Departure from Brussels National Airport

On the 15th December, Elie Verleyen (University of Gent) and Zorigto Namsaraev were meeting in the hall of Brussels National Airport. Before Zorigto would leave for Cape Town, and then, Antarctica, Elie has brought additional material that we did not have: a GPS (to determine exactly the location of the sampling points, the experiments...) and a Spectrosense meter. This meter allows to measure the solar radiation that reaches the microorganisms and allows the photosynthesis. Indeed, not the whole spectrum of light can be used for the photosynthesis but only the wavelengths from 400 to 700 nM. This sensor also allows to know how much UV-B (280-315 nM) and UV-A (315-380 nM) will reach the surface. This is important because UV radiations are harmful to living organisms. In the case of UV-B, it is absorbed by DNA and proteins, and damage them. There was some suspens as the Spectrosense only arrived in Gent the day before. In the end, all went well!