EMBLtrec

“With the Foundation’s backing, principles at the heart of TREC – open data, standardised protocols, and shared analytical approaches – are being adopted across new countries & continents,” said Paola Bertucci, Head @embl.org Scientific Expeditions. Check out this great article on labs on wheels!

Collage of three photos: 1) the EMBL TREC fleet is driving next to the coast; 2) three scientists are taking samples on a grassy field; 3) a scientist is cryo-preserving samples. Behind her, there is a lab bench with equipment visible.

With its scientific expeditions, EMBL is pioneering a new era of field-based molecular life sciences. 🚌🔬

Supported by the Klaus Tschira Stiftung & many partners, these ‘labs on wheels’ enable the study of life in context across Europe, with a view to global impact. 🌍🧬

www.embl.org/news/connect...

TREC partner snapshot: University of Basque Country Plentzia Marine Station | EMBL A ‘supersite’ for field research and public outreach provided optimal environment for exchange, as we find out in this interview.

@embltrec.bsky.social has published this snapshot of their stop @pie-upvehu.bsky.social Thanks for the kind words!
TREC partner snapshot: University of Basque Country Plentzia Marine Station www.embl.org/news/connect...

From the TREC Blog "My father passed away while I was working on TREC. Doing the work with others gave me the strength to carry on until I could return home to be with my family. It was a very sad time, but showed me how important this project & these people had become"

www.embl.org/about/info/t...

Curiosity microscopes were distributed to local partners at key locations along the TREC – @fondationtaraocean.bsky.social @taraoceans-science.bsky.social expedition route. These microscopes will facilitate, support and expand existing outreach activities for local coastal communities.

Scientist looking at laptop screen with images of microscopic organisms seen using Curiosity microscope

Check out this great article on the Curiosity microscope, used by @embl.org & BIOcean5D to empower teachers to share excitement of plankton discovery with their students! "The Curiosity microscope is fantastic because it will enable us to bring the classroom to the sampling site”
bit.ly/3UfeEoz

Environmental Technician or Engineer (Soil Lead) The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is Europe’s flagship research institution for the life sciences, bringing together over 110 independent research groups and service teams across six si...

TREC is hiring! @embl.org is looking for a field technician/engineer to coordinate soil sampling: plan activities, apply protocols, lead site scouting, coordinate teams & more. Join an amazing international team exploring a hidden universe beneath our feet. Please spread the word! bit.ly/4eSTPbZ

Environmental Technician or Engineer (Soil Lead) The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is Europe’s flagship research institution for the life sciences, bringing together over 110 independent research groups and service teams across six si...

TREC is hiring! @embl.org is looking for a field technician/engineer to coordinate soil sampling: plan activities, apply protocols, lead site scouting, coordinate teams & more. Join an amazing international team exploring a hidden universe beneath our feet. Please spread the word! bit.ly/4eSTPbZ

Coastal sediments lining Europe’s shores hold a hidden archive of microbial biodiversity, past & present. As part of the TREC expedition, scientists collected samples from coastal sites across the continent. Meet Raffaele Siano, who leads TREC's work on coastal sediments www.embl.org/about/info/t...

With @embl.org @ifremer.bsky.social

“TREC has been one of the best experiences of my life," he added. "Working closely with colleagues from EMBL and other partners, sharing responsibility, facing challenges together, all created strong bonds. It’s those human connections I made during TREC that I’ll remember most."

“What makes TREC unique is that we’re not studying one compartment in isolation. By linking data from water, sediment, and land, we can explore how these systems interact,” said Raffaele in the interview.

During the TREC expedition, scientists collected two types of sediment samples: surface sediments, which give insights into present-day conditions, and deeper paleocores – long cylinders of sediment that record environmental changes going back decades or even centuries.

One of the memories of TREC Raffaele recalls is an early sketch he did with Paola Bertucci, TREC’s Head of EMBL Scientific Expeditions, that turned out to be a first draft of TREC’s sampling strategy: “It marked the concrete beginning of our pan-compartment TREC sampling strategy” he said.

Some answers lie in ocean water, but because it changes rapidly with tides and currents, and plankton records rarely go back more than a few decades, studying the water alone doesn’t provide the full picture. That’s where sediments – and the sediment compartment – come in.

