Portuguese UAE Team Emirates rider all smiles as he wins at home The Portuguese time trial champion blasted to the finish to win his second race of the early season He opened 2025 with victory at GP Castellón-Ruta de la Cerámica A reduced group of 19 riders gave chase, with Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) taking the bunch sprint for second ahead of Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) The third edition of Figueira Champions Classic served as the opening contest of the year for many notable riders, including Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) Romain Bardet (Team Picnic PostNL) and Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) Alaphilippe finished eighth while Bardet was 12th The victory on Sunday showed superb form for 21-year-old Morgado as he sets his sights on another home race I've been training well and my sensations are very good on the bike so I knew if all went well that I would have a chance today," Morgado said.  "From last year I knew the critical moment would probably be on the steep climb where I attacked so I saw my moment to move and I took it.  For me I'm so happy and proud to win here in Portugal Like the Belgians want to win in Belgium and the French want to win in French,I'm no different This is the only professional classic we have here in Portugal and to win it is a big deal for me." The Figueira Champions Classic covered 197.2km of rolling terrain along and near the central coast of Portugal A combination of nine Spanish and Portuguese riders formed the early breakaway - Javier Ibañez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) Nicolás Alustiza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) Jorge Gálvez (Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé) Diogo Narciso and João Medeiros (Credibom-LA Alumnínios-Marcos Car) Delio Fernández (APHotels & Resort-Tavira-SC Farense) and André Ribeiro (GI Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO) The nine held a four-minute margin as they began the second half of the race on the finish circuit covering the climb of Rua Parque Florestal (2.3km at 7.1%) for the first of three times The nine leaders completed a full circuit and managed to push their lead back out to 2:45 Lidl-Trek led the peloton with a steady tempo but no rush as they rode through Figueira da Foz Hitting the Rua Parque Florestal climb a second time leaving seven riders to hold off the charge from behind led by Tudor Pro Cycling and Equipo Kern Pharma Such was the speed behind that by the mid-point of the 2.3km climb the catch was completed and a new race began Dylan Teuns (Cofidis) Alaphilippe and Morgado were twitchy and keen to go on the attack but nothing stuck Then Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) made a bold move and he opened a 20-second gap with 41km to go Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) and Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar) gave chase behind Ganna as he approached the short Enforca Cães ascent but they were simply something to aim at for the peloton While Ganna survived the climb on his solo charge Valgren and Tesfatsion were caught and a new focus emerged at the start of the final lap to close down the 43 seconds to the Italian opportunities to make any significant moves were fading Passing through an intermediate sprint with 25km to go and serving as a signal for the final climb of Rua Parque Florestal Morgado's acceleration at the base of the climb proved most convincing as he hunched over his handlebars to fight for time Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jon Aguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi) joined forces in an effort to reach the young Portuguese rider They were caught too by a reduced peloton that seemed hungry to catch Morgado too.  However he wanted to win on home roads and fought all the way to the finish 24 riders were in the chase group but Morgado had the strength to hold them off and celebrate his solo victory as they fought for the placing in the sprint Their disappointment made for a perfect backdrop to his victory celebrations.  Results powered by FirstCycling Volume 8 - 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.699483 Resting cysts of planktonic dinoflagellates sink to the seabed where they can remain viable for a long time These cysts have important ecological roles such as acting as the inoculum for the development of planktonic populations dinoflagellate cyst records from depth sediment cores are broadly used as a proxy to infer past environmental conditions the main objective was to obtain information on the relationships between the spatial distribution of modern dinoflagellate cysts and present-day hydrography in the NW Iberian shelf Cyst assemblages were analyzed in 51 surface sediment samples with varying grain sizes following nine transects perpendicular to the coast between Aveiro and Figueira da Foz (Atlantic Iberian margin) Multivariate statistical analyses revealed marked land-sea and latitudinal gradients in the distribution of cysts and helped investigate how environmental factors [water depth bottom temperature (BTT) and surface chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL)] influence modern dinoflagellate cyst composition and abundances Three main ecological signals were identified in the modern dinoflagellate cyst assemblages: (1) the heterotroph signal as the main upwelling signal; (2) the dominance of P possibly reflecting transitional environments between more active inshore upwelling and warmer offshore waters; and (3) the G catenatum signal for the presence of mid-shelf upwelling fronts The almost absence of viable cysts of the toxic and potentially toxic species G reticulatum suggests that in the study area there is no build-up of significant cyst beds and thus planktonic populations must depend on other seeding processes These results are the first detailed modern distribution of dinoflagellate cysts in the NW Iberian Atlantic margin (off Portugal) and show a good correspondence with hydrographic features of summer upwelling season in the study area meaning that they are reflecting water column characteristics and therefore may be used as supporting evidence for the interpretation of stratigraphic cyst records and reconstruction of past marine ecosystems in W Iberia In this study, modern dinoflagellate cyst assemblages (concentration and relative abundance) and grain-size were analyzed in 51 surface sediment samples off Aveiro-Figueira da Foz (Atlantic Iberian margin). The well documented hydrography of the study area (Relvas et al., 2007; Oliveira et al., 2019) allowed the investigation of how well the cyst assemblages reflected the water column characteristics The relationships between environmental variables – grain-size bottom temperatures (BTT) and chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL) – and community composition were investigated by multivariate statistics to study how environmental gradients affect the present-day spatial distribution of dinoflagellate cysts This work represents the first detailed dataset on modern dinoflagellate cyst distributions on the NW Portuguese shelf strongly influenced by seasonal upwelling and may provide reference data for the interpretation of environmental signals from stratigraphic dinoflagellate cyst records to reconstruct past marine ecosystems in coastal environments from related or similar areas with SSS increasing southwards and offshore During the Hydrographic Institute of Portugal (IH)/AQUIMAR Cruise (March 2019), 51 surface sediment samples were collected with a Smith-McIntyre grab in coastal environments between the Ria de Aveiro and the Mondego (Figueira da Foz) outlets (Figure 1). Sampling stations followed nine land-sea transects perpendicular to the coast, corresponding to different grain-sizes and water depths (Table 1) plexiglass tubes (3.6 cm internal diameter) were inserted in the sediment and the top 1-cm layer was collected and stored at 4°C in the dark for further analysis in the laboratory representative of the top 20 cm of surface sediment coverage was collected and frozen (−18°C) until further analysis Samples studied in this paper and the six environmental parameters included in statistical analyses The floating organic fraction was collected rinsed twice by centrifugation at 3600 rpm (∼2510 × g) (Eppendorf 5804 R) and recovered with filtered seawater in a final volume of 1 to 10 ml Replicated sediment samples were used for dry weight determination (drying at 60°C until constant weight) and % moisture The sample dry weight was determined using the previously calculated % moisture Phase-contrast morphological examination (and photography) of some specimens were performed on a Zeiss Axiovert 200 microscope All photographs (both bright-field and phase-contrast) were taken with a Zeiss Axiocam HRc camera to keep a permanent collection as a backup aliquots of all samples were mounted on slides using glycerine jelly and sealed with wax This was also applied in the cases when the name refers to one of various cyst (morpho)types that are currently linked to only one species (e.g. which illustrates one cyst type of Protoperidinium oblongum) List of all dinoflagellate cyst taxa identified in this study and their corresponding biological (motile cell) names includes unidentifiable species (Spiniferites sp.) and other species that were identified in some samples (e.g. bentori) but could be misidentified in others due to their difficult orientation Because of their presumably similar ecological affinities and unidentifiable round (smooth) brown cysts (which include broken or folded brownish cysts with round outline that probably correspond to one of the previous genera) – were grouped in RBC unidentified cysts were excluded and those groups for which identification was doubtful in some samples were grouped to the genus level A total of 23 cyst types and square-root transformed percentage data (%) were used for RDA analyses (taxa that never contributed >1% were excluded) Note that very consistent results were obtained with or without data transformation and chlorophyll-a (CHL) from CMEMS based on the Copernicus-GlobColour processor namely from the North Atlantic Chlorophyll product (OCEANCOLOUR_ATL_CHL_L4_REP_ OBSERVATIONS_009_098) used as base to compile the EMODnet information we considered that the obtained grain-size distribution was well representative of modern sediment distribution and represents the best available data to be compared with the modern distribution of dinoflagellate cyst assemblages Spatial distribution of cysts (empty cysts and cysts with cell contents) (cysts.ml–1) (A) and sediment grain size (B) along the nine transects studied Cyst concentrations ranged between 0.5 and 1478.4 cysts.ml–1. The lowest concentrations were observed in coarse samples close to the coast, whereas the highest values were generally found in deeper stations with finer sediments (>500 cyst.sml–1 in stations B63, B64, B82, B51, B79, B45, B35, B11, B75) protected in general by rock outcrops (Figures 1, 2A,B, and 3A) Spatial distribution of concentrations of total cysts (A) and cysts with cell contents (B) A total of 45 dinoflagellate cyst types were identified, excluding unidentifiable types round brown cysts (RBC), spiny brown cysts (SBC), and brown peridinoids (Table 2). Morphotype richness or number of cyst types per sample is shown in Supplementary Table 4 (Unidentifiable types are counted as one type) with a maximum of 33 and a minimum of 10 cyst types Morphotype richness generally increased northwards and at mid depths counts of full cysts were generally very low (0–56) the observed trend in their proportions may not be significant Full cysts of the HAB species G. catenatum and P. reticulatum occurred in negligible amounts while no full cysts of L. polyedra were recorded. In contrast, many full cysts of calcareous taxa (Scrippsiella trochoidea, spherical-type cf. Scrippsiella sp., cf. Ensiculifera tyrrhenica) and RBC were identified (Supplementary Table 4) a dinocyst survey was done along the whole Portuguese coast but E tyrrhenica was only recorded in Ria de Aveiro located in the vicinity of the present study area Spatial trends in relative abundances (%) of heterotrophic (orange) and autotrophic (blue) taxa along the nine land-sea transects studied Spatial distribution of relative abundances (%) of autotrophic (A) and heterotrophic (B) cyst taxa Dinoflagellate cyst percentages obtained for the studied 51 surface samples Samples are arranged by nine transects perpendicular to the coast Those cyst types for which identification was doubtful were summed to a higher category and cysts of Protoperidinium avellana and P delicatus; RBC includes unidentifiable round browns and cf Spatial trends in relative abundances (A) and concentrations (B) of cysts of the three HAB species (Gymnodinium catenatum According to cluster analysis constrained by latitude, cyst assemblages could be classified in three groups (southern, intermediate and northern samples). Clustering also indicated that the major change in cyst composition was between northern and the remaining (southern + intermediate) samples, cyst assemblages from southern and intermediate samples being more similar (Figures 8A,B, 9A,B) Classification results from cluster analysis (constrained by latitude) performed on untransformed percentage data using Bray Curtis dissimilarity distances and Coniss method (A) The dashed red line in the map (B) separates the main two groups of samples according to the highest differences in their cyst assemblages Ordination of samples and environmental parameters (A) and cyst taxa and environmental parameters (B) The three groups defined by cluster are represented by different colors (A) Only the most significant cyst types (those with the highest RDA1 and RDA2 values) are represented (B) it represents an average of daily values for a period of 16 years (2003 to 2019) small changes in SST could actually represent relevant changes in the environment The distribution of the heterotrophic species P americanum did not follow the general pattern detected for other heterotrophic species An inshore-offshore environmental gradient was also reflected in RDA. Deeper samples were ordinated to the upper right quadrant of the biplot (Figure 9A), with higher abundances of G. catenatum (Figure 9B). On the other hand, shallower samples ordinated to the lower left quadrant of the biplot (Figure 9A), with higher proportions of Protoperidinium species and most of heterotrophs (Figure 9B) This study investigated the distribution of benthic dinoflagellate resting cysts in recent sediments from the shelf off Aveiro-Figueira da Foz (Atlantic Iberian margin) in relation with present day environmental drivers These studies are particularly relevant since cysts are the only fossilizable stage of dinoflagellates and understanding how they reflect present day environmental conditions will contribute to a better interpretation of environmental signals from stratigraphic cyst records Redundant Discriminant Analysis suggests the existence of two main environmental regimes (Figures 9A,B) which included the southern and offshore (deeper) sites lower BTT and lower primary productivity (lower CHL) which included the northern sector and inshore (shallower) sites higher BTT and enhanced primary productivity (higher CHL) These two main environmental regimes were reflected on the cyst assemblages by a clear trophic segregation. In the first case, autotrophic taxa, such as P. reticulatum, L. polyedra, S. mirabilis/hyperacanthus, G. catenatum, and G. microreticulatum, dominated the assemblage, while in the second case heterotrophs were the dominant group, particularly RBC, including Brigantedinium spp., and Q. concreta (Figure 9B) The southern and offshore sites, characterized by warm stratified conditions (positive side of RDA1), were dominated by autotrophic cyst taxa (Figures 9A,B) the statistical analysis suggested two groups that may represent distinct ecological signals microreticulatum and the heterotrophic species P The robustness of this signal could be further tested in the future extending the sampling area offshore well into the low frontal probability zone supporting the utility of this cyst species as an indicator of warm and stratified environments The second group, characterized by high abundances of G. catenatum, the single species with the highest relative abundances in the study area, seems to reflect a different ecological niche from other autotrophs. It plotted the most positive on RDA1 with a strong association with deeper waters (Figures 7, 9B). Latitudinally, it was particularly abundant (percentages) in the intermediate transects (i.e., red dots in Figure 9A) chain-forming dinoflagellates are the exception and not the rule in upwelling systems and probably other factors such as temperature tolerance play an important role in species selection Their results indicated that the sediment assemblages reflected mainly the water column distribution observed during the upwelling season catenatum have been studied in W Iberia for more than 40 years it is still not fully understood which factors other than life cycle traits (physical or biological) may be involved in the initiation and successful development of blooms Several hypotheses were put forward which included the mismatch between phytoplankton studies and the occurrence of planktonic populations of P and/or a species specific high cyst:motile cell ratio during the encystment process no harmful events have been associated with P the high abundance of cysts in sediments prompts investigation on the ecology and toxicity of regional strains The study of the distribution of dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in 51 surface sediment samples off Aveiro-Figueira da Foz revealed marked land-sea and latitudinal gradients Summer coastal upwelling was identified as the main ecological gradient driving dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in the study area Redundant analysis (RDA) on relative abundances revealed the existence of two main environmental regimes One included the southern and offshore sites and was characterized by higher SST stratified and less productive environments which included the northern sector and inshore sites higher BTT and enhanced primary productivity (CHL) Three main ecological signals were identified in the dinoflagellate cyst assemblages: i) The heterotroph signal as the main upwelling signal; possibly reflecting transitional environments between more active inshore upwelling and warmer offshore waters; the main signal for the presence of mid-shelf upwelling fronts These results are the first detailed distributions of modern dinoflagellate cysts in the NW Iberian Atlantic margin (off Portugal) Despite the uncertainties related to sediment and cyst transport post-depositional processes and the possible disparity between the time scale of the cyst record and the time scale of the environmental data used cyst distributions show a fairly compelling coincidence with hydrographic features during the summer upwelling season in the study area This means that modern dinoflagellate cyst assemblages are reflecting water column characteristics and may be used as supporting evidence for the interpretation of stratigraphic cyst records and reconstruction of past marine ecosystems in W Iberia The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s AA participated in the oceanographic campaign to obtain surface sediment samples and water depth data Sediment texture analyses and statistics were performed by AO and AS Oceanographic data collection and analysis was performed by PO Dinoflagellate cyst analyses and microscopic observation and photography were conducted by IG-M and AA Multivariate statistical analyses were performed by IG-M All authors participated in data discussion This work was a contribution to HABWAVE project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-031265 within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020 and national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia This work was also supported by funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement N 810139: Project Portugal Twinning for Innovation and Excellence in Marine Science and Earth Observation – PORTWIMS IG-M was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from Xunta de Galicia The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher Teresa Moita (CCMAR – Centro de Ciências do Mar Portugal) is greatly acknowledged for her invaluable help in the preparation of the distribution maps We also thank Melissa Hatherly for her great assintance in the processing of sediment samples for cyst analyses who were most helpful in ensuring the success of the cruise and especially to Raquel Melo for her technical assistance on-board and geographical data base management We also thank the reviewers for their comments which greatly improved the manuscript Copernicus Marine Service Information and data obtained from the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Centre (PO.DAAC) at JPL (Jet Propulsion 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Iria García-Moreiras, aXJpYWdhbW9AdXZpZ28uZXM= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish The electronic music festival returns to Praia do Relógio with three top names in its luggage some of them repeated from previous editions Steve Aoki and Timmy Trumpet are the three headliners for the 2025 edition of the RFM SOMNII electronic music festival which this year brings some great new features to the venue once again on the beach at Figueira da Foz which is widely known as “the biggest sunset ever” promises to take the experience of all festival-goers to the next level starting with a heavyweight line-up and a complete renovation of the entire venue keeping up with new trends and proposing new conceptual shows Throughout the year we keep an eye on what’s going on in the world to update the musical line-up of the festival,” said the organizers The 11th edition will feature a new layout of the venue an Arcade games area and even a makeshift barbershop The RFM SOMNII organizers are also going to focus on more international communication by launching campaigns to promote the festival in countries such as Spain the event will continue to allow free entry to children under 12 making it one of the most “family-friendly” festivals in the world General passes range from €70 (regular ticket) to €140 (VIP ticket) with daily tickets only becoming available in March Jutting into the ocean off the coast of Portugal these Middle Jurassic sedimentary rocks may hold valuable information for us today.//Image: Ricardo Silva Earth’s crust records life’s many changes and on the coast of Portugal some rocks may hold a very important chapter of our story is drumming up support and a team to investigate this area he suspects holds highly relevant information for us to know today Geology tells us that the land we inhabit was formed by the wreck of older lands—that marvelous catastrophes unfold and change our planet knowing these parts of our story can be helpful in understanding we discover minerals needed for things like batteries These layers of Middle Jurassic sedimentary rocks at Figueira da Foz in Portugal can help us understand our natural history Silva is leading an international project that has two purposes assemble a team of researchers to investigate a time in our Earth’s history we know little about—the Middle Jurassic (~174–161 million years ago) ocean currents and biological evolution started to resemble present- day conditions and these changes happened against a backdrop of a changing oceanic carbon cycle (that is and Resources has shown that severe disruptions in Earth’s system are associated with changes in oceanic organic carbon cycling But we know very little of what happened in this context during the Middle Jurassic which would be handy to know today given our carbon issues “Gaining a fundamental understanding of Earth hopefully makes us better stewards of the planet,” Silva says. “It’s just a question of shining some light into a very dimly lit part of our knowledge. We do all these computer models right now, but we lack the understanding we need to make sure they are accurate We need a better insight into oceanic processes related to organic carbon.” The second purpose of Silva’s project is trying to keep Canada relevant on the big stage titled Middle Jurassic Earth System and Timescale (M-JET) is part of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) ICDP’s main objective is to coordinate international continental drilling projects in various regions worldwide with diverse scientific targets and drilling depths Canada was a full member of ICDP but pulled out in 2015 because of funding issues Silva is trying to keep Canada engaged in this international community in the hopes that the nation could one day join as a full member again “It’s unthinkable that Canada is not part of a global organization that could bring so much to our country,” Silva says “The aspect that I struggle with is people not realizing the importance of it: it’s through ICDP that many scientific breakthroughs are made and because we’re not a member Canadian scientists are limited in their participation So we are missing out on a program that generates a lot of new knowledge and we are missing out on the possibility of training students in the technologies of tomorrow but we can’t really lead if we’re not in this global organization.” , , , , Alum architect ignites introspection among students through unique art form campus life and redeveloping the Hudson Bay building Europe's largest beach festival took some new risks this year Located in small city Figueira da Foz on the coast exactly between Porto and Lisbon it is one of the few festivals built and working entirely on sand Everything is set up on Praia do Relógio (meaning Clock Beach when directly translated to English) which is a 33-kilometer long beach and marks one of the biggest ones in Europe.  