Curriculum Vitae
João Pedro Esteves Balsa
Identificação
Identificação pessoal
- Nome completo
- João Pedro Esteves Balsa
Nomes de citação
- Balsa, João
Identificadores de autor
- Ciência ID
- 0118-D650-7E4D
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-9962-9156
- Google Scholar ID
- jHys3PMAAAAJ&hl
- Scopus Author Id
- 58663335400
Endereços de correio eletrónico
- joao.pe.balsa@uac.pt (Profissional)
- balsa.j2000@gmail.com (Pessoal)
Telefones
- Telemóvel
-
- 927861423 (Pessoal)
Websites
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo%C3%A3o-balsa-78a3ba11b/ (Rede social)
- https://deepsea.uac.pt/user-21 (Profissional)
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/azores-deep-sea-research/posts/?feedView=all (Rede social)
Domínios de atuação
- Ciências Naturais - Ciências Biológicas - Biologia Marinha
Idiomas
| Idioma | Conversação | Leitura | Escrita | Compreensão | Peer-review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Português (Idioma materno) | |||||
| Inglês | Utilizador proficiente (C2) | Utilizador proficiente (C2) | Utilizador proficiente (C1) | Utilizador proficiente (C1) | Utilizador proficiente (C1) |
| Espanhol; Castelhano | Utilizador independente (B2) | Utilizador independente (B2) | Utilizador independente (B1) | Utilizador independente (B1) | Utilizador independente (B2) |
Formação
| Grau | Classificação | |
|---|---|---|
|
2020/10 - 2023/01
Concluído
|
Marine and coastal systems (Mestrado)
Especialização em Oceanography
Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
"Meiofauna assemblages from cold seeps in the Arctic" (TESE/DISSERTAÇÃO)
|
17/20 |
|
2020/02 - 2020/07
Concluído
|
Exchange program (Erasmus +) (Outros)
Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu, Polónia
|
|
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2016/09 - 2020/06
Concluído
|
Biologia (Licenciatura)
Universidade de Évora, Portugal
"Diurnal courses and variation of forest soil carbon dioxide fluxes at reforested windthrow area" (TESE/DISSERTAÇÃO)
|
13/20 |
Percurso profissional
Outros
| Categoria Profissional Instituição de acolhimento |
Empregador | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/02/13 - 2026/02/12 | Research assistant at Azores Deep-Sea Research group | Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso, Portugal |
| Universidade dos Açores - Campus da Horta, Portugal | ||
| 2023/02/01 - 2024/02/12 | Internship at the Azores Deep-Sea Research group | Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso, Portugal |
| Universidade dos Açores - Campus da Horta, Portugal | ||
| 2022/08/01 - 2022/08/31 | Student Initiation Fellow (BII) at CESAM | Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal |
| Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal | ||
| 2020/06/01 - 2020/09/15 | Research Volunteer – Deep-sea meiofauna processing and analysis | Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Portugal |
| University of Évora Laboratório de Nematologia, Portugal | ||
| 2019/10 - 2020/01 | Extra-curricular laboratory training – Meiofauna and Nematode processing methodologies | Universidade de Évora, Portugal |
| University of Évora Laboratório de Nematologia, Portugal |
Projetos
Projeto
| Designação | Financiadores | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/03/02 - Atual | DEEP: Deep-sea Ecosystem Evaluation for Policy solutions
2025.00366.AZO
Investigador
Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso, Portugal
|
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Em curso
|
| 2024/01/01 - Atual | REDRESS - Restoration of deep-sea habitats to rebuild European Seas - European Union’s Horizon Europe
101135492
Investigador
Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal
|
Horizon 2020
Em curso
|
| 2024/01/01 - Atual | Marine Beacon - Monitoring and elimination of bycatch of endangered and conserved species in the NE and high seas Atlantic
region
101135237
Investigador
Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal
|
Horizon 2020
Em curso
|
| 2023/02/13 - Atual | MapGES2 - Characterization and mapping of deep-sea habitats in the Azores sub-area of the Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone
18/DRPM/2022, ACORES-14-62G4-FEDER-000001
Investigador
Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal
|
Governo dos Açores
Em curso
|
Produções
Publicações
| Artigo em revista |
|
| Poster em conferência |
|
| Relatório |
|
| Tese / Dissertação |
|
Outros
| Outra produção |
|
Atividades
Apresentação oral de trabalho
| Título da apresentação | Nome do evento Anfitrião (Local do evento) |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2025/12/12 | Invited Lecture demonstration - Invited by Dr. Ana Martins to deliver a practical demonstration of the low-cost deep-sea imaging system Azor drift-cam as part of the Master’s programme in Integrated Ocean Studies, University of the Azores. |
Universidade dos Açores (Horta, Portugal)
|
