Technology developed in Porto enabled autonomous sample collection in the Arctic
Researchers from Porto have developed a technology that, coupled with a robot, has made it possible to collect "totally autonomously" environmental DNA samples at depth, low temperatures, and in different parts of the Arctic.
In a statement, the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC) explained that the ‘biosampler’ technology was tested in the Arctic.
After validating the technology, also developed by the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), the researchers coupled it to a robot created by the INESC TEC team.
Compared to other sampling systems, the technology "has several advantages", says Alfredo Martins, from INESC TEC, namely that it operates autonomously, at depth and low water temperatures.
Also quoted in the press release, Catarina Magalhães, a researcher at CIIMAR, stresses the technology’s importance in understanding climate change's impact on biological communities in the Arctic.
"This technology will revolutionize the current capacity for biological monitoring in marine ecosystems, with particular relevance in the Arctic Ocean where it is urgent to understand the impact of climate change," the statement said.
