AKMA SCIENTISTS BLOG: Ines Andrea Barrenechea Angeles

I’m a post-doctoral researcher at the UiT, the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. During my thesis, I was able to study marine sediments from the tropics and temperate zones but none from the Arctic regions, so I was delighted to take part in the expedition. I discovered other environments and types of sampling carried out by other colleagues, such as the pore water geochemistry performed by Claudio Argentino. My research focuses on DNA stored in sediments and foraminifera. Foraminifera are single-celled organisms with or without a shell. Regardless of the nature of their shell, they have left their DNA in the sediment, which can be preserved for a few years or thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years. From the DNA, we can deduce all the organisms that live or have lived there. During the AKMA, I collected sediments to extract the DNA and target further organisms such as foraminifera, bacteria and meiofauna (small animals). A few grams of sediment were also taken and stained with solutions (Rose-Bengal and CellTracker Green ) colouring living cells/organelles. This enabled us to identify living foraminifera. Even though it wasn't my first cruise experience, I learnt a lot from the other colleagues and enjoyed sharing our knowledge with children from other countries and/or continents. On board, with the 'foram' team, we prepared a Foraminifera kit (see Yu Ting's blog) and I made video calls with secondary school students from Geneva (Switzerland) and Huaraz (Peru). “I’m a post-doctoral researcher at the UiT, the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. During my thesis, I was able to study marine sediments from the tropics and temperate zones but none from the Arctic regions, so I was delighted to take part in the expedition. I discovered other environments and types of sampling carried out by other colleagues, such as the pore water geochemistry performed by Claudio Argentino. My research focuses on DNA stored in sediments and foraminifera. Foraminifera are single-celled organisms with or without a shell. Regardless of the nature of their shell, they have left their DNA in the sediment, which can be preserved for a few years or thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years. From the DNA, we can deduce all the organisms that live or have lived there. During the AKMA, I collected sediments to extract the DNA and target further organisms such as foraminifera, bacteria and meiofauna (small animals). A few grams of sediment were also taken and stained with solutions (Rose-Bengal and CellTracker Green ) colouring living cells/organelles. This enabled us to identify living foraminifera. Even though it wasn't my first cruise experience, I learnt a lot from the other colleagues and enjoyed sharing our knowledge with children from other countries and/or continents. On board, with the 'foram' team, we prepared a Foraminifera kit (see Yu Ting's blog) and I made video calls with secondary school students from Geneva (Switzerland) and Huaraz (Peru).