Portuguese Maritime Research Articles

Moisture and Temperature Profiles of Heartwood Pinus pinaster Ait. Wood Specimens during Microwave Drying

Microwave (MW) drying of wood has gained popularity in the field of wood modification. The rise in temperature during MW drying leads to increased steam pressure, enhancing wood permeability but potentially decreasing mechanical properties. Understanding temperature and moisture behaviors during MW drying is crucial for its industrial application in wood drying. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the temperature and moisture behaviors during MW drying of small Portuguese maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton.) wood samples to support a wider use of this technology. The effects on water uptake and the compressive strength parallel to the grain were also investigated. The results indicated three distinct phases in the MW drying rates, with an average of 0.085% of water removed per second. Moreover, the temperature underwent three distinct stages: an initial rapid increase, a period of constant temperature, and a slight decrease until drying was complete. At the beginning of MW drying, the temperatures were below 100 °C, with average temperatures ranging from 126 to 145 °C. Specimens with lower initial moisture content had higher temperatures, and a positive correlation was found between initial moisture content and drying time. In contrast, negative correlations were found between the initial moisture content and average temperature, as well as average temperature and MW drying time. Additionally, the operating condition parameters used in MW drying of pine samples enhanced water impregnability by 65%, generating a slight reduction of 11% in compressive strength. It was also noticed that the initial moisture content did not impact MW-dried samples’ water uptake or compressive strength. Finally, although small clear wood samples of maritime pine were utilized, the temperature and moisture patterns observed closely matched real-scale specimens. Thus, the findings corroborate a wide utilization of MW technology for wood drying, mainly demonstrating positive possibilities for structural-sized wood specimens.

Analysis of the treatability, water repellency efficiency, and dimensional stability of maritime pine after microwave drying

The impregnability of Portuguese maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) subjected to microwave (MW) drying was tested, and the hydrophobicity, anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), and water repellence efficiency (WRE) were evaluated. Small wood heartwood samples of Portuguese maritime pine and two distinct MW treatment settings were employed. The levels of ASE and WRE of the wood elements were evaluated throughout four cycles of drying in an oven and soaking in water. Because of MW applied energy, the wood pine samples were satisfactorily impregnated with the preservative product. Regarding the absolutely dry densities of the samples, very subtle reductions were measured, and they were statistically equivalent to the average density of the non-MW-treated group. Slight improvements were identified in the WRE values of wood samples dried in the microwave. In terms of ASE, both MW-treated groups had a statistically significant increase. The MW treatment decreased the volumetric swelling of the maritime pine wood specimens. Hence, this study raises new insights and previously unexplored paths that can contribute to the expansion and greater application of MW technology in maritime pine and other species.

Microbial response to a port fuel spill: Community dynamics and potential for bioremediation

Following a fuel leakage inside a Portuguese maritime port, we conducted parallel 30-day experiments using contaminated seawater and fuel, sampled five days after the incident. This study aimed to (i)survey the native microbial community response to the spilled fuel and (ii)evaluate the efficacy of bioremediation, both biostimulation and bioaugmentation with a lyophilized bacterial consortium (Rhodococcus erythropolis, Pseudomonas sp.), in accelerating hydrocarbon degradation. Metabarcoding analysis revealed a shift in microbial communities, with increased abundance of hydrocarbon-degraders (e.g. Alcanivorax, Thalassospira). Ninety-five hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria were isolated, including key groups from the enriched communities. The lyophilized bacteria added in bioaugmentation, enhanced the abundance of hydrocarbon-degraders over time and were recovered throughout time. Bioremediation treatments favoured biodegradation, achieving over 60 % removal of total petroleum hydrocarbons after 15 days, contrasting with natural attenuation where almost no TPH was removed. This work highlights the potential of bioremediation technologies to accelerate hydrocarbon-degrading activity, for oil spills inside ports.

