Since 2012, ECIMAT has had a vehicle to support research, but this time it is a land-based vehicle—a camper van converted into a mobile laboratory that only the center’s researchers can use for sampling campaigns and the execution of marine research activities. It is a cab-over type (with a sleeping area above the driver’s cabin) and originally has six sleeping places according to the factory layout, but it has been adapted to meet research needs, with modified cabinets for transporting scientific equipment, a 150-liter refrigerator, and a water purification system using polyethylene ion-exchange resins.
The mobility offered by this type of vehicle allows researchers to conduct fieldwork without needing to return to the laboratory to drop off samples, for example. It is especially useful in campaigns where flora or fauna samples need to be collected for later laboratory analysis. This way, work becomes more efficient and can be completed in less time, as hours are not lost in travel. The vehicle is the Ilusión i630 model, purchased in 2012 based on the researchers’ own request and funded with EU FEDER funds. This mobile laboratory is equipped with scientific instruments such as a thermostatted bath, an automatic titrator, and a laser particle size analyzer.
Of particular use in sampling campaigns
One of the researchers using this vehicle is Noé Ferreira, who works in collaboration with the Department of Ecology and Animal Biology and the Toralla Marine Science Station, to conduct an analysis of the current dispersal of the Asian clam in Galicia. For sample collection, he established a total of 113 initial points, making the use of this mobile laboratory extremely useful. He explains that he used the camper van to carry out sampling along the estuaries of Galicia over 15 days and has a new trip planned for April along rivers in the northern half of Portugal, “although it will depend on its availability,” he emphasizes.
For Noé Ferreira, “having a work tool like the camper van greatly facilitates the sampling task, as it allows all the previously designed points to be covered continuously without having to travel to stay overnight in nearby towns or return to Vigo, resulting in considerable time savings.” He adds that having a permanent workspace nearby with large storage capacity is also a major advantage. In this regard, he points out that “the refrigerator and freezer are extremely useful for preserving samples as they are collected,” and for this equipment, the researchers working on this project include “instruments for measuring the physicochemical parameters of water, as well as all the materials needed for initial processing and labeling of the samples, including the precise chemical reagents required to preserve samples intended for determining specific parameters. ”However, Ferreira acknowledges that while there are advantages, there are also drawbacks, mainly due to its size, which “makes it difficult to reach some points, although this has left us with good memories trying to get out of some ‘compromised’ situations,” he recalls.
Source: DUVI
