The Cairngorms as a Proposed Site for the Evaluation of Biosensing Equipment

Cairngorms as a Unique Extreme Environment: The Cairngorms is a sub-arctic site with a mixture of continental and oceanic climates. The area hosts a wide diversity of habitats, from native woodlands and open moorland through scrub and sub-arctic habitats [1]. The Cairngorms provides a good initial evaluation site for biosensing equipment and astrobiological instrumentation due to the variety and extremes of weather, ecology and terrain that can be easily accessed within a 3800 sq km area. Location and Zonation of the Cairngorms: The Cairngorms are located in the east central Highlands of Scotland (Fig.1).