Proto-Early Renaissance Depictions, Iconographic Analysis and Computerised Facial Similarity Assessment Connections: The 16th Century Mural Paintings of St. Leocadia Church (Chaves, North of Portugal)

The aim of this paper is to analyse facial similarity and apply it to identify the individuals depicted in the mural paintings of the apse of St. Leocadia Church, located in Chaves Municipality (North of Portugal), which were painted during the first quarter of the 16th century. This study also compares the portraits of this mural paintings with the oil paintings by the Proto-Renaissance Portuguese painter Nuno Gonçalves. Through this research, the feasibility of face recognition technology is explored to answer many ambiguities about Manueline stylistic identity and iconography. Additionally, it aims to associate historical events, artistic discoveries, and the expansion of portraiture as propaganda of power during the Portuguese Proto-Renaissance and Early Renaissance. On the other hand, it focuses on the prevalence of the religious and devotional over the sacred in Manueline painting. A proposal was made to identify the characters that are fundamental to the meaning of the mural paintings. An experiment was conducted on seven characters from the paintings at St. Leocadia Church, which were then compared to Nuno Gonçalves’ portraits. Facial similarity analysis was conducted on the faces portrayed in the Panels of St. Vincent, a remarkable portrait gallery from 15th-century Portugal, which has been the subject of national and international research for 130 years. Other paintings that were analysed were the oil paintings of St. Peter and St. Paul and of Infanta St. Joana, which were created by the same Quattrocento master. The purpose of the mural paintings of St. Leocadia Church could be catechetical in nature or related to the ritual practices of royal ancestor worship in royal portrait apses of the churches. It could also be associated with the Portuguese maritime expansion and the macro-imperial ideology of D. Manuel I.

A glimpse into the body shape and limb proportions of enslaved Africans from Lagos, Portugal (15th–17th centuries)

AbstractAt the beginning of the Portuguese maritime expansion (15th century), ships loaded with various goods, including sub‐Saharan enslaved individuals, began to arrive in Portugal. In 2009, osteoarchaeological remains of these individuals were recovered for the first time in Valle da Gafaria, Lagos. Attending to their African origin and given that several studies have shown that the human body generally conforms to Bergmann's and Allen's rules, in this study, the physique of 63 adult individuals from the Valle da Gafaria site is tested against ecogeographical predictions. For that purpose, body shape (assessed by the femoral head diameter to femoral length index) and intralimb proportions (brachial and crural indices) were compared with those of 200 identified Portuguese skeletons. Results showed that the Lagos females' body shape and intralimb proportions differed significantly from those of the Portuguese, being more ‘tropically adapted’ (i.e., more ‘linear’ body shape with elongated distal limb segments). For the Lagos' males, the reduced sample size advises caution in the interpretation of the results. Although the specific origin of the Lagos individuals is not yet known, and different individuals may have come from relatively different regions of sub‐Saharan Africa, with specific climatic adaptations, the results generally agree with the ecogeographical expectations. This study not only allows for the first glimpse into the body shape and limb proportions of enslaved Africans arriving in Portugal but also confirms that morphometric analyses of the long bones may be a valuable complement to investigate the latitude origin of an osteoarchaeological assemblage.

Grid-Based Vessel Deviation from Route Identification with Unsupervised Learning

The application of anomaly-monitoring and surveillance systems is crucial for improving maritime situational awareness. These systems must work on the fly in order to provide the operator with information on potentially dangerous or illegal situations as they are occurring. We present a system for identifying vessels deviating from their normal course of travel, from unlabelled AIS data. Our approach attempts to solve problems with scalability and on-line learning of other grid-based systems available in the literature, by applying a dynamic grid size, adjustable per vessel characteristics, combined with a binary-search tree method for data discretization and vessel grid search. The results of this study have been validated during the Portuguese Maritime Trial in April 2022, conducted by the Portuguese navy along the southern coast of Portugal.

