BG Brasil, a company working on the segment of exploration and production of oil and distribution of natural gas in Brazil has joined Projeto Grael, PROOCEANO and the science laboratories LAMMA and LAMCE from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in order to monitor Guanabara Bay, the second largest bay on Brazilian shore. The project began on May 2010, and each week satellite-tracked ocean drifters were deployed in the water to study the marine currents and its physical-chemical parameters. Besides a GPS, the drifters are also equipped with a satellite transmitter-receiver, a temperature sensor and a battery.
Since 2011, a mini CTD was included in the project, profiling the water column collecting temperature and salinity weekly.
The information about the currents will help on floating garbage collection at the bay, since the residues tend to follow the same path as the drifters, as well as helping on contingency actions on oil spills and other pollutants.
Projeto Baía de Guanabara has also a social aspect since Projeto Grael focus on the preparation of young students of Niteroi, São Gonçalo and Itaboraí to work in nautical segment, which lacks specialized professionals.
Besides BG Brasil and Projeto Grael, the Projeto Baía de Guanabara still has three other partners, PROOCEANO, a company specialized on oceanography and environmental consulting and the research labs LAMMA and LAMCE from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). PROOCEANO is responsible for the satellite transmitted data and the maintenance of the online database. The UFRJ labs were awarded with three scholarships – two undergraduation and one masters degree. With the aid from the data collected by the drifters, the students will implement a numerical ocean forecasting model that will predict the ocean currents of Guanabara Bay.
About BG Brasil
BG Brasil is part of BG Group, a company that operates in the areas of exploration and production of oil and gas and liquefied natural gas in more than 20 countries. In the pre-salt of Santos Basin, BG Brasil has participation in three blocks, which includes major discoveries like Lula, Iracema, Iara, Sapinhoá and Lapa. On Barreirinhas Basin, located in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin of Maranhão state, the company operates in ten blocks.
Present in Brazil since 1994, BG Brazil has long-term commitment to the country. The company´s sustainability strategy focuses on technology, social investment, local content, environment and safety - pillars that are closely consistent with national interests.
About Projeto Grael
Projeto Grael (www.projetograel.org.br) was created twelve years ago by the initiative of the brothers and sailors Torben and Lars Grael and Marcelo Ferreira. Nowadays, the older brother, Axel Grael, former president of Feema and also a sailor, is the president of the Institute. Since its foundation, Projeto Grael, also known as Instituto Rumo Náutico, has been developing his own methodology for sports and education, which served as a base for other similar programs, such as Navega São Paulo from the Goverment of São Paulo, Projeto Navegar, a federal initiative developed in many other Brazilian cities. Besides that, the cities of Vitória (ES) and Maricá (RJ) had already held unities of Projeto Grael. In March 2010, the Project opened its first decentralized unity in Três Marias (MG).
The initiative is recognized internationally with seals and awards from many institutions like International Sailing Federation, Unesco among others. More than ten thousand kids that went through Projeto Grael had developed, besides sailing practices and professional knowledge for nautical market, the citizenship concept.