The ICTS SOCIB promotes the training of future generations in marine sciences

thumbnail image - The ICTS SOCIB promotes the training of future generations in marine sciences
July 10, 2024

The Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (ICTS SOCIB) continues to strengthen its commitment to the training of future generations in the field of marine sciences and technologies. Through a multidisciplinary and specialized training program, ICTS SOCIB staff supervise and mentor Bachelor's thesis (TFG), Master's thesis (TFM), and Doctoral dissertations, as well as coordinate curricular and extracurricular internships.

To achieve these objectives, it establishes educational cooperation agreements with universities and research institutions at regional, national, and international levels, including the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), the Universidad de Cádiz (UCA), IMT Atlantique in France, and the University of the Aegean in Greece, among others. During the 2023-2024 academic year, SOCIB has welcomed numerous students and professionals in training, highlighting the diversity and depth of the projects developed.

Highlighted projects of the 2023-2024 academic year

During the 2023-2024 academic year, numerous notable projects have been carried out in various academic and research areas.

In the field of physical oceanography, SOCIB has supervised Carla Chevillard, a student from IMT Atlantique (Brest, France), in physical oceanography and ocean data science, and Athina Pantazi, an Erasmus+ Trainee from the University of the Aegean (Lesbos, Greece). Carla focused her research on the variability of the northwestern Mediterranean in the context of climate change. She studied the oceanic response, both at the surface and in deep waters, to global warming and extreme heat events using multiplatform observations (Argo floats, satellites, and gliders). Athina, on the other hand, undertook an Erasmus+ internship focused on processing and quality control of data and metadata from autonomous platforms, such as gliders. She worked on data cleaning, developing scripts for managing NetCDF files, and analysing variables such as temperature and salinity in the Ibiza and Mallorca Channels.

In marine ecology, SOCIB supervised Yago Baragano and Núria Bujosa, students of the Master's in Marine Ecology at UIB. Yago completed his TFM titled "Under pressure: Assessing the ecological boundaries of the epipelagic goose barnacle Lepas anatifera using ocean gliders and laboratory experiments," which uses glider technology and laboratory experiments to explore the ecological limits of the barnacle Lepas anatifera. This work was published in the prestigious scientific journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, and Yago received the "Cátedra de la Mar Iberostar Foundation" award for its completion. Núria is conducting her internship as part of the LIFE AdaptCalaMillor project, receiving multidisciplinary training on a participatory and multi-level governance approach to select possible measures for the progressive and long-term adaptation of urban beaches to climate change.

In citizen science, artificial intelligence, and coastal dynamics, SOCIB is currently supervising Josep Oliver, Francesc Bernat, and José David Pérez, students at UIB. Josep and José David are being trained in coastal observation methods based on the exploitation of RGB images using artificial intelligence techniques to obtain key characteristics of the coastal environment. Francesc is acquiring knowledge about various methodologies for extracting coastlines through images.

In data science, SOCIB supervised Refo Ilmiya, a student of the Master's in Intelligent Systems at UIB, who developed a blockchain-based system to track the use of oceanographic data sets, ensuring data integrity and promoting transparency in environmental research.

Finally, Ismael Cubero, a student of the Marketing and Market Research Degree at UCA, provided support in the process of launching the new corporate website and implementing optimisations for its improvement.

The ICTS SOCIB not only provides an advanced and practical learning environment, reinforcing its commitment to interdisciplinary research and scientific innovation, but also actively promotes scientific communication and environmental awareness, preparing future generations to face the challenges of the marine environment with solid knowledge and a comprehensive vision.