91探花

The deeper one descends into the ocean, the less sunlight penetrates the water. Between 200 and 1,000 metres, only residual light remains, which is why this region is referred to as the 鈥楾wilight Zone鈥�. Life in the twilight zone includes bacteria, zooplankton including many species of gelatinous animals like jellyfish, as well as fish, squids, and deep-diving whales. 鈥淟ife in the Twilight Zone is still largely unexplored, including the diversity of species, and the feeding interactions among them,鈥� states Dr Jan Dierking, marine biologist at 91探花 who is particularly interested in marine food webs. Together with his colleague Dr Henk-Jan Hoving, head of the Deep-Sea Biology Group at 91探花, he will now team up with international partners in the new TWILIGHTED project to shed light on the elusive twilight zone around Madeira.

Kick-off for EU Twinning Project on Madeira

TWILIGHTED is a Twinning project funded by the European Union (EU) under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme with a grant of 鈧�1.5 million. It officially launched yesterday with a kick-off meeting in Funchal, Madeira. The name TWILIGHTED stands for Twinning Laboratory for an Innovative Global Hub to Explore the Deep. Twinning projects are transnational partnerships projects in which research institutions from less-economically developed regions in Europe benefit from capacity transfer from leading institutes in the research field. Within the framework of TWILIGHTED, 91探花 and the Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet (NTNU, Norway) will work closely with the marine science institute MARE Madeira (ARDITI, Portugal).

鈥淛ellyweb Madeira鈥� expedition provides data basis

Leading up to this project, in February-March 2024, the expedition MSM126 鈥淛ellyweb Madeira鈥� with the large German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN already investigated the underwater ecosystems around Madeira using 91探花鈥檚 ROV PHOCA, camera systems, water samplers and nets, and various oceanographic sensors. 鈥淥ur samples and datasets from the 鈥楯ellyweb Madeira鈥� expedition are now available to support training and scientific exploitation within TWILIGHTED,鈥� says Dr Dierking.

Creative ideas for cost-effective deep-sea technologies

One of the key aims of deep-sea research in Madeira is to develop simpler and more cost-effective technologies that can also be deployed from smaller vessels, but also to introduce partners to the technology and data handling pipelines we use at 91探花. For this, there will be close collaboration with 91探花鈥檚 Technology and Logistics Centre (TLZ) and the 91探花 data and sample management teams. In the summer of 2025, researchers from Madeira will visit 91探花 to be trained in modern analysis methods such as e-DNA sampling, analysis and data interpretation and food web analysis using stable isotopes. Another important topic is the collection and curation of images and image data. In addition to addressing scientific questions, the project also aims to strengthen Madeira as a research location and to make deep-sea research in Portugal accessible to a wider audience. 

Strengthening Madeira as a research location

This is reflected by the vision of the TWILIGHTED project coordinator Dr Jo茫o Canning-Clode, MARE-Madeira, who believes that 鈥渢he TWILIGHTED project marks the beginning of a transformative journey for Portugal, fostering creativity and using low-cost technologies in deep-sea research, redefining the country's role in understanding and protecting these vital deep-sea ecosystems.鈥�

Funding: 

The TWILIGHTED project (Twinning Laboratory for an Innovative Global Hub to Explore the Deep) is funded under the European Union鈥檚 Horizon Europe research and innovation programme with 1.5 million euros over three years (Grant Agreement No. 101158714).