The 2019 edition marked the 8th year of the festival and 7th in the beach of Figueira da Foz it's apparent that the production team has done an amazing job of expanding and growing every year 2012's debut installment had a couple of thousand attendees over a day about 130k attendees (mainly from Portugal and Spain) stormed the small city over the course of three days.   reggaeton giant Ozuna and even Redfoo.  6Gallery6 ImagesThis expansion of the lineup led to some short-term backlash from longtime fans It definitely paid off for the festival in the long run as 2019 marked its most successful year yet.  The organization of the festival was of note as well fans had to walk a distance of five or sometimes ten minutes on the sand in order to reach the main site and organizers made that fairly easy with the construction of wooden pathways that led to and from the city Getting in and out of the site was very easy despite the staggering number of attendees and after entry navigation around the festival and find things like bars or a place to chill was seamless.  The lineup was the biggest yet for RFM Somnii, headlined by Afrojack, DJ Snake and Don Diablo. Other performers, among them the aforementioned Tyga, Ozuna and Redfoo, were names such as Jonas Blue, Netsky Another thing that made the whole experience unique was that the whole city turned into a big party during the three days of the festival.  4Gallery4 ImagesFigueira da Foz is a historic tourist city with 60 thousand inhabitants that really went back on the map with RFM Somnii's choice of hosting the festival on its beach Both the organizers and the municipality realize how important they are for each other in order for the festival to grow and for attendees to have the best experience possible they teamed up for the first time to provide attendees with a large and diverse choice of branded afterparties at the city's clubs and special events and happenings throughout the day for the festival's duration It was like the entire city was in festival mode music and events seemingly everywhere.  Starcadian leaves behind a glimmering legacy and an unreleased album he called "the best" he'd ever produced 20252019 was a landmark year for RFM Somnii in general the festival organizers managed to create yet another amazing edition Looks like the only way is up for Europe's biggest beach festival as they gear up to create an overall better experience over the years to come - and EDM.com will be there watching.  new Head of International Strategy for RFM Somnii Airbeat One is making its grandiose return July 6-10 one of Europe’s largest open-air beach festivals The production of resting cysts is a key dispersal and survival strategy of many dinoflagellate species. However, little is known about the role of suspended cysts in the benthic nepheloid layer (BNL) in the initiation and decline of planktonic populations. Volume 10 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1270343 Introduction: The production of resting cysts is a key dispersal and survival strategy of many dinoflagellate species little is known about the role of suspended cysts in the benthic nepheloid layer (BNL) in the initiation and decline of planktonic populations sampling of the dinoflagellate cyst community at different water depths in the water column and in the bottom sediments and studies of spatio-temporal changes in physical properties (temperature density and suspended sediment concentration) were carried out along a land-sea transect off Figueira da Foz (NW Portugal) to investigate the dinoflagellate cyst distribution and the factors (physical and biological) affecting it A clustering analysis was used to compare the BNL and sediment cyst records with the cyst rain recorded by a sediment trap at a fixed station Lagrangian particle experiments enabled simulating cyst trajectories in the BNL 5 and 10 days before sampling and assessing cross-shore vertical and alongshore transport within the studied region Results: A well-developed BNL was present during the survey which covered a change from active (14th of September) to relaxed (19th of September) upwelling conditions Organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts were dominant in all samples although calcareous dinoflagellate cysts consistently occurred (at low abundances) High proportions of full cysts were observed in the BNL of which a significant portion was viable as shown by excystment experiments BNL cyst records collected on the 19th of September along the land-sea transect were similar to the sediment trap cyst record but greatly differed from sediment cyst records The heterotrophic small spiny brown cysts (SBC) and cysts of the autotrophic yessotoxin-producer Protoceratium reticulatum notably increased during the survey surface sediment and sediment trap cyst records supported that the main origin of cysts in the BNL was the recent production in the water column The spatial coincidences in the distribution of cysts and vegetative cells of Protoceratium reticulatum also supported that full cysts in the water column were being produced in surface waters New data evidenced the presence of a significant reservoir of viable cysts in the BNL that have the potential to seed new planktonic blooms back-track particle modelling evidenced that alongshore advection was the main physical mechanism controlling cyst dynamics in the BNL during most part of the survey period being particularly intense in coastal stations (<100 m depth) the sediment cyst signal is a mixture of locally and regionally produced cysts We provide multi-disciplinary data evidencing that cysts recently formed in the photic zone can be laterally advected within the studied region through the BNL contributing to a better understanding of the role of the BNL in cyst dynamics and tracing the seed sources of the new blooms suggesting local blooms may rely on other seeding strategies The present work was motivated by the little knowledge available on particle transport in coastal environments of the Atlantic Iberian margin and the need for new data that help understand the role of suspended cysts in the BNL in the initiation and decline of dinoflagellate blooms were carried out along a land-sea transect off Figueira da Foz (NW Portugal) The main objectives were: 1) to investigate BNL development and characterize dinoflagellate cyst abundance and diversity; 2) to detect the presence of viable cysts in the BNL and 3) to study the main physical and biological processes affecting cyst distribution in the BNL Cyst records were compared with the cyst rain recorded by a sediment trap and cyst distribution in the underlying sediments by statistical methods to investigate the origin of cysts in the BNL excystment experiments were carried out to check the viability of full cysts Particle back-track Lagrangian experiments enabled reconstructing the trajectory of cysts in the BNL providing new insights into their origin and the transport processes affecting their distribution in coastal environments The closest contribution of freshwater and fluvial sediments to the study area is the Mondego River, with a catchment basin of 6670 km2 and an estimated annual average runoff up to ~150 m3s-1 (Cunha and Dinis, 2002). However, the Douro and Minho Rivers further north of the study site are the greater contributors to the WIBP on the NW Iberian coast (Mendes et al., 2016) Figure 2 Surface distributions of chlorophyll-a concentration (A) and temperature (B) off Figueira da Foz before and during the BNL sampling campaign. Satellite-derived data were taken from the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) website (https://data.marine.copernicus.eu/viewer/) Areas where clouds made data collection impossible are shown in black sampled sites (blue dots) and the 100-m isobath (white line) are represented Between 14th and 19th September 2019, environmental data and water and sediment samples for dinoflagellate cyst analyses were collected onboard the NRP Auriga during the Hydrographic Institute (IH)-HABWAVE cruise. Sampling stations were located at different water depths following an inshore-offshore transect off Figueira da Foz, on the NW Portuguese coast (Atlantic Iberian margin) (Figures 1A–C) Lagrangian experiments enabled simulating cyst trajectories in the benthic nepheloid layer (BNL) 5 and 10 days before sampling and assessing cross-shore Table 1 Sampling campaign (IH)-HABWAVE Water samples from the BNL for cyst analyses were collected with a rosette firing system equipped with a CTD/nephelometre. In the BNL, a total of 14 water samples for cyst analyses were collected on 14th and 19th September 2019 (Table 1). Selection of sampling depths for cyst analyses in the BNL was based on the turbidity signal obtained during downcast (Figures 3, 4) 19 additional samples were collected in the BNL at regular time intervals on 16th and 18th of September to record temporal variation (covering a period of ~5 hours each day) With the objective of better understanding the oceanographic processes underlying cyst dynamics in the BNL these samples were collected in alternation with the complementary data acquisition yoyos referred above Figure 3 CTD profiles of temperature, salinity, density and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) along two transects, 14th (A) and 19th (B) September 2019, sampled off Figueira da Foz. Black circles indicate the position of the samples collected in the benthic nepheloid layer (BNL). Sample labels are according to Table 1 Figure 4 Fixed station CTD profiles of temperature, salinity, density and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) during part of the days 16th (A) and 18th (B) of September 2019 at station #7. Black circles indicate the sampled points in the BNL, labelled as in Table 1 As referred above, at station #7, a mooring with a sediment trap was set to record the export production of dinoflagellate cysts from 7th to 19th September 2019 (S.T. in Figure 1C; Table 1) At stations #1, #2, #3, #5, #7 and #9, additional water samples were collected for studying the vertical distribution of phytoplankton and cysts in the water column above the BNL (5, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 75 m, depending on station depth) (Figure 1C). These samples were preserved with hexamethylenetetramine buffered formalin until being analyzed in the laboratory (see Moita et al., 2022 for more details) All details of samples collected in water and sediments for cyst analyses (sample label, type of sample, sampling date and time, sampling station, sampled depth, etc.) were summarized in Table 1 In the laboratory, water samples from the BNL were gently sonicated (60s) (Elmasonic S50R, Elma Schmidbauer GmbH) followed by centrifugation at 3600 rpm (~2510 g) (Eppendorf 5804 R), for 15 min (18°C) in graduated centrifuge tubes to concentrate the cysts (adapted from Kirn et al., 2005; Pilskaln et al., 2014a) The supernatant was removed to a known final volume adjusted between 1-40 ml with filtered seawater after homogenizing the whole sample (278 ml) a subsample of 10 ml was sonicated for 60s and sieved through a 150 µm-Nylon mesh onto a 20 µm-calibrated stainless steel mesh (Retsch) a volume of 1 or 2 ml was observed in an inverted light microscope (Leica DMi1) at x200 and x400 magnification A replicate of each sample (2 to 30 ml, depending on cyst concentration) was subsampled and processed as described in detail in García-Moreiras et al. (2021). In brief, sediment sample processing included gentle sonication (60 s), wet sieving (150 µm and 20 µm meshes) and density separation with sodium polytungstate (2.016 g/ml) (Bolch, 1997; Amorim et al., 2001) Samples were centrifuged and adjusted to a final volume of 1 to 10 ml with filtered sea water in Falcon tubes Replicated sediment samples were used for the dry weight (drying at 60 °C until constant weight) and % moisture determination a volume of 1 or 2 ml was observed in an inverted Leica DMi1 microscope dinoflagellate cysts were identified and counted in one or more 1-ml Sedgewick Rafter chambers (Graticules Optics Aliquots of all cyst samples were mounted on microscope slides with glycerine jelly and sealed with wax to take photographs and be stored as part of the permanent collection Microphotographs (Plate 1) were obtained using an Olympus BX50 microscope and a Zeiss Axiocam HRc camera Total cyst sums (~100-800 cysts) included both empty and full (with cell contents) cysts Results were expressed as relative abundances (percentage values of the total cyst assemblage) in both water and sediment samples absolute abundances (cyst concentrations in BNL and sediment samples and cyst fluxes in the trap sample) were also calculated as follows: • Cyst concentrations in BNL samples: • Cyst concentrations in sediment samples: • Cyst fluxes in the sediment trap sample: To investigate the possible interaction between cysts in the 3 compartments —i.e., water column, BNL and surface sediments— a comparison of dinoflagellate cyst records was performed using clustering. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied on square-root- transformed dinoflagellate cyst percentages using the Pvclust package (Suzuki et al., 2022) developed for R software v. 4.2.1. (R Development Core Team, 2013) The significance of the clusters obtained was tested by permutation tests (10000 permutations) that calculated the p-value via multiscale bootstrap resampling Various classifications using different methods and distance matrices were developed and finally the most significant clustering with the highest p-value was chosen A simple linear regression analysis was also used to compare cyst distribution in the BNL with the vegetative cell distribution of known cyst-producing dinoflagellates in the above water column The regression coefficient (R2) has been plotted as a measure of the significance of the regression analysis Since this study dealt with living dinoflagellate cysts the motile-stage based name (biological name) was used preferentially —when the cyst-theca relationship is well established and the vegetative stage known— always adding “cyst of” before to indicate that we are referring to the resting stage (cyst) When the vegetative stage was not clear or unknown or when more than one cyst morphotype was related to a single motile species the cyst-based name (paleontological name) was used instead Table 2 Dinoflagellate cyst taxa identified in this study with their corresponding motile cell names (following Zonneveld and Pospelova, 2015; van Nieuwenhove et al., 2020; Gu et al., 2021) we were interested in modelling the origin of the cysts at the spatial scale of the continental shelf and time scale of one week some Alex-type cysts found in sediments (e.g. Plate 1) could actually correspond to calcareous cysts that had lost their mineral outer wall calcareous cysts could be underrepresented in the sediment samples analyzed in this study split-like archeopyle and were therefore classified as Diplopsalis-type (Image These cysts were added to the RBC group for graphical representation and statistical analyses brevispinosum in that the processes were less densely arranged and the wall was apparently granulated Note the different scales of the abundance axes between different cyst taxa Figure 6 Temporal distribution of dinoflagellate cyst records during part of the days 16th (A) and 18th (B) of September 2019 at station #7 Only the most abundant cyst types are shown The bloom never exceeded 200 cells/l at the innermost station Figure 7 Vertical and horizontal distributions of mean total cysts concentrations (A), small spiny brown cysts (B) and cysts (C) and cells (D) of Protoceratium reticulatum (Moita et al., 2022) along the two land-sea transects sampled on 14th and 19th September 2019 off Figueira da Foz in the sediment trap cyst diversity (especially of autotrophic taxa) was higher than in sample T2-7 higher cyst abundances of clear cysts —such as cysts of Spiniferites spp. as well as the occurrence of Lingulodinium polyedra Figure 8 Sediment trap dinoflagellate cyst record Cyst percentages and fluxes in the cyst rain from 7th to 19th September 2019 at station #7 Figure 9 Dinoflagellate cyst percentages (A) and concentrations (B) in the sediment samples collected along the land-sea (right to left in the x-axis) transect off Figueira da Foz B1 and B83 were collected at practically the same location germination times varied between 4 and 19 days germination times were very variable (1-40 days) suggesting differences in maturation and germination physiology of the different species Table 3 Summary of the results obtained from isolation and germination experiments This vertical contribution was more intense at offshore sites than inshore The particles coming from the north were observed to be advected in the BNL in the presence of an inshore transport to the left of the equatorward jet according to the bottom Ekman dynamics while the deeper particles (depth >100m) were slowly advected polewards from the south Figure 11 Trajectories of Lagrangian particle experiments simulating cysts integrating backwards in time during 10 days from days 14th (A-C) and 19th September 2019 (D-F) D) represent the horizontal view from above (longitude-latitude) showing the trajectories of cysts at 1 B) for a lateral longitude-depth slice view from the south of the same simulation F) represent lateral latitude-depth slice view from the west and 10 mab initial releasing of simulated cysts Isobaths 25,50,100,250,500,1000 and 2500 m are represented in (A The cyst’s initial positions are represented in black dots and the predicted positions 5 and 10 days before cyst sampling in red squares and green crosses This is coherent with the proximity of these stations to the river mouth considering that a very low cyst count (52 cysts) was obtained in this sample (B2) these results must be considered with caution would have not favored upward vertical motions in the water column Consistent with the fact that little resuspension of bottom cysts might have affected the water-column cyst distribution off Figueira da Foz are the results recently obtained by Villacieros-Robineau et al. (2019) in a similar area further north from our study site They detected little resuspension of the bottom sediments during the upwelling season on the inner shelf During this season the nepheloid layers were thinner and mainly composed of biogenic particles if compared to the downwelling season Higher levels of bottom shear stress that caused strong resuspension of bottom material and thicker BNL occurred mainly during the downwelling season due to higher storminess and more intense currents indicating that these cysts in the BNL came from recent formation in the bloom that was developing in surface waters Figure 12 Distribution of cells of the toxic species Protoceratium reticulatum above the BNL (top bar diagram) and its cysts in the BNL (A) and the underlying sediments (B) along transects sampled on 14th (left) and 19th (right) of September 2019 Sampling stations along the horizontal axis were ordinated according to a land-sea gradient (right to left) Linear regressions of cell concentrations above the BNL vs including the stations where both cyst and cell data were available Plate 1 Microphotographs of selected dinoflagellate cysts from water samples (benthic nepheloid layer) collected off Figueira da Foz (NW Portugal): 1) empty Diplopsalis-type showing an elongated archeopyle sample F2-12; 2) unidentified RBC with cell contents sample F2-0; 3) full cyst of Preperidinium meunieri (Dubridinium caperatum) sample F1-2 UP; 4) empty cyst of Lejeunecysta sabrina sample F1-2 LOW; 5) full cyst of Votadinium cf sample S2; 6) full cyst of Protoperidinium latidorsale (Votadinium calvum) sample S2; 7) empty cyst of Protoperidinium shangaiense (Trinovantedinium applanatum); 8-9) full cyst of Archaeperidinium constrictum sample F2-7; 10-11) empty cyst of Protoperidinium monospinum sample S2; 13-14) unidentified empty SBC with short and solid spines sample F2-7; 15-16) empty Echinidinium transparantum/zonneveldiae sample F2-9; 18) empty cyst of Protoceratium reticulatum Although the small number of samples does not allow us to confirm the relationship between these two events this coincidence is very interesting from the point of view of the dynamics of the particles in the BNL Further studies are needed to confirm this relationship These should include recording cyst assemblages in the BNL during the passage of several internal waves and encompassing periods without internal wave activity This would allow a quantitative approach and reaching more solid conclusions future work including longer time-series of cyst records in the BNL encompassing more passages of internal waves of higher amplitude (and other physical fluctuations) at higher time resolution would be needed to verify that internal waves do indeed influence cyst bed dynamics and contribute to the benthic-pelagic coupling of distinct life cycle stages in cyst-producing dinoflagellates the hypothesis that some empty cysts found in the BNL came from hatching cannot be neglected reticulatum found in the BNL off Figueira da Foz came from the hatching of cysts recently formed in the water column is very low Another possible explanation for the rise in relative abundances of empty vs. full cysts in the BNL over time (Figures 5, 6) could be the high decay resistance nature of many cyst walls that would also promote the build-up of the empty cyst fraction the contribution of allochthonous empty cysts that could have been resuspended in other places and laterally transported to the BNL of the studied transect must also be considered our results supported that lateral transport is a relevant factor in explaining the distribution of cysts in the BNL cyst distribution along the two studied transects could also be explained by the influence of lateral transport Our results give strong supporting evidence that encystment of P reticulatum and other cyst species was occurring in the water column and laterally advected cysts were stored during 4-5.5 months between sampling (14th-19th of September 2019) and isolation (20th of January-6th of March) our observations confirmed that a significant number of the isolated full cysts from the BNL were viable they had the potential to germinate and initiate a planktonic population There is little data on cyst residence times in the BNL, which can be highly variable between different regions (Pilskaln et al., 2014a). In Figueira da Foz, according to the Langrangian particle transport model (Figure 11) some cysts remained in suspension in the BNL for at least 10 days The BNL may transport cysts from where they are produced to other areas where if the right environmental conditions are met they may originate new planktonic populations our observations are compatible with the BNL acting as a reservoir of viable cysts that have the potential to seed new planktonic populations In any case, the seeding strategy and the type of propagule (vegetative cells and resting cysts) on which phytoplankton communities rely can vary throughout the year, and may depend on the intensity of the upwelling/relaxation event and the dinoflagellate species (e.g., Bravo et al., 2010; Smayda and Trainer, 2010; Diaz et al., 2014) Further studies involving longer time-series records of the cyst and vegetative cell assemblages (benthic and planktonic) possibly combining sediment trap data from different water depths would help in evaluating the seeding potential of the BNL for the initiation of dinoflagellate blooms on the Atlantic Iberian margin and other Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems The highest rates of encystment and cyst flux to the sediments occurs during and after bloom events (Amorim et al., 2001; Anderson et al., 