IDL Project

IDL - Instituto Dom Luiz is a Research Center dedicated to Geosciences and a permanent Institute of the University of Lisbon. The IDL was founded in 1853 and has continuously contributed to different areas of Geosciences. In its early years, IDL was mainly dedicated to Meteorology and Geophysics around the still operational Observatório do Clima e Seismologia de Lisboa. Since 2004, IDL has integrated Geology and Geodesy into its interests. In the last decade, the IDL has grown substantially with the integration of young researchers in areas such as Oceanography, Marine Geosciences and Renewable Energies.

IDL research is aligned around three thematic lines “Climate Change”, “Solid Earth Dynamics” and “Energy and Land Resources”. The Iberian Peninsula and the enlarged Portuguese continental shelf constitute natural laboratories for world-class Geoscience studies within these thematic lines, addressing the sustainable use of energy, water and raw materials, the management of natural hazards, taking into account environmental and social conditions, and the opening of a new ocean frontier.

IDL is dedicated to fundamental but also experimental and observational research and the development of new applications of knowledge in Geosciences. Research in Fundamental Geosciences, in Atmospheric, Solid Earth or Oceanic processes, related to the special nature of the interactions between those systems that occur in the Northeastern Atlantic Frontier System, one of the 4 regions of the world, or close to the Atlantic Ridge, is especially promising. Both systems are remarkably active and affect large areas of the world.

IDL is directly responsible for one of the new FCT Doctoral Programs in Earth System Science (EARTHSYSTEMS) and is a partner of another FCT Doctoral Program in Sustainable Energy Systems (SES, MIT-Portugal). These two programs cover the main research topics of the IDL and provide a continuous flow of PhD students and a strong interaction with other Portuguese and international research groups. Scientific Objectives: The IDL aims to be relevant not only to fundamental Earth System research but also to applications and technologies that relate science to key 21st-century societal concerns: predicting and adapting to climate change and other important natural hazards and establishing an environmentally sustainable supply of raw materials, water and energy.

The fusion of Geoscience research with applications and technologies is the key to both the transfer of knowledge to society and the training of a new generation of scientists and engineers.

Research Groups:

• Climate Change, atmosphere-land-ocean processes and extremes;
• Earth Surface Processes;
• Solid Earth dynamics, hazards and resources;
• Continental margins and the deep ocean frontier;
• Energy transition.