| 2025/09/05 | Oral contribution on the technical specifications of the cost-effective underwater imaging tool "Azor drift-cam" at the EXPAT 25 – 7th Experimenta@ International Conference, Horta, Portugal. | EXPAT 25 – 7th Experimenta@ International Conference
Universidade dos Açores (Horta, Portugal)
|
| 2025/07/10 | Course lecture – 2025 Marine Robotics Summer School, organized by MIT Portugal and Okeanos – Institute of Marine Sciences (EMA, Horta, Portugal). Oral presentation on the development and operational performance of the low-cost deep-sea imaging system Azor drift-cam. | 2025 Marine Robotics Summer School
Okeanos – Institute of Marine Sciences (Horta, Portugal)
|
| 2025/05/28 | Invited Speaker – “À Descoberta do Mar Profundo dos Açores” Held at Fábrica da Baleia, Horta, Portugal. Delivered an outreach lecture on Azorean deep-sea ecosystems to an international group of American students, highlighting regional biodiversity, exploration efforts, and technological approaches to deep-sea research. |
Fábrica da Baleia (Horta, Portugal)
|
| 2025/03/07 | Panel Participant – “Açores com Futuro – Jovens que Inspiram”, Horta, Portugal. Selected as a representative of Faial Island to engage with high-school students, sharing academic and professional experiences to promote higher education, scientific careers, and regional development. | Açores com Futuro – Jovens que Inspiram
Escola secundária Manuel de Arriaga (Horta, Portugal)
|
| 2022/12/05 | Oral presentation “Nematode Communities from a Natural Oil Seep off Svalbard” on the 18th International Meiofauna Conference (IMCO), Wellington, New Zealand, focusing on meiofaunal assemblage structure and ecological patterns associated with Arctic cold seep environments. | 18th International meiofauna conference
NIWA - Earth sciences New Zealand (Wellington, Nova Zelândia)
|
| 2022/11/11 | Invited Lecture – Arctic Cold Seep Ecosystems Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, University of Évora. Invited by Dr. Helena Adão to deliver a lecture talk within the module Biology of Communities, focusing on the ecological structure, biodiversity patterns, and environmental drivers of Arctic cold seep ecosystems. |
Universidade de Évora (Évora, Portugal)
|
| 2022/05/22 | Invited Lecture – Cold Seeps and Hydrothermal Vents Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology, University of Algarve. Invited by Dr. Duarte Duarte to deliver a lecture within the module Marine Geology, addressing the geological drivers, ecological dynamics, and biodiversity patterns of cold seep and hydrothermal vent ecosystems. | Marine geology class (Marine biology bachelor's degree)
Universidade do Algarve (Faro, Portugal)
|
Participação em evento
| Descrição da atividade Tipo de evento |
Nome do evento Instituição / Organização |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2025/11/25 - 2025/11/27 | Course "Habitat Mapping and Modelling Workshop" (24 hours). Organized by: TwinDEEPS project. Venue: Synergy Coworking, Porto,
Portugal. Advanced practical workshop on concepts and methods behind generating biotope maps, cluster analysis techniques
for biotope classification, random forest modelling techniques for predictive mapping, and evaluation methods for assessing
predictions and communicating uncertainty.
Oficina (workshop)
|
Habitat Mapping and Modelling Workshop
Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Noruega
|
| 2025/09/15 - 2025/09/18 | International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Annual Science Conference (Klaipeda, Lithuania). Presented the
poster: “Enhancing Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) identification with the Azor drift-cam, a cost-effective and user-friendly
underwater imaging solution”, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Azor drift-cam as a scalable tool for improving the identification
and monitoring of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs).
Conferência
|
ICES Annual Science Conference
Klaipedos universitetas, Lituânia
|
| 2024/06/03 - 2024/06/07 | Course "Underwater Image Analysis from A to Z: From Image Collection to Answering Key Ecological Questions" (35 hours) Organized
by the COST Action MAF-WORLD. Held at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom. Advanced practical course covering underwater
image acquisition protocols, annotation workflows, quantitative ecological analysis, and emerging Artificial Intelligence
/ Machine Learning applications for automated image classification and biodiversity assessment.
Oficina (workshop)
|
Underwater image analysis from A to Z: from image collection to answering key ecological questions
University of Glasgow, Reino Unido
|
| 2024/03/10 - 2024/03/12 | Attendee – Oceanology International 2024, Held at ExCeL London, United Kingdom. Attended a leading international forum on
marine science and ocean technology, engaging in technical sessions and industry-focused problem-solving discussions with
technology developers and sector specialists.