The Historical Heritage оf Portugal as a Factor of Division and Consolidation оf Society

The problem of divided societies and divisions in societies acquires special significance against the background of growing socio-political tensions in the internal and external political dimensions around the world. The West is ceasing to be an area of predominant tranquility and wellbeing. In recent years, in European societies a trend of increasing divisions has also emerged. The article analyzes old and new socio-political divisions (cleavages) within the Portuguese society. The choice of Portugal as a case study is due to the combination of several factors: the memory of the Carnation Revolution, the attitude towards the European project, the imperial past, Catholicism/secularism, and the historical legacy of the Salazar dictatorship. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study is based on the use of the concept of divided societies and constructivism as the main epistemological tools, while the country studies analysis is also applied. The authors attempt not only to identify the basic socio-cultural divisions in the contemporary Portuguese society, but also answer the question of whether it is possible to speak of a divided society in relation to the Portuguese case. The emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of Portugal’s historical path as a post-imperial state whose specificity is largely due, first, to the heritage of the Portuguese maritime empire, and, second, to the legacy of the 1974 Carnation Revolution. The key cleavages that are at the center of the analysis are the legacy of the Carnation Revolution, the European project, the imperial legacy, the religious configuration, and the Salazar heritage. The conclusion is that the Portuguese society has managed to avoid the most negative scenario of the development of the situation and has a chance of consolidation.

Violins and cellos from Portuguese collections. A tree ring study as a historical source of the Portuguese heritage

• Dendrochronology of Portuguese violins and cellos reinforce the historical records. • Imported wood was used by luthiers in Portuguese workshops in XVII–XIX centuries. • Attributions to makers was confirmed by dendrochronology for most instruments. • For two violins a reassignment of the attribution should be considered. This first dendrochronological study of 13 violins and cellos from Portuguese workshops of the XVIII and XIX centuries aims at a deeper knowledge of dates and origin of the top woods used to build the instruments, as well as adding to the understanding of specific assembly techniques. A similar study was also made on 10 violins and cellos of foreign manufacture from the XVII and XVIII centuries, which are currently in Portugal, showing the scientific potential as well as limitations of the dendrochronological approach. The best chronological references which were applied to date the musical instruments manufactured in Portugal came from the Alpine regions of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy, but the identification of specific wood sources was not possible. The only known musical instrument in Portugal attributed to Antonio Stradivari (cello Chevillard) belongs to the collection of the National Museum of Music (Lisbon). The growth patterns on two pieces which compose the belly were compared with those of five other instruments made by the same luthier and was allowed to conclude that the wood came from the same region and, in one specific case, from the same tree. The terminum post quem obtained by the dendrochronological dating allowed the confirmation of attribution to a maker for most of the instruments but for two violins the attributions proved erroneous making the case for a reassignment of the two instruments. Dendrochronology led us to the conclusion that the Portuguese musical instruments can be seen as a physical proof of the historical records which document Portuguese maritime wood trade with Europe, mainly with Italy.

Museums working with older people in times of pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the work with/for/about older people being undertaken by museums during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, thinking of museums as caregivers. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the responses from museums which work with older adults, in times of pandemic. It reviews how museums have addressed older people during the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK and Portugal. Two Portuguese maritime museums which have older adults as strategic audiences are selected and their Facebook webpage during the lockdown is analyzed. Findings Museums were committed to delivering online the work they have been doing offline, not without limitations. The digital turn in times of pandemic draw attention to inequalities regarding visitors who has access and literacy to engage with the digital museum as well as museums themselves. Unlike in the UK, in the two maritime museums, there were no specific programmes targeting older people – except for COVID-19 messages. However, older adults are presented online as active and as experts on maritime issues, representing empowering versions of ageing, either online or offline. Originality/value This paper reviewed and illustrated with empirical examples from the UK and Portugal how museums are addressing older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to the wider debate on the role of arts, culture and cultural heritage for the well-being of older adults.

