Science on the beach on Saturday

- Join scientists from the University of Iceland and EMBL on Saturday 13th of August to discover a sampling site at the coastal land-water interface

A team of scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and the University of Iceland, invite you to join them on Saturday 13th of August at 11 am at the Geirsnef Dog Park. By joining us you will get to learn more about their work, which is part of a large sampling expedition called Traversing European Coastlines (TREC) aiming to undertand biodiversity in coastal regions, how organisms interact with each other, how they affect the environment and how they cope with natural and man-made environmental factors. It is open to everyone interested.

The activity will start at the meeting point with an introduction to the expedition to understand the larger context and the collaboration on this project. Then, scientists will walk with you to the sampling site to show you around and explain how the sampling process works, what type of samples they are taking and what they are used for. They will also show the sampling equipment and all the technology they use to measure the environmental conditions on site and explain the impact of the project for enlarging the knowledge about Icelandic ecosystems.

The aim of the TREC expedition is to harness the latest technology and methods in molecular biology to learn more about the status of individual ecosystems and the health of our planet and contribute to the long time history of ecosystems research, as well as gaining a better understanding on interactions between microorganisms, algae, plants and animals in their natural habitat, and how they respond to environmental changes.

A group of scientists from EMBL and other European institutions visit Iceland in August to carry out a research expedition along the coast of Iceland, which will be a precursor to larger TREC expeditions in other coastal regions of Europe between 2023 and 2024. The pilot project will focus on coastal ecosystems in Iceland with the aim to collect samples and environmental measurements, to test research methods and develop experimental workflows further to enable answering new scientific questions that are still unknown.

The expedition in Iceland will be carried out in tight collaboration with scientists from Icelandic universities and institutions, united by a shared involvement in ecological research, and monitoring via the newly formed BIODICE network. BIODICE is a platform to promote research, greater awareness and understanding of biodiversity in Iceland.

On the hiking trip, one of the sampling sites of the expedition will be visited. The hiking trip starts at Geirsnef Dog Park at 11 am and will be around an hour and a half. It is open to everyone interested, and will be both in English and Icelandic.