Active
Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil
URCA • GUANABARA BAY
Urban estuarine enviroment
Since December 2, 2025
The Caravela is installed in Guanabara Bay,
in Urca — one of Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic places
where city and sea come together.
Near Urca’s waterfront, the technology is part of a territory
where residents, visitors, fishers, athletes, and tourists
experience the bay as part of everyday life.
Here, water is more than a backdrop.
It is part of the city’s daily life.
WHY THIS TERRITORY MATTERS
Guanabara Bay is one of Brazil’s most iconic coastal systems and one of its most environmentally complex.
Operating in Urca brings water regeneration closer to people’s everyday lives, in a place where human activity
and the marine environment are deeply intertwined.
More than monitoring water, this is an opportunity to strengthen the connection between people, water, and territory.
Nature-based ecological remediation
Environmental data generation
Caravela
Experience
Citizen science
Environmental education
Continuous ecological monitoring
CARE, BUILT TOGETHER
The project is led by Infinito Mare in partnership with Mergulho Carioca, which provides the mooring where the Caravela is installed.
The Urca community has also played an important role, welcoming the Caravela and helping strengthen its presence in the area.
Research and analyses associated with the operation are carried out in collaboration with institutions including UFF and UFRRJ.
The Caravela is currently maintained directly by Infinito Mare.
WHAT THIS WATER REVEALS
Since its installation in Urca, the Caravela has contributed to the continuous monitoring of Guanabara Bay’s dynamics, tracking the development of marine biomass and building a growing body of ecological data over time.
The operation has also helped refine protocols for estuarine environments and bring different audiences closer to reading the water, establishing Urca as the home base for the Caravela Experience in Rio de Janeiro.
More than ready-made answers, this territory continues to offer us new questions, observations, and insights into the relationship between cities, nature, and society.
A presence that invites care
Learning from water
Life taking shape
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Connecting with the territory
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Where biodiversity gathers
WHAT THIS TERRITORY REPRESENTS
Urca represents the possibility of making care for water visible in one of Brazil’s most iconic settings.
Here, science, city, and nature share the same horizon.
The Caravela becomes a lasting invitation
to observe, understand, and care for Guanabara Bay.