La "Fiesta Internacional" iniciada por la Reina Isabel de Aragón

Los cronistas y la tradición establecen que Isabel de Aragón inició la fiesta del Espíritu Santo en Alenquer, Portugal, en la Edad Media. Esta fiesta pasó a todo Portugal, pero hoy día se celebra en forma modificada sólo en Tomar. La expansión marítima portuguesa del s. XV llevó la fiesta a las Azores. Desde allí los azoreanos trajeron su fiesta consigo a Brasil, los Estados Unidos de América, Canadá y Bermudas, donde fue modificada por factores geográficos, sociales, económicos y culturales. Los elementos indígenas (bandera del país adoptivo, organizaciones militares y sociales que no existen en Portugal) entraron en esta fiesta, la más popular de origen portugués en América del Norte.

Mapping the future: Pressures and impacts in the Portuguese maritime spatial planning.

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is bringing new challenges to planning and management in the marine realm, namely on the environmental assessment of the new plans and projects. Portugal is developing its first MSP instrument, PSOEM (Plano de Situação do Ordenamento do Espaço Marítimo), since 2015 and published it on December 2019. This paper focuses on a particular stage of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of PSOEM regarding the assessment of the activities/uses that may significantly affect Natura 2000 marine network during the Plan's implementation in the Mainland subdivision. Over the years, progress has been made in researching and assessing the environmental impacts of maritime activities/uses. However, its application to practice raised several challenges and limitations. The methodological approach presented in this paper was developed to overcome knowledge, data and time constraints. Some of the limitations are a consequence of the MSP approach itself adopted in Portugal, namely the low technical detail on future uses and activities, which is required and desirable at this level of planning. Others relate with the lack of spatially explicit data on marine habitats and species distribution preserved under Natura 2000 network, which is not fully established in the marine environment. The adopted methodology started with the characterization and mapping of the conservation values and the pressures arising from the potential activities/uses. It followed with the assessment of their impacts and finally with the identification of mitigation measures, which were then adopted by the PSOEM as good practices. As new knowledge is generated and more information is collected, this tailor-made approach can be easily adapted and improved to keep supporting decision-making throughout PSOEM's implementation. The method can be easily adapted and transferred to other contexts, not only within the Portuguese maritime area, and could be made available to stakeholders that wish to invest in blue growth.

The Portuguese Maritime Voyages of Discovery: the exploration of the history of a city with an App as an educational resource

In this paper we present an evaluation of an App for mobile devices, ‘Roteiro dos Descobrimentos’, as an educational digital resource for primary school students. The study involved the participation of 131 students and eight teachers. Data were collected from participant observation, students’ questionnaires and interviews to students and teachers. According to students, they learned new things, related with the topics explored, in an easy and funny way. Students also emphasized as positive aspects the fact that they had to face different challenges and the need to mobilize their knowledge to solve them. Teachers referred that students showed great interest and enthusiasm during the activities. As main gains, teachers stressed that the application fosters the relationship of students with the city, facilitates collaboration, and promotes students’ autonomy. In resume, it seems that the playful and interactive dimension of the App promoted the development of important skills such as the ability to interact with the environment, collaborative work, autonomy, and reading and interpretation skills. As a conclusion, there is a great receptivity to integrate mobile technologies in the teaching and learning process, but the role of the teacher can’t be dismissed, as a mediator and educator.

Analysis of the influence of human errors on the occurrence of coastal ship accidents in different wave conditions using Bayesian Belief Networks

The paper describes a study aiming to assess the human error contribution in ship accidents in different weather conditions and the contribution that high significant wave heights have in the occurrence of certain accident typologies. To this aim, a Bayesian Belief Network model is developed, which includes variables related to the maritime accident but also to the different wave conditions. For the quantification of the conditional probability tables the maritime accident database of the Portuguese Maritime Authority is used, which includes 857 validated accidents registered in the period 1997–2006. Similarly, several significant wave height databases are used to populate the node correspondent to this variable. The importance of accurate estimation of the significant wave height is also discussed. To substantiate this discussion a comparison between hard evidence (ε) and a soft one (μ,σ) is performed for the significant wave height node of the BBN model. The application of different combinations of evidence in the model allows the identification of patterns of influence of the human error cause in comparison with others, namely with the sea and weather one. The results show one apparent high-risk acceptance within the crews of the fishing vessels and low risk perception in the recreational vessels. Based on the results, are provided recommendations to decrease the risk associated to specific probable causes.

