Partec has supported the BBC expedition "Operation Iceberg" by providing the innovative CyScope® fluorescence microscopy technology for studying the geological and biological aspects of glaciers and icebergs exactly where it happens. This has been made possible by virtue of an integrated battery that enables the microscope to be fully portable.
"Operation Iceberg" was a six-week mission for a team of 25 scientists and filmmakers to document the life-cycle of arctic icebergs from their birth to death. BBC will show this scientific adventure on BBC Two on Tuesday 30 October and Thursday 1 November at 9pm (GMT).
Field studies are an important method for environmental scientists to learn about nature. The equipment used by the researchers has to fullfil special requirements: compactness, mobility, extreme robustness even in harsh climatic conditions, easiness of operation and an almost maintenance-free design are some of the specifications with which field instruments need to comply.
The CyScope, designed and manufactured by German biotechnology company Partec (established in 1967), is a cutting-edge portable LED fluorescence and transmitted light microscope which especially supports researchers in their highly important daily scientific work in excursions worldwide. This technology was therefore well placed to serve the needs of the "BBC Operation Iceberg" expedition.
The scientific community is increasingly interested in studying the geological and biological aspects of glaciers and icebergs. The Partec high power LED-based CyScope is the perfect tool for observations of small particles and microorganisms in melt water and cryoconite holes. Furthermore, by using special fluorescent stains in combination with the CyScope, it is possible to identify living bacteria. This helps in studying and understanding the biological processes in the extreme environment directly on the ice. Water samples from ice core drillings can be stained and directly studied on-site under the fluorescence microscope. Living micro-organisms are separated by their colour in the CyScope microscope from other objects such as dust or bubbles, and may lead to observations never before noticed at these remote research laboratory locations.