2005; Peña-Manjarrez et al., 2009; Brosnahan et al., 2017; Mertens et al., 2023) propagation of internal waves in coastal environments may coincide with increased cyst productivity as both events are favored by stratification conditions The evidence presented herewith suggesting internal waves could affect the distribution of cysts in the BNL through local resuspension highlights their potential influence on the transport and dynamics of cyst-forming species in other coastal regions in the world Combined in-situ observations (physical data and dinoflagellate cyst records) and back-track particle modelling allowed studying the main biological and physical factors affecting spatial and temporal dinoflagellate cyst distributions in the bottom nepheloid layer (BNL) along a land-sea transect off Figueira da Foz (Atlantic Iberian margin) A well-developed BNL was present during the survey (14th-19th of September 2019) which covered a change from active to relaxed upwelling conditions Most cyst assemblages in the BNL were dominated by heterotrophic taxa among which the most abundant type was small spiny brown cysts (SBC) SBC and cysts of the autotrophic yessotoxin producer Protoceratium reticulatum notably increased during the survey Several lines of evidence supported that the main source of dinoflagellate cysts in the BNL was recent encystment in the water column during most of the survey period: 1) high proportions of full cysts 2) the statistical similarities between most of the BNL cyst records and the cyst rain recorded by a sediment trap and 3) the spatial coincidences in the distribution of cysts and vegetative cells of P excystment experiments showed that a significant portion was viable; therefore the presence of a reservoir of viable cysts in the BNL with the potential to seed new planktonic blooms cannot be discarded According to the Langrangian particle transport model some cysts could remain in suspension in the BNL for at least 10 days Clustering revealed that most of the BNL cyst records were different from the sediment cyst assemblages thus supporting that they were not significantly affected by local sediment resuspension Exceptions were samples collected on 14th September in the deepest (>100 m depth) and shallowest (<30 m) stations which would have been influenced by local sediment cyst resuspension back-track particle modelling allowed identifying alongshore transport as the main physical mechanism controlling cyst dynamics in the BNL during most part of the survey period This alongshore (southwards) transport was more intense in coastal stations (<100 m depth); in contrast in offshore sites (>100 m depth) alongshore transport was less intense and cysts were advected northwards which may have implications in paleoceanographic reconstructions from dinoflagellate cyst sediment records New multidisciplinary data evidenced that full cysts recently formed in the photic zone can be laterally advected through the BNL and that the relevance of physical processes (i.e. lateral transport and resuspension) affecting cyst distribution in the BNL changed spatially and temporally being closely linked to coastal upwelling dynamics The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.963768, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.963833 The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research This work is a contribution to HABWAVE project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-031265 and national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia I.P.) also to AQUIMAR project MAR2020; MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP-017 This study had the support of FCT through the strategic projects UIDB/04292/2020 and UIDP/04292/2020 awarded to MARE and through project LA/P/0069/2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET the strategic project UIDB/04326/2020 awarded to CCMAR Thanks are also due for the financial support to CESAM by FCT/MCTES (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020+LA/P/0094/2020) JM gratefully acknowledges the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and its support via strategic funding UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 and project MIWAVES (PTDC/2022.01215.PTDC) Donald Anderson (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution USA) for the scientific supervision of the project constant availability and constructive discussions The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1270343/full#supplementary-material CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Álvarez-Salgado X Renewal time and the impact of harmful algal blooms on the extensive mussel raft culture of the Iberian coastal upwelling system (SW Europe) Dinoflagellate cyst distribution along the coast of Portugal Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar “Dinoflagellate blooms related to coastal upwelling plumes off Portugal,” in Harmful Algae 2002 Florida: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO) Google Scholar “On a Lingulodinium polyedrum bloom in Setúbal bay Portugal,” in Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Harmful Algal Blooms (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO) Google Scholar Effects of temperature conditioning on development and germination of Gonyaulax tamarensis (Dinophyceae) hypnozygotes CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar “Shellfish toxicity and dormant cysts in toxic dinoflagellate blooms,” in Seafood Toxins Google Scholar Sinking characteristics of dinoflagellate cysts 1 Google Scholar “HABs in a changing world: a perspective on harmful algal blooms and research and management in a dynamic era of climatic and environmental change,” in Harmful Algae: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Harmful Algae (Busan Korea: International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae) Google Scholar The unique micro reticulate cyst of the naked dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Alexandrium fundyense cysts in the Gulf of Maine: long-term time series of abundance and distribution Korea: International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae) 103 The seeding of two red tide blooms by the germination of benthic Gonyaulax tamarensis hypnozygotes CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The effects of darkness and anaerobiosis on dinoflagellate cyst germination CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar and stratified systems: Recent progress and future research Cyst germination of two dinoflagellate species from Galicia (NW Spain) Google Scholar Cyst production in four species of neritic dinoflagellates CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The resting cyst of the red-tide dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum (Dinophyceae) CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Seasonal and multi-annual trends of bivalve toxicity by PSTs in Portuguese marine waters growth medium and darkness on excystment and growth of the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum from northwest Spain PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Resting cysts of the toxigenic dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium in recent sediments from the Western Mediterranean coast including the first description of cysts of A Bringué M. 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) *Correspondence: Ana Amorim, YWFmZXJyZWlyYUBjaWVuY2lhcy51bGlzYm9hLnB0; Iria García-Moreiras, aXJpYWdhbW9AdXZpZ28uZXM= Read today's Portuguese stories delivered to your email “After evaluating this solution [transferring sand] there is no doubt that the bypass is the most suitable way and we are going to do it,” he said João Pedro Matos Fernandes The study presented 12 August by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) evaluates four different sand transposition solutions and concludes that although all the solutions are “technically and economically viable” the fixed system is the one “that presents the best results in long term (30 years)” The study places the initial investment with the construction of the bypass at around 18 million € and a total cost is an economic and environmental feasibility study in time for the next Community Support Framework Matos Fernandes said that in the next Community Support Framework [Portugal2030] “there are clearly funds to pay for this intervention” and that “even though it is large it corresponds to around 8 percent of the available funds” of community funds for the Portuguese coast “It is obvious that this work will be done let the project advance and clarify the doubts that we will have” The fixed system of mechanical sediment transposition next to the north of the port of Figueira da Foz the civic movement SOS Cabedelo has defended for a decade will be the first in Portugal and identical to another installed on the Australian Gold Coast Portuguese beaches are better than others because they are sandy beaches and that's what we want to have on the beach And south of Figueira da Foz we have little sand” reaffirming his opposition to the “fake” sands “The interventions that were being made ended up bringing more problems than benefits it is essential to put sand on the beach” “If we can do it continuously and with fixed structures we can achieve the same goal of having sand on the beaches That way we have a definitive solution that we can adjust to our own needs This idea of ​​one million cubic meters (m3) of sand per year was presented here maybe there are years when more will be needed in the exploration of the mechanism itself that we are going to create here” We appreciate that not everyone can afford to pay for our services but if you are able to we ask you to support The Portugal News by making a contribution – no matter how small You can change how much you give or cancel your contributions at any time Send us your comments or opinion on this article Reaching over 400,000 people a week with news about Portugal The municipality of Figueira da Foz will be able to apply for the construction of the cycling bridge over the Mondego River with the support of the Environmental Fund In the Chamber session on Friday afternoon Pedro Santana Lopes informed the group that the Minister of the Environment affirmed the support of the Environmental Fund and the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the Centre to carry forward the project the mayor said that the structure will be applied for through a different funding line which is compatible with the Environmental Fund hoping that the financial effort of the municipality is residual or non-existent there will be a lane for cars and cycling and a pedestrian road in an investment of about five million euros The previous application had fallen through because the bridge included a carriage way and the amount did not "fit the available space taking into account existing applications" "The project that exists allows financing by the Environmental Fund because the bridge is essentially pedestrian and contributes to the path of sustainability that is outlined," Santana Lopes said Eurovelo 1 is part of the European route of the Atlantic Coast between the south of the municipality of Figueira da Foz and the north of the municipality of Mira the municipality of Cantanhede and passing through places such as the Ethnographic Museum of Mira Beach the National Forests and the lagoons there The construction of the bridge over the River Mondego whose planned construction period was 18 months is important for the bike path to meet the 83 kilometres with which it was proposed Unsplash Emma Donaldson 14 March 2025 9:00Portugal's stunning coastline is home to some of the most charming seaside towns in the world each with its own unique character and beauty you'll first encounter coastal towns in Portugal that resemble those of Galicia in Spain the villages become brighter and more colourful leading to some of the best beach towns in Portugal including picturesque fishing villages full of charm we're mostly venturing beyond to explore other breathtaking locations including the Alentejo coast—a region renowned for its hidden gems and stunning scenery Join us as we uncover the best coastal towns in Portugal in 2025 from serene retreats to vibrant seaside escapes Portugal boasts several beautiful beach towns along its coastline each with its own charm and appeal. While it's subjective and depends on personal preferences some of the most popular and well-regarded