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a b s t r a c tThermal heat stress is a cause of many occupational disorders that disrupt worker performance and the quality of work and, in extreme cases, can lead to death. In the industrial context, thermal discomfort is cited as one of the major causes of dissatisfaction in workplaces when people are exposed to extremely hot or cold thermal environments. Given the time that people spend in their workplaces, studies evaluating the comfort of the thermal environment are becoming increasingly important. However, comfort evaluation studies are time-consuming and for many organizations become expensive and difficult to implement due to the lack of a simplified model for evaluating the thermal environment of workplaces and the thermal sensations of their occupants.This paper aims to show the possibility of assessing the thermal patterns of industrial spaces and consequently identifying the most critical areas in terms of thermal comfort, using thermal indexes supported by real data collected using inexpensive measuring tools. This study was carried out in two Portuguese industrial manufacturing facilities with different characteristics, evaluating the thermal environment and the workers' thermal sensation in the season of spring. The data related to environmental parameters were collected using two similar measuring instruments, Testo 435-4 and Center 317-temperature humidity meter, while the workers' thermal sensations were collected using a thermal sensation colour scale that is aligned with the ASHRAE seven-point thermal sensation scale. The results were reproduced in colour maps based on MatLab algorithms, using the calculation formula of three thermal indexes, EsConTer (a new index), THI, and PPD.The applied methodology, using the EsConTer index, proved to be an interesting method for easily studying thermal environments and predicting the thermal comfort of an indoor space. Moreover, the representation of thermal indexes in colour maps is an informative approach, prompting recommendations and development actions with the aim of providing more comfortable, safer, and healthier work conditions, and minimizing occupational disorders. Indeed, the practical results were appreciated by the Health and Safety Department of each industry in order to develop measures that improve the occupational health of the occupants to prevent work accidents and work-related disorders.Accordingly, the methodology applied in this work, using a colour scale with the EsConTer index, proposes a new, simplified model for thermal stress risk evaluation, aiming to minimize difficult and time-consuming investigations to identify thermal comfort problems in workplaces. The coloured maps generated by MatLab algorithms proved to be a useful tool to visualize the thermal pattern of an environment, and consequently to identify thermal comfort problems.

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Mapping and quantifying bottom trawling fishing pressure on the seafloor is pivotal to understand its effects on deep-sea benthic habitats. Using data from the Vessel Monitoring System of crustacean trawlers along the Portuguese margin, we have identified the most exploited areas and characterized the most targeted habitats and water depths. We estimated a total trawling effort of 69596, 66766, and 63427 h y−1 for the years 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively which, considering the total landings estimated for this gear, yield values of 20.76, 21.06, and 19.11 kg of landed fish per trawled hour. The main trawling pressure is exerted in the South and Southwest Portuguese margins, on muddy and muddy-sand bottoms between 200 and 700 m water depths, while in the North and Central-West coasts a minor effort, at shallower waters and across a wider range of habitats, is also applied. The most landed species are crustaceans such as rose shrimp and Norway lobster, although this varies importantly between the different regions of Portugal, being fish and cephalopods the main captures in the Northern ports. We discuss the consequences of trawling for the impacted communities as well as the characteristics of the commercialization of these captures in Portugal.

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