André Filipe Pinto

Abstract
This paper describes a system designed to collect water samples, from the surface down to a configurable depth, and with configurable profiles of vertical velocity. The design was intended for the analysis of suspended sediments, therefore the sampling can integrate water flow for a given depth profile, or at a specific depth. The system is based on a catamaran-shaped platform, from which a towfish is lowered to collect the water samples. The use of a surface vehicle ensures a permanent link between the operator and the full system, allowing for a proper mission supervision. All components can be remotely controlled from the control station, or programmed for fully autonomous operation. Although the main intended use is for the analysis of suspended sediments in rivers, it can easily be extended to collect water samples in other water bodies.

Abstract
As humanity progresses and globalization advances, humanized environment and associated systems increase in complexity and size. In earth systems, oceans represent an essential element of equalization and normal functioning. Ocean-atmospheric interactions are nowadays believed to be at the heart of all earth vital signs and climatic behaviours, and therefore are essential to accurate monitoring and understanding of earth systems. The work presented is a preliminary result of the K2D- Knowledge and Data from the Deep to Space, project which addresses the challenge of creating underwater network nodes to provide power and communication to land through the submarine fiber optic cable repeaters. The N2ODE system will consist of a set of subsystems that will allow continuous monitoring and interaction with fixed and mobile underwater devices.

Abstract
This paper presents an overview of a generalized 6 degrees of freedom model for surface vessels and explains how it can be extended for twin hull surface vehicles. The extended model takes into account the hull characteristics (dimensions and location), which are important to improve the accuracy of simulations and the performance of controllers. The method involves the calculation of the submerged volume of each hull, location of each hull's center of buoyancy and restoring forces/ torques due to buoyancy contributions. To evaluate the proposed model, some simulations were performed, using an example of allocation of propulsion system and realistic hydrodynamic coefficients (added mass and damping) and inertial tensors.