João Balsa
Research Assistant
João is currently working with us with the position of Research Assistant in the team.
Autobiography
João is an intern at the Okeanos research unit of the University of the Azores. He took his bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Évora and the master’s degree in marine and coastal systems at the University of Algarve, where he studied meiofauna communities (with a focus on nematodes), in two Arctic cold seeps through the collection of sediments and images with the help of an ROV. During his thesis, he gained knowledge in deep-sea biology and ecology and sample processing and identification of epi- and infauna, presenting his work at two international conferences. Before this, he also contributed to the study of meiofauna communities in abyssal plains along the Gloria fault (NE Atlantic).
Research interest
His work as part of the Azores Deep-Sea Research group focuses on the processing and analysis of underwater images contributing to the characterization of the deep-sea biodiversity of the Azores region.
Publications
Projects
DEEP
ON-GOING PROJECTDEEP: Deep-sea Ecosystem Evaluation for Policy solutions
Funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P.
2025.00366.AZO
Marine Beacon
ON-GOING PROJECTMonitoring and elimination of bycatch of endangered and conserved species in th...
Funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe
101135237
REDRESS
ON-GOING PROJECTRestoration of deep-sea habitats to rebuild European Seas
Funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe
101135492
MapGES2
ON-GOING PROJECTCharacterization of deep-sea habitats, for its mapping up to the outer limit of...
Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, EU, ACORES-14-62G4-FEDER-000001, PO Açores 2020, REACT-EU, ERDF
18/DRPM/2022, ACORES-14-62G4-FEDER-000001
ROLEX - Azor drift-cam project
PROJECTROLEX - Azor drift-cam project
Funded by ROLEX
ROLEX
Cruises
iMAR 2021
Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along t...
Total of 2 crew members and 12 collaborators
Blue Azores 2018
Blue Azores Program: Expedition 2018
Total of 4 crew members and 1 collaborators
MapGES 2018
Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores
Total of 2 crew members and 2 collaborators
Terceira 2021
RV Pelagia cruise 64PE488: Terceira Island 2021
Total of 1 crew members and 7 collaborators
Greenpeace 2019
Greenpeace Pole-to-Pole expedition: Azores 2019
Total of 3 crew members and 1 collaborators
Terceira 2019
RV Pelagia cruise 64PE456: Terceira Island 2019
Total of 1 crew members and 4 collaborators
Rainbow 2019
RV Pelagia cruise 64PE454: Rainbow hydrothermal vent and southern MAR 2019
Total of 1 crew members and 3 collaborators
MapGES 2023 RV Arquipélago
Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores
Total of 13 crew members and 1 collaborators
iAtlantic
MapGES
MapGES2
MapGES 2024 MT Physeter
Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores
Total of 13 crew members and 1 collaborators
MapGES2
MarinePlan
MapGES 2024 RV Arquipélago
Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores
Total of 13 crew members and 2 collaborators
CoralFISH 2010
CoralFish cruise to Condor, Voador and Banco Açores 2010
Total of 3 crew members and 7 collaborators
BIOMETORE 2015
BIOMETORE 2015 to the Great Meteor Complex seamounts
Total of 2 crew members and 5 collaborators
MIDAS 2016
Investigation of Field Protocols for Deep Sea Mining Monitoring and Environmenta...
Total of 3 crew members and 8 collaborators
MIDAS
Location
Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas — Universidade dos Açores
Rua Prof. Doutor Frederico Machado, No. 4
9901-862 Horta, Portugal
Contact
Email: azoresdeepsea@gmail.com
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