coastal and beach towns in Portugal include: CALIN STAN on UnsplashJust a short distance from Lisbon making it a favourite among both locals and visitors Cascais is blessed with several beautiful beaches or enjoy water sports like surfing or stand-up paddleboarding Cascais also serves as an excellent base for exploring the surrounding area Nearby attractions include the scenic town of Sintra with its fairytale palaces and lush forests as well as the picturesque coastal town of Estoril known for its casino and beautiful gardens Frankfurt Photographer on UnsplashSagres located in the southwestern tip of Portugal is a captivating destination known for its rugged coastline and unspoiled natural beauty. Sagres holds historical significance as the site of Prince Henry the Navigator's School of Navigation during the 15th century overlooks the sea and offers stunning views While much of the original structure is in ruins the site is still worth a visit for its historical importance and panoramic vistas Sagres is also renowned for its wild and untouched coastline and sweeping beaches pounded by the Atlantic Ocean The scenery on this part of the Portugal coast is breathtaking especially around spots like Ponta de Sagres and Cape St which is the southwesternmost point of mainland Europe Câmara Municipal Viana do CasteloLocated in Portugal's Northern Region Viana do Castelo sits on the banks of the Lima River This charming town town close to the Portugal coast has plenty to offer visitors including an intriguing medieval quarter and beautiful beaches on its outskirts The town's main attractions include the Praça de la República the Monte de Santa Luzia offers breathtaking panoramic views of the city and the sea from its impressive basilica making it one of the most sought-after places to visit and reside in Portugal Aveiro is also known as "Venice of Portugal" UnsplashAveiro referred to as the "Venice of Portugal," is recognised for its vibrant buildings and intricate system of canals It is an undeniable tourist hotspot on the Portuguese coast boasting a delightful year-round climate and a diverse range of museums and traditional delicacies such as "Ovos Moles," a sweet treat made of sweetened egg yolks To truly immerse yourself in this seaside town's charm View of Figueira da Foz Creative commonsThe cosmopolitan city of Figueira da Foz is located in the Coimbra region and owes its name to its location at the mouth (foz in Portuguese) of the Mondego River It is one of Portugal's main tourist destinations thanks to the fact that in the late 19th century it became fashionable for the region's aristocracy to spend the summer in Figueira One of its most outstanding features is the casino founded in 1900 Its spectacular beach is home to the longest stretch of sand in mainland Portugal and is a great destination for water sports enthusiasts we recommend a trip to the Serra de Boa Viagem for the best view of the area from the Mirador de Vela as it comes alive with the world's best surfers Enjoy the sunset at Peniche beach The GuardianLocated in the central region of Portugal Peniche stands out for its varied cultural offer it is still one of the largest traditional fishing ports in Portugal Its historic centre is home to numerous restaurants where you can taste typical local dishes made with fresh especially seafood since this is one of Portugal's best fishing areas the maritime area of the town is the perfect place to watch spectacular sunsets solidifying its position as one of the best coastal towns in Portugal Portugal is blessed with numerous beautiful beach towns near Lisbon Here are some noteworthy beach towns near Lisbon: These beach towns near Lisbon offer a diverse range of experiences from relaxation and sunbathing to water sports making them ideal destinations for a seaside getaway If you're looking for the most affordable beach towns in Portugal These towns provide a mix of affordability and Portuguese charm—ideal for those seeking a seaside escape without the high costs of tourist-heavy destinations Lagos is also one of the best coastal towns in Portugal to retire It offers a perfect mix of stunning beaches Lagos provides a relaxed yet vibrant lifestyle For a quieter option, Cascais, near Lisbon, is another top choice. This elegant seaside town offers beautiful coastal walks, excellent healthcare, and easy access to Lisbon’s international airport. It has a slightly higher cost of living but boasts a high quality of life. Both towns offer a safe, friendly environment, making them ideal for retirees looking to enjoy the best of Portugal’s coastal beauty while maintaining comfort and convenience. Carnation Revolution: Portugal's Freedom Day On 25th April Portugal underwent a fundamental transformation known as the Carnation Revolution This pivotal event marked the end of the Estado Novo dictatorship and the start of Portugal's path to democracy The day is celebrated annually as Freedom Day to honour this peaceful transition and the newfound era of freedom and democracy The hurricane which has hit Portugal last weekend has particularly affected Figueira da Foz where The Navigator Company operates a pulp and paper mill Portuguese pulp and paper producer The Navigator Company (Navigator) was forced to halt production at its Figueira da Foz mill in Portugal last weekend which hit the country on 13 and 14 October Navigator estimates the mill to be down for one week this would represent a loss of 6,000 t of eucalyptus pulp and 10,000 t of fine paper Navigator said it would inform the market as soon as production could be restarted After a pulp capacity increase at the Figueira da Foz site in the spring of this year the mill can produce up to 650,000 tpy of hardwood pulp and 800,000 tpy of woodfree uncoated paper which have a capacity of 320,000 tpy of eucalyptus pulp and 550,000 tpy of hardwood pulp respectively The company also produces tissue at its Vila Velha de Ródão mill Service Customer Service+49 7224 9397-701servicenoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.de Editorial Team+49 7224 9397-0papernoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.com Get the latest news about developments and trends in the industry sent to you once a week free of charge by newsletter Sign up for our newsletter We use cookies and external services on our website others enhance your user experience or help us improve this website You can change your privacy settings any time by clicking privacy policy Necessary cookies are required for the correct functioning of the website Content from video platforms and map services is blocked by default. 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Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Between the esplanade and the main street along the coast to the downtown neighborhood and all around there are many restaurants serving a range of cuisines at different price levels Use this list to help point you in the right direction of a great meal or two © Nina Santos Practically across the street from the clock tower on the beach is a strip of restaurants boasting delicious Portuguese seafood recipes and other cultural dishes, and Cervejaria Marisqueira Sagres is located smack in the middle Visit during the summer or fall and the boards outside display the different seafood platter deals which customers are always keen to take advantage of The mixed shellfish platters range in size having the capacity to serve two to multiple hungry diners and this brewery-style eatery has different types of Sagres beer available too In addition to the fish and seafood, a variety of grilled meats and even Porto’s famous francesinha sandwich can be enjoyed here Tucked away on a side street in Buarcos (around the corner from the beach) is a classic Portuguese restaurant called A Cantarinha another restaurant that specializes in seafood (Figueira was a traditional fishing village but also offering a myriad of steaks and pork-based dishes Try the grilled sardines and/or octopus salad (sardinhas assadas) Although the restaurant is a little on the cozy side (the main room seats around 60 diners and the terrace seats about 30 more) there shouldn’t be a problem finding a table when visiting outside the summer months, and its semi-secluded location even keeps it free from an abundance of tourists in the busy season (make a reservation in advance © Pixabay The Quinta da Salmanha is a beautiful venue with stunning views of the Mondego River through the floor to ceiling windows and while it looks like the place for an event (and it is) it’s a lunchtime buffet restaurant most days The restaurant also opens for dinner on Saturdays only The long communal tables that fill the dining hall are perfect for large parties but smaller tables are scattered throughout the space too Although the meals are varied and plates offer everything from cheese/smoked meat platters there are days when the menu focuses on seafood (email or call in advance for menu details) the price is set between €15-20 per person (all you can eat © Pixabay Steering away from the traditional Portuguese culture the fisherman spirit that’s prevalent in Figueira (and so far This trendy little eatery in downtown (around the corner from the casino) is a cozy and budget-friendly spot for mouthwatering burgers and sandwiches as well as delicious drinks (check out their list of gin cocktails and sangria) Offering a variety of hamburger masterpieces each dish comes with french fries and two dipping sauces Don’t forget to call in advance and make a reservation Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy © Pixabay There is never a bad time for pizza and Gusto Pizza is known for having as close to the real deal as it’s possible to get outside of Italy The menu offers a long list of Italian-style pizzas but it also lists a variety of other dishes such as risotto Desserts like cheesecake and tiramisu round out the menu nicely Figueira’s beaches are known for their long walkways to the water’s edge but restaurants like Areias de Sabores make up for the trek with their ideal locations midway Areias de Sabores is an iconic spot with a beautifully bright indoor dining room and wide outdoor terrace (the latter is perfect for enjoying the ocean breeze and/or simply cooling off with a drink) The tuna tataki and ceviche are among diners’ favorite choices Nina is a Portuguese-American writer living in Lisbon She spends all of her time exploring and sharing the amazing things that Portugal has to offer Guides & Tips The Best Places to Travel in August See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Spring Guides & Tips Beat the Crowds with these Alternative Summer Destinations See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer See & Do Lesser-Known Summer Destinations to Visit in Europe See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn Guides & Tips This Is Europe's Ultimate Road Trip Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd the joint venture created to promote floating offshore wind farms in the Iberian Peninsula has revealed its first project for Portugal – a floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Figueira da Foz in honour of the Portuguese galleon that was built in the 16th century and became known as the most powerful warship in the world in its time the wind farm will occupy an area of 359 square kilometres and will have 55 wind turbines making a total of 990 MW of installed capacity Figueira da Foz is one of the five areas proposed by the Portuguese government for offshore renewable energy exploration and the choice of IberBlue Wind in this area is justified by the combination of its high wind potential and low impact on other activities in the area The implementation of this project requires close collaboration with different stakeholders IberBlue Wind has already engaged with ports and regional and local institutions to ensure its project is integrated in the best way possible into the region The development of this project is expected to create thousands of jobs most of which will be allocated to the development and construction phase of the wind farm and the rest to the operation and maintenance of the wind turbines during its years of operation The Botafogo offshore wind farm will be constructed on floating platforms anchored to the seabed allowing it to be located 30-50 kilometres from the coast and greatly reducing its visual impact This technology allows the wind turbines to be located in deeper waters further from