The Environment Chair helps the Port to examine undersea noise

The Project, recently approved, is included within the 2017 report.

One of the concerns of the Port Authority is to control underwater noise produced in the Port. According to marine strategies created under the protection of European directives, this institution has been helped by the Interuniversity Environment Chair of  the Cartagena Port Authority-Campus Mare Nostrum in order to study undersea noises in the port and to implement measures so that those do not exceed the levels, which affect marine fauna.

The Chair, which has recently approved the 2017 report, has developed four projects. One of them focused on monitoring undersea noise through autonomous vehicles. As Javier Galiber (one of the main researchers) explains that it has been achieved to incorporate a hydrophone in an autonomous undersea vehicle to have a controlled autonomous system able to record undersea audio.

In addition, a signal processing, based on the Order Analysis and capable of filtering engine noise, has been implemented. This technique has allowed them to filter noise to prevent it from overlapping with the engine’s one. “It allows clearer underwater recordings” the researcher assures. Finally, it has been developed a software to access to those recordings. Gilabert adds that this project helps to develop a ‘more sustainable’ Port and to control undersea noise and as a result, measures will be implemented.

The Chair also developed other projects last year such as:

• An integral environmental diagnosis that includes hydrological, geophysical and geochemical studies of two mining tanks of  flotation sludge located in the Avenque Revine (which flows into Gorguel beach). It analyses environmental risks and includes measures in order to mitigate the impact.
• An assessment of the pollination and dispersion networks of seeds as key factors for the 5220 habitat conservation.
• A population analysis of the sea horse in the Mar Menor.

Among the activities for Degree and Master students from the two public Universities of the Region, it was given two aids of professional initiation, associated with Port Authority environmental activities. The best Degree Dissertation has been awarded with €1 000 and the best Master Dissertation with €1 500, both about topics dealing with the environment in the Cartagena Port area.

Moreover, a contest was announced to design the logo that would be the Chair representative image. More than 40 proposals were submitted by the community members of the two public Universities of the Region. The Cartagena Port Authority contributed to finance with €60 000 all of these activities.

The Cartagena Port Authority (APC) initiated the APC-Campus Mare Nostrum Chair together with the Technical University of Cartagena and the University of Murcia. The aim is to know what Cartagena’s Port needs to improve its environment.

“Initiatives like these are necessary to improve the environment. Although these ones are small, these contribute an important added value for our activity. The commitment is not only from the Port Authority, but it is from each member companies of the Port’s community. I do my best to become ourselves a reference port in the environmental field”, has said Mr. Joaquín Delgado.