In July 2025, the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) spearheaded a deep-sea expedition to the Gorringe Bank, the largest submarine mountain in Portugal and Europe. The cruise was part of the TwinDEEPS project, a UN Ocean Decade-endorsed project aiming to strengthen Portugal’s deep-sea research capacity by linking it to leading institutions in the field of marine exploration while training a new generation of scientists.
The cruise departed from the Canary Islands and spent roughly two weeks at the Gorringe Bank aboard the NIOZ research vessel RV Pelagia, bringing together nine scientists from both institutions, including several members of the of the SponBIODIV consortium. Located 240 km southwest of Cape São Vicente, the Gorringe Seamount rises from 5,000 meters to within 25 – 60 meters of the surface, hosting unique habitats from coral and sponge gardens to critical feeding and breeding grounds for marine species such as whales, seabirds and marine turtles.
Data collected are currently being processed, and it is expected the results will help support the conservation and management of this exceptional biodiversity hotspot, contributing to Portugal’s National Strategy for the Sea 2030.
Image: Asconema setubalense field located at the Gorringe Bank. Credits: NIOZ.