CHARLES BOXER E A IGREJA MILITANTE: RAÇA, MISSIONAÇÃO E IMPÉRIO NA EXPANSÃO IBÉRICA DOS SÉCULOS XVI E XVII

O artigo busca fazer um balanço da obra do historiador inglês Charles Boxer dedicado a missionação católica nas Américas espanholas e portuguesas dos séculos XVI e XVII. Boxer condensou grande parte da discussão sobre o assunto, após uma vida de pesquisa, no livro de 1978 intitulado The Church Militant and Iberian Expansion, 1440-1770. A questão religiosa o acompanhou ao longo de sua produção historiográfica dedicada ao Império ultramarino português. Nesse artigo, busca-se explorar o modo como Boxer compreendeu as políticas ibéricas de conversão dos nativos e seus entrelaçamentos com as próprias políticas de colonização.

Bonding performance of Portuguese Maritime pine glued laminated timber

The use of timber for construction purposes in Portugal has decreased during the last century. However, recent market requests aiming at sustainable constructions led to a rediscovery of timber structures.Glued laminated timber is one of the most used timber construction products and its production using Portuguese Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) has been studied and validated concerning its economic and mechanical performance. This paper aims to present a state of the art of the research conducted so far on the use of Maritime Pine for glulam as well as new research conveying bonding with more recent adhesives.The ongoing study comprised an extended experimental campaign on gluing Maritime pine timber grown in Portugal, for glulam production. Eight different adhesives were considered, namely based on: i) Phenol-Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (PRF), ii) Melamine-Urea-Formaldehyde (MUF), iii) Emulsion-Polymer-Isocyanate (EPI) and iv) Single Component Polyurethane (1C-PUR). The amount of adhesive used and the clamping pressure were considered as main variables. Delamination specimens were tested according to Method A of EN 14080 [1] and shear strength tests followed Annex D of the same standard.In terms of delamination it was observed an excellent performance of all PRF adhesives. MUF, EPI and 1C-PUR adhesives presented good bonding performance, however, it is important to emphasize the need to use primer (PR) in the case of 1C-PUR adhesive. The shear strength was not influenced significantly by the adhesive type but some differences were found on Wood Failure Percentage for EPI and 1C-PUR adhesives.

Tetrodotoxins Occurrence in Non-Traditional Vectors of the North Atlantic Waters (Portuguese Maritime Territory, and Morocco Coast).

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent alkaloid typically from tropical ecosystems, but in the last decade its presence has been more pronounced in the temperate waters of the Atlantic. In its last scientific opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stressed the need for data regarding TTX prevalence in European waters. To address EFSA’s concerns, benthic organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms and fish with different feeding habits were collected along the Portuguese continental coast, islands (São Miguel, Azores, and Madeira) and the northwestern Moroccan coast. A total of 165 samples were analyzed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) and ultra high performance chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Geographical tendencies were detected as follows, by descending order: S. Miguel Island (Azores), Moroccan coast, Madeira Island and Portuguese continental coast. The toxin amounts detected were significant, above the Dutch limit value established in 2017, showing the importance and the need for continuity of these studies to gain more knowledge about the prevalence of these toxins, unraveling new vectors, in order to better assess human health risk. This work represents a general overview of new TTX bearers (7) most of them in gastropods (Patella depressa, Nucella lapillus, Onchidella celtica and Aplysia depilans), followed by echinoderms (Echinus esculentus and Ophidiaster ophidianus) and puffer fish Sphoeroides marmoratus.

