument naming activity

Project website online

Posted on 17/03/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

Since ECHO is all about spreading knowledge and sharing data, we are excited to announce that our project’s digital home is officially live.

Launched just two months into our journey, the website will be one of the most important tools for updates, open-access datasets and key findings for both scientists and general public.

Posted in WP1 - Project Management, WP8 - Dissemination and Outreach | Leave a comment

Project Kick-off

Posted on 04/03/2026 by Afonso Loureiro

The ECHO project begun officially on January 12th, 2026.

Posted in WP1 - Project Management | Leave a comment