EXCURSIONS

• Valentia Observatory — Open Days and Symposium (October 2010)
• Botanical Excursion to the southern Alps (July 2010)

Valentia Observatory — Open Days and Symposium (9. & 10. October 2010)

NUI Galway Third Year BSc (Botany and Plant Science) Excursion. Leader: Professor Michael O’Connell
Meeting organised by The Irish Meteorological Society.

Valentia’s first meteorological measurements were made in 1860. The Observatory is celebrating the 150 ^th anniversary of its first weather observations which makes it one of a small group of observatories with weather records that extend as far back as mid/late nineteenth century.
The Meteorological Committee of the Royal Society (London) decided to establish the Valentia Observatory in 1867. The Observatory was opened on Valentia Island in 1868.
In 1890/91, the Observatory was moved to its present site at Caherciveen, on the nearby mainland.

Photographs taken during tour of the meteorological station at Caherviceen including
– phenology including Ilex (holly) in the Phenological Garden
– solar radiation
– geomagnetism
– balloon launch facility

Photographs: Valentia Island Heritage Centre, Knightstown

The Heritage Centre commemorates, among other things, first transatlantic cables, Valentia slate, Maude Jane Delap (marine biologist).

Photographs hosted in  PICASA

Botanical Excursion to the southern Alps, northern Italy; 19–24 July 2010

The Excursion, in which undergraduates, researchers and staff participated, was led by Professor Michael O’Connell, assisted by Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington and Beatrice Ghilardi.

The Excursion was centred on Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio. This biodiversity hot-spot is noted for its flora, fauna, glaciers and spectacular mountain scenery.

The NUIG group were fortunate to have the expertise of the Italian botanists, Professor Marco Caccianiga and Professor Carlo Andreis, and their postgraduate students from the University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano).

First-hand accounts of the impressive research being carried out by the Italian researchers were provided. The research included study of the local flora and vegetation, and investigations into the effects of climate change and a changing farming economy on the Alpine environments.

Photograph of NUIG/Università degli Studi di Milano botanists at Forni, Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio (20.07.2010)
Further photographs available here.

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility