The AIR Centre joined the celebrations marking 40 years of the Blue Flag Programme in Portugal by contributing to the Arca do Ambiente Azul, an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Mira to preserve memories, knowledge and commitments linked to the programme's legacy and future.
As part of its contribution, the AIR Centre submitted a record of the state of the ocean on 1 October 2026, bringing together data on ocean conditions such as sea temperature, salinity, current velocity and other environmental indicators. The dataset provides a snapshot of the ocean on that specific day, creating a reference that may help future generations understand how marine environments evolve over time.
The contribution reflects the AIR Centre's work in advancing ocean observation and promoting access to environmental data, underlining the importance of long-term monitoring for understanding changes in the ocean.
The AIR Centre also participated in the X National Blue Flag Seminar, held in Mira from 22 to 24 October 2026. Representing the Centre, Vanessa Batista, Head of the Administrative and Financial Department, joined representatives from municipalities, environmental organisations and other institutions working in environmental education and sustainable development.
Celebrating four decades in Portugal, the Blue Flag Programme continues to promote environmental awareness, water quality, safety and community engagement in coastal and inland areas. The 2026 edition of the seminar was hosted in Mira, home to the only Portuguese beach that has flown the Blue Flag continuously since the programme's launch in the country.
Publication
calendar_today November 3, 2026
A new study published in the Journal of Coastal Conservation shows that scientific knowledge on coastal evolution along the Atlantic coast of Africa remains scarce and unevenly distributed. This gap comes as the continent faces ongoing coastal erosion and rapid population growth in its coastal zones.
Event
calendar_today November 3, 2026
On 26 November 2026, the Portuguese Ocean Decade Committee and the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, in partnership with the AIR Centre, will bring together researchers and experts in ocean science for the conference New Trends in Multidisciplinary Ocean Observation, hosted at the Lisbon Academy of Sciences in Lisbon.
Research
calendar_today October 28, 2026
The second edition of the Enhancing Marine Biodiversity Data Collection and Publication workshop took place on Terceira Island, Azores, from 19 to 23 October, bringing together researchers, data managers and marine practitioners from Europe, Africa and the Americas. Organised by the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) and the AIR Centre, the workshop focused on strengthening skills in marine biodiversity data collection, standardisation and publication.
