The ENA (Eastern North Atlantic Graciosa Island ARM Facility) is completing a decade of continuous operation. Eduardo Brito de Azevedo, ENA’s project manager, says that the information gathered is valuable for the international scientific community and also for decision-making in the archipelago, not least because climate change is already having an effect in the region.
“We are already subject to climate change. This is evident, whether in the way tropical storms hit us or in their intensity. We also have extratropical depressions. All of this is researched in a very useful way, not just for us, but for the whole community,” said the coordinator of the Climate, Meteorology and Global Change Group at the University of the Azores’ Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research and Technology (IITAA).
Eduardo Brito de Azevedo adds that “we now have to apply all this knowledge to our climate-dependent sectors” since “practically everything depends on the climate here in the Azores,” from security to the economy.
The ENA station’s scientific programming is part of the US Department of Energy’s ARM program. It is subject to technical standardization by the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The “extraordinary repository” of climate data recorded at ENA has resulted in more than 130 scientific articles published in the field’s most respected journals, such as Science and Nature. “The regional interest is to know a lot about the climate of the Azores and the phenomena that influence it. Much more is now known than was previously known or than has ever been gathered here in the Azores, at no direct cost to the public purse,” says Brito de Azevedo.
He argues that the model is “beneficial for everyone because it is information that is public and validated by the best international laboratories, in each of the themes, and made available to the public.” The project’s prospects for continuity are “comfortable,” admits the researcher. “Based on the scientific production indicator, we have produced a lot, with interest from all corners of the world,” he says.
On another level, the Azorean scholar criticizes what could be a duplication of structures. “Apparently, they’re going to create an observatory dedicated to climate change when we already have a wealth of knowledge acquired over the last 10 years, which surpasses anything that could be done shortly. It’s important to take advantage of this,” he said.
The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, recently announced the creation of an Atlantic Climate Observatory, an investment of over one million euros. This observatory will result from collaboration between the Regional Government and the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
The ENA project has been supported since its inception by the Regional Government and the Municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa. With the institutional collaboration of different entities, it is operated locally through the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation, by the Climate and Meteorology Group of the IITAA of the University of the Azores, which integrates different lines of research.
“This is one of the best, longest-running and best-equipped scientific research laboratories on climate and climate change, focused on the ocean-atmosphere interactions that occur in the Atlantic basin, in particular the study of the complexity of the phenomena associated with the present and future generation of clouds which, as we know, largely control the planetary energy balance,” said Brito de Azevedo.

in Correio dos Açores, Natalino Viveiros-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno.

Excellent study on climate change in the Azores…

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15174