shore which overcomes the limitations posed to bottom-fixed installations by the narrowness of the continental shelf off the Iberian Peninsula ”Figueira da Foz is a region with great potential Besides the high wind strengths and the existing port infrastructure it’s located near to the centre of the country where there is significant demand for energy from both industrial and private consumers,” Adrián de Andrés IberBlue Wind will compete against Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) for the right to develop the Botafogo project offshore Figueira da Foz CIP is interested in developing the 2 GW Nortada project within the 4 GW Figueira de Foz zone IberBlue Wind is a joint venture between Ireland’s Simply Blue Group and the Spanish companies Proes Consultores and FF New Energy Ventures The company aims to develop at least 2 GW of offshore wind capacity off the Iberian Peninsula using floating wind farms each of 500 MW or more IberBlue Wind announced another project in Spain last November: Nao Victoria on an area of 310 square kilometres and also with an installed capacity of 990 MW IberBlue Wind is working on a number of other projects for the Iberian Peninsula Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox Leveraging 20 years of experience with offshore windDecember 2023 will forever mark a milestone in our company history as we became part of the world-wide CS WIND group The acquisition goes beyond a mere change in ownership; it marks a leap into a future where our combined strengths will pave the way for optimized production […] Cuba no.2 GM Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win 17th Figueira da Foz International Chess Festival 2023. Carlos finished a half point ahead of the field GM M R Lalit Babu and IM Mehar Chinna Reddy C H secured second and third respectively GM Diptayan Ghosh and IM Vav Rajesh are four more Indians to finish with the sam score 6.5/9 eleventh and twelfth respectively according to tie-breaks The total prize fund of the tournament was €8050 and some of the most highly rated players present emerged victorious in an absolutely thrilling final round who only needed a draw to win the tournament and achieve a GM-norm Albornoz demonstrated his intention to play aggressively exploiting some caution from the Indian player who knew that a draw would be sufficient which was the last to finish in the round and determined the throne had a highly skilled conclusion by the 22-year-old Cuban living up to all the expectations placed on him and setting the stage for his future most prestigious chess tournament ever held in the history of chess in Portugal and contributed to writing a golden page in the history of chess in Figueira da Foz Miguel added - The Figueira da Foz tournament is the oldest and most prestigious open in Portugal This year's edition was the strongest ever held in Portugal with the highest number of GMs and IMs participating and a record amount of prize money awarded The Indian presence in the tournament was the largest among all foreign countries The tournament was financially supported by FIDE Open Aid Project two WGMs and four WIMs took part from 22 countries across the world in this eight-day nine round Rating Open tournament It was organized by Assembleia Figueirense and Miguel Babo at Sweet Atlantic Hotel in Figueira da Foz The time control of the event was 40 moves in 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move Details Official site Tournament Regulations We have launched the ChessBase India App. Check out this amazing resource! Android for now - Download the app now Follow Tweets by @ChessbaseIndia ChessBase India is proud to be the official partner of chessbase.com reporting on events in India Like our Facebook page for more Indian chess updates The all 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Subscribe now and stay update with our awesome video content.  RUA shared with us their second prize winning proposal in the Ideas Competition for the Re-qualification and Redevelopment of the Beach and Seafront of Figueira da Foz and Buarcos Their proposal is for a light concrete structure that “fly’s” over the dunes allowing for a gradual and controlled re-naturalization of the area between the existing promenade and the waterfront More images and architects’ description after the break Courtesy of RUAAlong this new path, one is confronted alternately with both the sea and the city. This gesture takes people to the beach and brings them back to the city. The new promenade is structured in such way that it approaches the city at the intersections of the main streets, and projects itself in intervals between those points. The new promenade generates new “pockets” with specific atmospheres and programs that relate alternately with the city or the sea. You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Figueira da Foz City Council will build a third saltwater pool on the beach which should come into operation by the summer 20 meters wider and 15 metres longer," councillor Ricardo Silva told journalists this new equipment measuring 1,500 square meters (50 by 30 meters) will have pressure jets and water cascades "The objective is for it to be completed at the beginning of summer but now everything depends on the tender procedure" The new swimming pool will be located on the beach in the middle of Avenida do Brasil and its construction is due to the success of the other two As a wave naif you expect wriggling into a gut-accentuating wetsuit to be the biggest problem of the day Carrying the board is awkward - like dirty dancing with a wardrobe Getting into the sea is tricky - it's cold Then you must learn to lie straight on your board without wobbling and paddle hard until you reach the battleground - the white water where angry marine walls batter your bonce Unless you can master the trick of seesawing over them or diving bravely straight into their face beneath the briny you'll probably be dragged back towards shore you sit and wait for eternity until that sweet big wave arrives and (if you recognise it manage to turn around in time and stand up) attempt to catch it for a few seconds of blissful exhilaration but a bit hard; choose the right place to learn and the path to surf-dudedom will be smoother but Figueira da Foz on Portugal's central coast sounded sunnier Unlike the more famous Peniche an hour down the coast where the pupils of dozens of surf camps compete incompetently for waves claims to run the cheapest surf camp in Europe - from just €351 a week for 10 hours' tuition accommodation - plus dinner for a few euros more As I understand as much about the intricacies of swells breaks and off-shore breezes as I do quantum mechanics "There must be at least 12 surf spots within 20 minutes drive of Figueira," said Jacques Woolston who runs the hostel with wife Kate in between ski seasons There are a few unlovely buildings along the seafront and a main road separates the town from the beach But turning into Figueira revealed steep cobbled streets lined with beautiful old townhouses many tiled doorstep to roof in floral or moorish patterns their wrought iron balconies overflowing with potplants was bought by the original owners (Jacques and Kate's mates) while appearing on A Place in The Sun five years ago it has all the necessary slacker accoutrements - free internet a couple of dorms and several tall airy double rooms stylishly done on the cheap - Ikea furniture I spent the first night in the cute courtyard bar out back with the other guests baked expertly by Jacques in the outdoor bread oven had been at the hostel for two weeks having planned to stay only one night "Last winter a group who intended to be here for just a day or two ended up staying for months." and various travellers who'd booked lessons We headed off to whichever surf spot he decided would be best - cleverly calculated using an equation of wind near the main beach (also one of Europe's widest) was our first spot running up and down the beach in a wetsuit I caught a few waves - kneeling rather than standing opting to spend the afternoon on the beach eating peaches from the streamer-hung mercado before going for a run along the coastal walkway past a funfair where locals licked ice creams Overhead a plane circled with a banner: "Stop fat south over a massive bridge spanning the Rio Mondego to Leirosa I've heard of locals punching tourists who got in their way in busy French resorts The only other surfers were a couple of boys from Coimbra who offered nothing more than "well dones" and encouragement sitting and bobbing among a friendly group I understood a quote from pro-surfer Kelly Slater: "surfing's like the mafia After morning lessons under the brilliant tutelage of Felipe Ignoring Jacques' recommendations to eat at Johnny Ringos or McDonalds ("it's a good one!") I searched the backstreets for the perfect place puffy garlic baked potatoes and heaps of salad at Restaurante Boca Cheia with fresh mango and beers cost €15; an all you can eat fish barbecue at Vinha das Garcas €7.50 as did fantastic Douro wines from the supermarket for €3-4 We ruined one day's surfing by having a big night out on the main drag which morphs into a giant outdoor club after dark Kate had to give up and return to shore to be sick One afternoon Jacques drove me to the more popular surf beach Cabadelo teeming with the surf shops and cafes lacking elsewhere then up what locals optimistically call "the mountain" I'd walked it in a couple of hours the day before crunching over pine cones for views south down the coast rising through pine forests to a lookout where the sand and surf stretched north into invisibility at the horizon "Before we worked here we drove down the whole Atlantic coast in a camper van," said Jacques "We'd just turn off down random tracks and end up at amazing surf beaches with no one on them Figueira may not have that unspoilt beauty including an infamous mile-long right hand break "I got in touch with a guy from a surf mag a while back," explained Jacques "When I mentioned this place he suddenly remembered surfing here as a kid 'The Forgotten Land of the Never-ending Right Hand Break!' It's funny; there are serious Aussie and Californian surfers who travel across the world to ride it By last morning at Buarcos I still hadn't ridden a wave while properly standing - no matter how many I threw myself onto "You have no fear." But she was wrong It was sheer desperation to crack this before leaving career along then find myself suddenly lost again underwater just after the others spotted a pod of dolphins out to sea "We're getting tired," warned Filipe Just one more." I had a train to ride The Paintshop (00351 2334 36633, paintshophostel.com) offers a seven-day surf camp from €351pp including B&B, 10 hours of lessons and seven days board hire. Fly to Porto with ryanair.com, and book trains to Coimbra at cp.pt/cp Firefighters remove damaged trees from the road in Figueira da Foz on October 14 2018 after the post-tropical storm Leslie reached Portugal Storms packing nearly 180 kilometer-per-hour winds hit Portugal leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power before carrying heavy rain on into Spain leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power before carrying heavy rain on into Spain which was a category one hurricane but weakened to a post-tropical storm as it made landfall late Saturday civil defense commander Luis Belo Costa told reporters The region around the capital Lisbon and the center of the country at Coimbra and Leiria were worst hit with trees uprooted cars and houses damaged and local flooding reported Viseu and Porto in the north also suffered damage with rescue services reporting a total of 2,500 incidents The civil defense services said 324,000 people were left without electricity while more than 60 people had to leave their damaged homes and flee to safety Power was being restored across the north and centre of the country during the morning Leslie was dubbed a “zombie” hurricane as it first formed on September 23 only to meander through the Atlantic Ocean for weeks before making landfall There were fears it could be the worst storm to hit the region in more than 150 years but it weakened to a post-tropical storm before reaching the Portuguese coastline “The greatest danger has passed,” Costa said “The north and center were the worst affected.” More than two dozen flights were cancelled in or out of Lisbon the roof blew off an indoor sports stadium