Exposição
|
Oceanology International 2024 |
| 2023/11/20 - 2023/11/27 | Course "GBIF and Darwin Core" (5 hours) Organized by the University of the Azores | Remote. Training in biodiversity data
standardization and publication workflows using Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Darwin Core standards,
including: 1)Preparation and structuring of Darwin Core-compliant datasets; 2)Data publication through the GBIF Portugal IPT;
3)Preparation of a data paper using the Biodiversity Data Journal submission system.
Oficina (workshop)
|
GBIF and Darwin core
Universidade dos Açores, Portugal
|
| 2023/06/05 - 2023/06/08 | Technical aid on the iAtlantic international workshop: “Azor drift-cam: A cost effective video system for a rapid appraisal
of deep-sea benthic habitats
Oficina (workshop)
|
Azor drift-cam: A cost effective video system for a rapid appraisal of deep-sea benthic habitats
Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal
|
| 2022/12/05 - 2022/12/09 | 18th International Meiofauna Conference (IMCO), Wellington, New Zealand. Oral presentation “Nematode Communities from a Natural
Oil Seep off Svalbard”.
Conferência
|
18th International meiofauna conference
NIWA - Earth sciences New Zealand, Nova Zelândia
|
| 2022/09/14 - 2022/09/16 | CAGE International Conference, Tromsø, Norway. Presented the poster entitled “Nematode Communities from a Natural Oil Seep
off Svalbard”, addressing meiofaunal community structure and ecological patterns associated with Arctic seep environments.
Conferência
|
CAGE International conference
Centre for Arctic Gas hydrate, environement and climate, Noruega
|
| 2022/07/11 - 2022/07/22 | 2022 Marine Robotics Summer School (80 hours)
Organized by MIT Portugal and Okeanos – Institute of Marine Sciences.
Held at Escola do Mar dos Açores (EMA), Horta, Portugal.
Advanced training in marine robotics, ocean observation systems, and operational deployment of robotic platforms for marine
research.
Oficina (workshop)
|
2022 Marine Robotics Summer school
Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Portugal Program Cambridge Office, Estados Unidos
|
| 2021/11/28 - 2021/11/30 | Participant – XII Workshop Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) Portugal
Participated in a national workshop focused on polar research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and early-career development
within the polar science community.
Conferência
|
XII Workshop APECS Portugal
Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
|
| 2021/03/12 - 2021/04/02 | Participant – “Bússola” Event, organized by Ocean Hub Portugal.
Engaged in a collaborative discussion forum addressing current and emerging challenges facing the ocean, contributing to idea
generation and strategic perspectives for sustainable marine futures.
Oficina (workshop)
|
Bússola
Ocean Hub Portugal , Portugal
|
| 2019/04/12 - 2019/04/17 | Participant – XXII National Meeting of Biology Students (ENEB), Portugal
Held at the University of Algarve.
Attended a national scientific meeting featuring invited lectures, technical workshops (including Python for scientists),
and practical field activities.
Encontro
|
XXII ENEB 2019
Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
|
Expedição científica
| Descrição da atividade | Instituição / Organização | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/10/11 - 2025/10/11 | Scientific crew - REDRESS Leg1 on board R/V Águas Vivas. Participation in a one-day scientific expedition under the REDRESS project for the deployment of landers at Condor Seamount (Azores) to support Cold-water corals habitat restoration studies. Contributed to field operations and deployment procedures. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2025/08/16 - 2025/08/24 | Chief Scientist – MapGES 2025 Leg 1 On board RV Arquipélago. Managed at-sea operations of a deep-sea survey campaign aimed at expanding video-based habitat and community data across Azorean seamounts. Conducted new transects in previously underexplored areas, including Pico Sul (southern EEZ boundary) and seamount and ridge systems east of Terceira Island. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2025/07/25 - 2025/07/25 | Chief Scientist – MapGES 2025 Leg 1c On board the MT Physeter. Managed at-sea operations of a one-day deep-sea survey campaign aimed at expanding video databased on the deep slopes of Pico Island and field testing material and instruments. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2025/06/21 - 2025/07/01 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2025 Leg 1b On board the MT Physeter. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign, conducting new video transects on Graciosa and Terceira Islands and the offshore seamount Vasco Gil, contributing to the expansion of regional deep-sea biodiversity datasets and improving spatial coverage in previously poorly characterized areas. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2025/06/04 - 2025/06/04 | Chief Scientist – MapGES 2025 Leg 1a On board the MT Physeter. Managed at-sea operations of a one-day deep-sea survey campaign aimed at expanding video databased on the deep slopes of Faial Island and field testing material and instruments. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2024/08/26 - 2024/09/07 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2024 Leg 4 On board the MT Physeter. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign conducting new video transects along the slopes of Terceira Island to expand and refine datasets from previous expeditions. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2024/06/30 - 2024/07/07 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2024 Leg 1 On board the MT Physeter. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign conducting new video transects along the slopes of multiple islands in the Azores archipelago, including São Miguel and the northern Mar da Prata area. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/09/08 - 2023/09/15 | Chief Scientist – MapGES 2023 Leg 5 On board the MT Physeter. Managed scientific coordination of a deep-sea survey campaign targeting previously unexplored geomorphological structures around São Miguel Island, including the northern, northeastern, eastern, southeastern, southern, southwestern, western, and northwestern sectors, as well as the northern Mar da Prata region. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/09/02 - 2023/09/08 | Scientific crew - OceanX 2023 Expedition On board the OceanXplorer. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign contributing to a long-term strategy to map regional biodiversity and identify Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) in the Azores. The expedition targeted previously unexplored geomorphological structures around the Princesa Alice Bank and the Dom João de Castro seamount, as well as slope systems near Pico and Faial islands. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/07/14 - 2023/07/30 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2023 Leg 3 On board the MT Physeter. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign exploring previously uncharacterized geomorphological structures around São Jorge Island, including the eastern Topo sector and the northeastern region. The expedition also revisited selected areas (e.g., southeastern São Jorge and the southern Urzelina sector) to conduct complementary sampling and strengthen existing datasets. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/07/08 - 2023/07/11 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2023 Leg 1 On board the RV Arquipélago. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign targeting previously unexplored geomorphological structures in the central Azores, including the Princesa Alice Bank and the seamount systems north of Graciosa Island (Sedlo, Borda, João Leonardes, and Gaillard). | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/07/05 - 2023/07/05 | Scientific crew - Benthic collector Leg 1 on board the fishing vessel Tatiana. Participation in a one-day scientific expedition for the deployment of a coral collector device at Condor Seamount (Azores). Contributed to field operations and deployment procedures. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/05/30 - 2023/06/11 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2023 Leg 2 On board the MT Physeter. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign targeting previously unexplored geomorphological structures, including Bourée NE (formerly Açor NW), Açor Bank, De Guerne N (formerly Açor SE), São Mateus de Fora, and Agulhas das 18 Milhas. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2023/05/15 - 2023/05/21 | Scientific crew - MapGES 2023 Leg 1 On board the MT Physeter. Participated in a deep-sea survey campaign targeting previously unexplored geomorphological structures, including Bourée NE (formerly Açor NW), Açor Bank, De Guerne N (formerly Açor SE), São Mateus de Fora, and Agulhas das 18 Milhas. | Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal |
| 2022/06/07 - 2022/07/02 | Scientific crew - Meeting Societal Needs for Impartial Evidence on the State and Sustainable Use of Ocean Biological Resources: The Case of Nephrops norvegicus Organized by the EUROFLEETS+ Floating University. Held on board the R/V Mário Ruivo, off the Portuguese coast. Offshore advanced training programme in marine ecology and fisheries science, focused on evidence-based assessment and sustainable management of Nephrops norvegicus (Norway lobster) resources. | IPMA (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera), Portugal |
Membro de associação
| Nome da associação | Tipo de participação | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 - Atual | FPAS (Portuguese Federation of Underwater Activities) | |
| 2022 - Atual | Deep-sea Biology society | Researcher member |
Distinções
Prémio
| 2025 | Finantial support and travel grant for the participation on the ICES Annual Science Conference in Klaipeda, Lithuania
Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal
|
| 2025 | Financial support and travel grant for participation in the workshop "Habitat Mapping and Modelling Workshop" in Porto, Portugal
Universidade dos Açores Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar Okeanos, Portugal
|
| 2025 | Awarded 2nd place in the National Championship and 3rd place in the Portuguese Cup - 2025 CMAS World cup Underwater photography & Video |
| 2022 | Swedmark Travel Award that covered registration costs on 18th International Meiofauna Conference for the 10 best MSc/PhD students. |
| 2022 | Student support award (full grant) for the participation in the CAGE International conference in Tromsø, Norway |
Outra distinção
| 2026 | Local Skipper license - Patrão Local
Direção-Geral de Recursos Naturais, Portugal
|
| 2025 | Divemaster
Scuba Schools International, Portugal
|
| 2023 | STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers)
Direção-Geral de Recursos Naturais, Portugal
|