On September 25, 2026, ANERIS presented at the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia the temporary exhibition ‘The Marine World Through the Lens of Science: The Hidden Ecosystems of Europe's Coasts'.
The exhibition of the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NMNHS), which opened and was aligned with the European Researchers' Night, focuses on challenges in marine life research and the efforts of the project to design, create, and validate innovative biodiversity monitoring tools and infrastructure.
Across 14 bilingual panels in English and Bulgarian, the exhibition explains why monitoring marine biodiversity remains a major scientific challenge and how ANERIS is mitigating that. Although the ocean supports an extraordinary variety of life, much of it is still poorly understood and may disappear before it can even be documented. Climate change, pollution, and increasing human pressure make the development of faster and more reliable monitoring approaches increasingly urgent.
The exhibition visually and clearly explains the concept of the development within ANERIS Operational Marine Biology (OMB), a new approach to observing marine biodiversity, facilitating systematic, long-term monitoring of ocean and coastal ecosystems and the rapid delivery of biodiversity information for science, policy, and environmental management.
To better grasp the concept of OMB, visitors have the opportunity to learn more about the four case studies, co-designed for the validation of the imaging, participatory and genomic technologies being created and further developed by the consortium.
Sections of the exhibition explore how the project’s imaging technologies, such as underwater cameras in observatories in Ireland and Spain, advanced image analysis, and artificial intelligence, observe marine organisms in real time. The exhibition also presents genomic tools that detect the genetic traces species leave behind in seawater and sediments, enabling researchers to identify marine life that may be difficult to observe directly.
Citizen science is a major aspect of the ANERIS’ efforts and, by extension, another central part of the exhibition. Through the MINKA platform and BioMARathon campaigns, researchers, divers, nature enthusiasts, and local communities can record and share observations of marine and coastal species. These contributions are verified and transformed into valuable scientific information, helping researchers monitor biodiversity across larger areas.
The exhibition invites visitors to look deeper into Europe’s waters and discover how technology, research, and public participation can contribute to a better understanding and protection of marine life.
As part of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the mission of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia (NMNHS) incorporates the following areas: fundamental and applied studies, management and preservation of collections, promotion of natural-scientific knowledge through the exposition and popular literature, training of doctoral candidates and young experts, and expert activities.
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The event is organised by the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NMNHS), in partnership with Pensoft Publishers and the scientific project ANERIS (GA 101094924).
Duration: 25 September 2025 - 1 February 2026
Location: National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NMNHS), Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. 1, Sofia, Bulgaria