putting an end to the European final of the women’s roller hockey competition Portuguese authorities had urged those living by the coast to batten down the hatches and stay indoors while telling fishermen at sea to return to the nearest port saw a peak gust of 176 kilometers per hour Only five hurricanes have ever arrived in this region of the Atlantic Ocean and it had been feared Leslie could turn out to be the most powerful storm to hit Portugal since 1842 only Hurricane Vince has made landfall on the Iberian peninsula 1.Comments will appear only after being approved by our team so it might be a while before your comment is posted 2.In accordance with the Regulations on Internet News and Information Services and other related laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China comments should not contain anything that is obscene Please [ Login ] to leave a comment BioAdvance led by Paulo Gaspar has built one of the largest European advanced biofuel units in the Port of Figueira da Foz An industrial investment of 22 million euros from BioAdvance is about to be opened in Figueira da Foz which will start with a production of 20 thousand tons per year and within “two to three years” will increase its capacity to 200 thousand tons per year projecting the Portuguese manufacturer as one of the largest in Europe in the production of advanced biofuels The company co-founded and led by Paulo Gaspar initially planned an investment of 11 million euros, which received community support worth 3.5 million. However, the amount ended up doubling “with the progress of the works and the rearrangement [of the project] for the future increase in production”, explains the 46-year-old businessman to ECO Installed on a plot of 20 thousand square meters in the port expansion area of ​​the liquid bulk terminal this is the largest private investment ever made in the Port of Figueira da Foz Signed in September 2022 between the port administration (APFF) and the company based in Guia (Pombal) where it has a smaller factory with a capacity to reach 15 thousand tons the concession contract involved desilting the pier to be able to receive larger ships of which 18 are highly qualified (graduates and doctorates) who will join the 27 who work in the unit located in the neighbouring municipality With this increase in production and the location in a port area predicting that sales abroad will weigh 60% to 70% in three years compared to 33 million euros recorded in 2022 due to the drop in oil prices – “it affected revenue it is estimated that sales will rise to a range between 150 and 200 million euros The list of clients includes the world's main oil companies Portugal has been incorporating a small proportion of biofuels into road fuels for more than a decade Asked about the threat that hangs over the industry believing that one day diesel and gasoline will no longer be burnt Paulo Gaspar responds that this “is a utopia” not envisaging that “within 20 years [he will] stop working due to lack of sales in the oil sector Regarding the idea that biofuels are still a kind of “ugly duckling” of the energy transition with critics understanding that this solution prolongs the use of fossil fuels the businessman counters that “it will always be necessary to treat this waste” and that BioAdvance “treats them and transforms them into a noble product” which reduces the consumption of fossil fuel that “will always exist” biofuels increase the selling price of fuels to the public he comments that “the market is doing a common good – treating excess waste – and this will always be more expensive” as they are in a peripheral European country the reference market is Rotterdam and then there is the cost of transport to get here and farmers can use it in the production of food and transportation of food and livestock to the markets Portugal is the latest addition to this list A new National Rail Pass by Comboios de Portugal (CP) national rail company now allows unlimited travel with no time restrictions along the beautiful coastline of Portugal—all for just €49 (Rs4,392) and present the following documents: an official document of identification (identity card passport or citizen card) and a current passport-type colour photograph Each pass is valid for a month and can be purchased from the 21st of the previous month up until the 20th of the following month they are refundable—you can request a refund from a ticket office before the beginning of validity and upon payment of a fee of 20% of its price Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service (updated April 1 2021) and Policy and Cookie Statement (updated April 1 The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast 2018 - The Navigator Company says a new large volume chip storing system has improved the chip feeding into the cooking plant at its pulp mill in Figueira da Foz is integrated with the existing woodyard and began operations in May 2017 the system — the first GentleStore chip storing system that Valmet has delivered to the country — replaces an existing Designed to withstand the wind conditions in the coastal area of Atlantic Ocean it operates on the first-in first-out principle allowing to use 360-degree circle The chips are reclaimed gently from the whole cross section of the pile which ensures excellent blending and homogenization of the chips adding that a more homogeneous chip feeding contributes to a stable process afterwards “Having an automated system will improve the chip quality and safety as no bulldozers or front-loaders are used Less traffic together with minimized chip damage dust and noise generation will enhance the woodyard operation up to date,” explains Valmet “The implementation of this GentleStore is an important effort to reduce the environmental impact of our mill and it is to be part of a continuous cycle of Navigator as a modern company concerned about sustainability and recognized for its culture of excellence through its operations and quality of products,” said Pedro Matos Silva The Navigator Company is a global manufacturer of uncoated woodfree (UWF) printing and writing paper and producer of BEKP (Bleached Eucalyptus Kraft Pulp) There are 13 municipalities across Portugal that charge a tourist tax Vila Real de Santo António and Santa Cruz already charge a municipal tourist tax Figueira da Foz will debut later this year According to a report by ECO the cost is two euros per person and the fee is charged up to a maximum of seven consecutive nights per person Porto raised 15 million euros with this measure the tourist tax came into force at the end of 2018 and costs two euros per night in the high season which corresponds to the period between October 1st and March 31st The fee applies to guests aged 16 and over the tourist tax is 1.50 euros per overnight stay up to a maximum of four nights and is applied between the months of March and October the fee applies to persons aged 16 and over it costs 1.50 euros and applies to the same age group having entered into force at the beginning of this year the tourist tax began to be applied in January 2016 on overnight stays of national tourists (including Lisbon tourists) and foreigners in hotels or local accommodation units but from January 2019 it increased to two euros Lisbon Council wants to use tourist tax to invest in housing Óbidos joins the list of Portuguese cities that charge tourist tax This fee came into effect in January 2022 and costs one euro per night for all guests aged 13 and over the tourist tax came into force in March this year and is worth 2.20 euros in the high season from May 1st to October 31st and 1.10 euros in the low season the municipal tourist tax for overnight stays came into force in 2019 and costs two euros per guest in all tourist developments and local accommodation establishments Cascais charges a city tax of two euros per person The fee applies up to a maximum of seven consecutive nights and is charged to guests age 13 and older at check-in the Municipal Tourist Tax came into force on April 5th and costs one euro per night The fee will be charged in all tourist developments and local accommodation establishments located in the geographical area of the Municipality up to a maximum of three consecutive nights the fee is levied on guests aged 16 or over and is applied only between the months of March and October approved last month the draft regulation of the tourist tax with a price reduction for people with physical limitations children and young people under 14 years old to pay a tourist tax of three euros per day (between 6 and 18 years old The tourist tax on the island of Berlengas yielded 83,000 euros in the first nine months The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) clarified that the revenue was collected between April and December 2022 the tourist tax also applies to cities such as Faro and Vila Real de Santo António the rate costs 1.50 euros per person and is applied from March to October up to a maximum of seven consecutive nights Vila Real de Santo António has a tourist tax of one euro up to a maximum of seven nights Minors aged ten or less are exempt from paying this fee while minors aged between 11 and 13 will only pay half the amount the tourist tax also applies in the municipality of Santa Cruz The value of the fee is two euros per night for a maximum of seven nights The decision to apply the fee is up to each municipality which also defines the amount charged to tourists who stay overnight in hotels the tourist tax yielded 54 million to the councils Lisbon and Porto concentrated more than 80% of the financial inflow which was 4% below the last year before the pandemic (2019) but which corresponded to triple the amount verified in 2021 I operate a keypad entry to my apartment so the guest would need to know how they can pay I understand there may be another way where I charge and then pass on but again I don't know where or how to pay that as I reside in the UK Vitor Oliveira on FlickrFirst up in our list of the best lakes in Portugal is the biggest lake in Portugal. The Great Lake resulting from the Alqueva Reservoir is the perfect place for spending a few days relaxing in Portugal's Alentejo region.  As one of the most extensive man-made lakes in Europe, it was constructed on the Guadiana River and spans 250km2, covering five municipalities in the Alentejo region. The area offers a wealth of attractions, including the castles of Juromenha, Alandroal, Terena, Monsaraz, and Portel on the right bank, as well as the breathtaking viewpoints of Mourão and Moura on the left bank, which overlook the glistening expanse of water. Portugal, despite being more famous for its coastal beaches, does have several beautiful lakes suitable for swimming. Here are some notable ones, many of which have already been mentioned above: Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Sete Cidades Lake): Located on São Miguel Island in the Azores archipelago, this is one of the most iconic and picturesque lakes in Portugal as we've already seen. Swimming is allowed in the lake, although the water can be quite cold due to its volcanic origins. Lagoa do Fogo (Fire Lake): Another stunning crater lake on São Miguel Island, Lagoa do Fogo is surrounded by lush greenery and offers crystal-clear waters for swimming. It's a popular spot for hiking and enjoying nature as well. Barragem da Bravura (Bravura Reservoir): Located in the Algarve region near the town of Odiaxere, this reservoir offers opportunities for swimming, picnicking, and water sports such as kayaking and windsurfing. It's a peaceful spot surrounded by hills and countryside. Barragem do Azibo (Azibo Reservoir): Situated in the northeast of Portugal near the town of Macedo de Cavaleiros, this reservoir is known for its sandy beaches and clear waters, making it a popular destination for swimming and sunbathing during the summer months. Barragem de Alqueva (Alqueva Dam): The largest artificial lake in Europe, Barragem de Alqueva is located in the Alentejo region. While swimming is allowed in certain areas, the lake is more renowned for its scenic boat tours, water sports, and fishing opportunities. These are just a few examples, and there are many more lakes and reservoirs throughout Portugal where swimming is permitted. Always check local regulations and safety guidelines before swimming in natural bodies of water. The day is celebrated annually as Freedom Day to honour this peaceful transition and the newfound era of freedom and democracy.