A meeting took place recently in Castlebar of Irish and international research scientists at Breaffy House Hotel. The meeting discussed the latest results and outputs from an ongoing environmental research project dealing with farm pollution. In particular the group is investigating eutrophication due to excessive phosphorus losses from agriculture to rivers and lakes in Ireland. Pollution from agriculture due to phosphorus is one of the major topics of environmental research in the current environmental research programme funded under the National Development Plan.

The scientists discussed measurements of phosphorus loss from agriculture to rivers and lakes in a wide range of Irish catchments. Detailed computer models of phosphorus pollution were presented and discussed, as were potential solutions to the problem. The group photographed here is part of a larger collaborative research project, which includes some 50 scientists from almost every university in Ireland plus many international collaborators including scientists from the UK, USA, Netherlands and Finland who review the overall project on a regular basis. The main objective of the research is to provide a solid scientific basis for reducing the amount of phosphorus reaching our rivers, lakes and groundwater from agricultural sources.

Back Row: Declan Ryan (TG), Frank Murphy (TG/UCD), Prof Micheal Bruen (UCD), Paul Byrne (UL). Second row: Phil Jordan (UUL), Trevor Page (LU), Todd Scanlon (UCC), Helen Walsh (EPA, Dublin), David Styles (TCD), David Burke (TCD/TG).Front row: Ahmed Nasr (UCD), Karol Donnelly (EPA/NUIG), Martin McGarrigle (EPA, Castlebar), Prof Mary Leigh Wolfe (VT/TG), Ger Morgan (UCC), Suzanne Dempsey (MCOS)

Included in the photograph are scientists from Teagasc (TG), University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), University College Cork (UCC), National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), University of Limerick (UL), University of Ulster, Coleraine (UUL), Lancaster University (LU), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT), MCOS Consulting Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Photo: Michael Donnelly (www.mayopics.com)