JFE Photos

Interfaces team members gathered in Rennes, France, for the project’s joint field experiment.  The week long event began on Sunday 24th April and attracted twenty seven biochemists, ecologists and hydrologists from eight countries. 

One of many goals for the Interfaces team is to better understand how water moves across and through the landscape and how the elements carried are transformed or eliminated to help protect and restore aquatic ecosystems.  The group focused on two streams: the Petit Hermitage in the forest of Villecartier and the Chênelais in the corn fields and pastures.  The characteristics and functions of the two sites enabled the team to compare each stream’s capacity to remove pollutants. 

The party split into eight creatively named teams.  Team DTS used fibre optic cables and thermal cameras to measure the streams temperature at all points simultaneously. The Microbes set about sampling and freezing bacteria and viruses.  The He Team measured dissolved gases utilising Gilles Pinay’s enviable LaboMobile.  The Gassy Gravel Bars assessed greenhouse gas emissions.  The Fluorescent Druggies worked on measuring metabolism.  Team Nitrogen slogged away fording every stream to quantify the Nitrogen present.  The Lonely Diatom searched for algae in the forest and finally, Team Groundwater dug deep to collect samples. 

A collective thank you goes to Ben Abbott for arranging such as superb event!