In our interview, Raffaele points out that few stretches of Europe’s coastline remain untouched by human activity – but in many cases, we don’t actually know what these ecosystems were like before those impacts began

Raffaele is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on coastal environmental genomics and harmful algal blooms. He is based at the French Institute for Ocean Science @ifremer.bsky.social in Brest, France

Coastal sediments lining Europe’s shores hold a hidden archive of microbial biodiversity, past & present. As part of the TREC expedition, scientists collected samples from coastal sites across the continent. Meet Raffaele Siano, who leads TREC's work on coastal sediments www.embl.org/about/info/t...

Great summary of happenings at the world's largest ever ocean summit #unoc3 by our friends at the BIOcean5D project (cofunded by @horizoneu.bsky.social) aiming to gain a holistic understanding of ocean life

"Now, the decisions must be transformed into action"
biocean5d.org/a-decisive-m...

Stripe graph showing increase in global ocean temperatures between years 1850 and 2024, sharply moving from blue (cooler) to red (hotter)

Global ocean temperatures 1850-2024. Temperature is known to play a crucial role in shaping the microbial communities TREC aims to learn much more about #showyourstripes showyourstripes.info

Stripe graph showing increase in global ocean temperatures between years 1850 and 2024, sharply moving from blue (cooler) to red (hotter)

Global ocean temperatures 1850-2024. Temperature is known to play a crucial role in shaping the microbial communities TREC aims to learn much more about #showyourstripes showyourstripes.info

TREC partner snapshot: Tallinn University of Technology | EMBL TallinnTech was an important TREC partner, and Sirje Sildever shares her thoughts after helping facilitate opportunities in Estonia.

The kindness of strangers: TREC collaborator Sirje Sildever (Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia) recalls asking organisations if she could set up air sampling stations on the tops of their buildings "Many people were surprised, but they were very accommodating!"
www.embl.org/news/connect...

TREC partner snapshot: Tallinn University of Technology | EMBL TallinnTech was an important TREC partner, and Sirje Sildever shares her thoughts after helping facilitate opportunities in Estonia.

EMBL's TREC expedition wouldn't have been possible without its partners.

We spotlight some valuable collaborators, such as the Tallinn University of Technology, #Estonia. We spoke to Sirje Sildever, Assistant Professor @TallinnTech:

www.embl.org/news/connect...

TREC partner snapshot: Tallinn University of Technology | EMBL TallinnTech was an important TREC partner, and Sirje Sildever shares her thoughts after helping facilitate opportunities in Estonia.

The kindness of strangers: TREC collaborator Sirje Sildever (Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia) recalls asking organisations if she could set up air sampling stations on the tops of their buildings "Many people were surprised, but they were very accommodating!"
www.embl.org/news/connect...

Biology beyond conventional model organisms – a whole new world | EMBL An EMBL | EMBO symposium explored the ‘wild frontiers’ of model organisms, from phytoplankton to sea anemones, waterstriders, roundworms, and more.

"Never before in human history has there been a more urgent need to understand living systems & how they interact with each other and the environment" Check out this blog from the 'wild frontiers of model organisms' symposium, inc on the importance of TREC's approach of taking the lab to the field

World Ocean Day graphic including colourful scientific images of ocean plankton

It's #WorldOceanDay – this year’s theme is: ‘Wonder: sustain what sustains us’. One key force sustaining ocean life is microbes. With @embl.org TREC we explored this hidden universe along Europe's coasts, across water, sediment and soil to see how microbial life connects across ecosystems and biomes

@embl.org @embo.org

Biology beyond conventional model organisms – a whole new world | EMBL An EMBL | EMBO symposium explored the ‘wild frontiers’ of model organisms, from phytoplankton to sea anemones, waterstriders, roundworms, and more.

"Never before in human history has there been a more urgent need to understand living systems & how they interact with each other and the environment" Check out this blog from the 'wild frontiers of model organisms' symposium, inc on the importance of TREC's approach of taking the lab to the field

Scientists aboard the TARA schooner filter a sample of ocean water

TREC teams aboard the @fondationtaraocean.bsky.social @taraoceans-science.bsky.social schooner sampled ocean waters off the coast in parallel with those taken on land. Coordinated methods across biomes allow scientists to build knowledge not just for wonder, but to help sustain what sustains us

Scientists taking coastal water samples in ocean with mountains in the background

Shallow coastal zones are among the most dynamic and diverse habitats on Earth. As part of TREC’s pan-biome approach, scientists are studying their microbial life to understand how these ecosystems contribute to aspects such as carbon cycling, food webs, and coastal resilience