Vicente de Almeida d’Eça e a historiografia marítima em 1898

The article criticizes the military approach of Portuguese maritime historiography. This historiography was made mostly on the occasion of important anniversaries and the studies were written by Navy officials. The critique focuses mainly on a wri- ting authored by Vicente de Almeida d’Eca (1852-1929), vice- -admiral of the Portuguese Navy, and this article analyses the conceptions of History embedded in it. The text, entitled “The Portuguese sailor through History”, was presented as a conference to a popular audience at Lisbon in 1898. In that context, the Portuguese sailor resurfaced as a paradigmatic and timeless figure, being recognized by the same characteristics since the 16th century. The interest in revisiting this text is due to the fact that it enables an analysis of the protagonism of historical subjects, nationalism, the invention of traditions and Portuguese imperial perspectives in the late 19th century

A história como estratégia e tema literários na Comédia de Diu (1601), de Simão Machado

Abstract Using concepts and the methodology of Imagology, this article analyses the process of fictionalisation of the period prior to the Siege of Diu (1538) in the bilingual play Comédia de Diu (Comedy of Diu, 1601), by Simão Machado. This historical play shares characteristics with the historical novel, and represents the conflicts between the Portuguese and the “Moorish” King Bandur in the Portuguese fortress of Diu (India). This article studies the playwright’s use of History and of self- and hetero-stereotypes to characterise and glorify the Portuguese historical characters and, metonymically, the Portuguese maritime and colonial enterprise in general.

TECHNOLOGY AND HETEROGENEOUS ENGINEERING: THE CASE OF PORTUGUESE EXPANSION

Based on historical materials about the technology of the 15th and 16th century Portuguese maritime expansion, the author shows that in order to understand the emergence, functioning, and collapse of technological systems we need to develop an approach that will be centred on the notion of heterogeneous engineering. Heterogeneous engineering presupposes that the building of technological systems involves associating and channelling diverse entities and forces, both human and nonhuman. This permits an analysis of how the existence of particular systems is shaped equally by different factors: natural, social, economic, and technical. In the case of Portuguese maritime expansion, the success of system-building was determined by the association between shipbuilding; the navigational skills of the navigators; navigational equipment and guns; features of the capes, oceanic currents, and winds; and the system of state support, training, and regulation—all of which made possible the establishment of a stable and powerful network that allowed the Portuguese to dominate the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Therefore, the construction of a technological system is a process of resolving conflicts between heterogeneous elements, and the associated elements must be able to withstand encounters with hostile forces and entities, both physical (e.g. oceans) and social (e.g. the Muslims). The systems approach proposed by the author shows, first, that technology can be analysed using the principle of generalized symmetry, which states that the same type of analysis should be made for all components in a system whether these components are human or not; and, second, that actors should be understood as entities that exert detectable influence on other entities

The sphere and the dome: The Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium in Lisbon and the imperial myth of the Estado Novo.

Inaugurated in 1965, the Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium (CGP) was the first institution of its kind in Portugal. The CGP was established in the context of the relocation of the Maritime Museum of Lisbon (Museu de Marinha) to Belém, an area of the Portuguese capital highly symbolic of Portuguese maritime and imperial history. The dictatorial regime known as Estado Novo used Belém as a ground for major events that affirmed the legitimacy of Portugal's overseas empire by celebrating the maritime deeds of erstwhile sovereigns and navigators, in a mythical narrative of a glorious imperial destiny. Given the close association between astronomy and nautical science, the CGP was certain to gain a prominent place in the tapestry of Belém's symbolic inscriptions. This paper addresses the inception of the CGP in its urban context, showing how this area of Lisbon provided an ideal backdrop for this institution, and how its foundation was promoted and steered by a naval officer and amateur astronomer who maintained an ambivalent relation with the regime: Eugénio da Conceição Silva (1903-69).