Philosophy

NAP-OceanoS (Research Support Center - Sustainable Ocean) is led by USP's Oceanographic Institute (IO in portuguese) and Polytechnic School (EP in portuguese). It's goal is to promote, facilitate and inspire Science, Technology and Innovation (CT&I in portuguese) actions throughout the many research groups in USP, attaining new technology development applied to ocean studies and sustainable exploration. Aside from the research groups contemplated in this program, NAP-OceanoS also means to futurelly agregate other researchers and USP units. Amongst the project's main objectives are:

1. Projecting and developing equipments and systems that can aid finding new methods of using marine resources in a sustainable way.


2. Stimulating researchers, students and technicians' education and improvement on activities envolving the sustainable use of ocean resources.


3. Promote debates and dissemination of scientific and technological themes regarding NAP-OceanoS activities in USP, as well as in national or international scientific, technological and business communities.

NAP-OceanoS currently develops scientific and technological research in the following lines:

1. Development and integration of vehicles used for ocean monitoring and measurements.


2. Development and integration of autonomous stations used for ocean monitoring and measurements.


3. Oceanic laboratories' instrumentation, operation and management.


4. Development and integration of marine sensors.


5. Development of ocean-based energy generating systems.

The NAP-OceanoS will promote an extension of marine resources sustainability, binding scientific and technological knowledge, and bringing inovations in resource diagnosis and environmental monitoring. Studying large marine areas during long time periods is still one of the biggest technological challenges in public management, due to the lack of knowledge on structures' and ecossistem's functioning details. The dificulties and necessary study costs grow as the public policy intends to reach increasingly remote locations, located in great depths, such as the pre-salt or areas in International South Atlantic and Equatorial waters. In this logistic and economical dificulty scenario, opportunities of inovating technological aplications emerge, that enable environmental data, necessary to support public policies, quality and quantity improvements, as well as cost decrease.

Amongst the many impacts and products created by NAP-OceanoS, the emphasis goes to:

1. Better integration between involved research groups and graduate programs, hence leading to a more qualified personnel.


2. Increased awareness among the researchers and general public regarding sustainable ocean exploration.


3. Increased interest in ocean studies.


4. Better knowledge on anthropogenic impacts in the South Atlantic and Equatorial waters.


5. Support over public policies regarding exploration and occupation of areas in the continental platform and in international South Atlantic and Equatorial waters.


6. Increase in samppling capacity, monitoring and overall knowledge on brazilian seas and contiguous international waters due to improvements in superficial and submersible vehicles.


7. Establishment of an international PhD program.


8. Establishment of operational oceanography.


9. Increased security and eficiency while operating the oceanographic ship Alpha Crucis, acquired by USP with FAPESP's support, due to the improvements in Dynamic Positioning Class.


10. Increased number of publications and patents.


11. Possibility of fishing activity increase.