A study of the University of Aveiro has revealed that the contaminating emissions of new cars have been reduced in recent years thanks to legal restrictions and technological improvements. However, the authors of the study (which has been called Projeto URBE) warn that many other elements that are harmful both to health and to the environment cannot be detected by using current methods.

Research by the Centre of Environmental and Marine Studies (Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, CESAM) of the University of Aveiro, with the collaboration of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere, has shown that forest fires and subsequent precipitations play an important role in the redistribution of mercury, a highly contaminating metal that after these episodes accumulates in adjacent soils and water. The scientists have discovered that eucalypt forests contain more mercury than pine forests, the two cases included in the study.

The University of Aveiro is working on the Life+ BRIGHT project promoted by the Fundação Mata do Buçaco, which aims to conserve the natural richness of the National Forest of Buçaco, an outstanding landscape located on the foothills of the sierra of the same name in Central Portugal. The researchers are particularly anxious to control invasive plant species which are threatening a unique enclave dominated by the mock privet, a shrub that here acquires unique characteristics.

The Geoscience Department of the University of Aveiro has carried out a study on heavy metals in the Cape Verde Islands with the objective of drawing up geochemical maps of the islands and assessing possible environmental risks. This information is part of an international project and will allow improved decision-making on soil use, environmental protection, and the health of the inhabitants, as well as serving as a reference for other countries.