Galway's water quality and the filter-feeding abilities of its shellfish population will be severely scrutinised this week, when some 150 young European students compete in the EU Science Olympiad.
Mussels from the bay's shores will be subjected to a series of biological, physical and chemical tests as part of a list of challenges designed to find the best young scientists in Europe.
Students from 10 member states are participating in Galway, with each delegation comprising a co-ordinator, three mentors and six students.
The EU Science Olympiad was founded by Michael Cotter of Dublin City University and the director of the Irish Science Olympiad. The first contest was held in Dublin in 2003, with gold medals being awarded to teams from Great Britain and the Netherlands.
The contest is open to students who are 16 or younger, and the six students selected to represent Ireland are Alana Gibney Finglas, Aman Yadav, Síle McSweeney, Aoibheann Brady, Martina Feyzrakhmanova and Aisling Rooney.
Tests this year will have an environmental theme, and have been devised with assistance from NUI, Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
The event was opened yesterday by Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy and is based on the successful Galway Science Week, run by the Galway Education Centre.
It will run concurrently with a Europe Week, which Mr Treacy is also hosting in advance of the referendum on the European constitution.
The EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Charlie McCreevy; former minister Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who is a member of the European Court of Auditors; the former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald; and the former president of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, are among the speakers who will participate in the programme, which culminates with a plenary session on Friday of the National Forum on Europe.
The Government's chief science adviser Dr Barry McSweeney; the Science Foundation Ireland director Dr William C Harris; Prof Brigid Laffan of University College Dublin; Minister for Finance Brian Cowen; and former Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes, who is director general of the Institute of European Affairs, will also attend.
The award ceremony for the science Olympiad takes place on Friday, and all events are based at the Corrib Great Southern Hotel.