My name is Inês Bruno, and I am a marine biologist, currently working with the Azores Deep-sea Research Group at Okeanos Institute.Within the group, my work centres on video annotation: identifying and annotating selected cold-water coral, sponge, echinoderm, and crustacean species down to the second to validate the SACFOR annotation method used by the group. I also work closely with the Azor Drift-cam, a cost-effective imaging system developed in-house, helping with both its operation and its ongoing maintenance and upgrades. Alongside this video-based work, I help organise and compile environmental data from the various research cruises the group has taken part in, building a database of this information.Before moving to the Azores, I had no idea how much the deep sea could host, or how diverse it truly is. It was only during my master’s thesis that I began to learn more about the scale and importance of this ecosystem — and I have been hooked ever since.While I’m no stranger to life at sea, joining Falkor (too) will be something entirely new — a bigger research vessel, cutting-edge technology, and a longer stretch of time on board than I’ve experienced before. I’m genuinely excited and can’t wait to see what I will learn from the team, and I hope this cruise helps us learn much more about this area — and maybe, down the line, helps protect it too.
Cruises:
