January 21, 2026

Deep Roots in Thawing Permafrost POLARIN has published a new Ambassador visual story titled Deep Roots in Thawing Permafrost (DROP) at the Toolik Field Station developed by the POLARIN Ambassador and doctoral researcher at Umeå University Vanessa Götz.   The story combines photographs and reflections from the field with insights into the experimental work carried out at the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska. The aim of the project is to investigate how plant rooting behaviour responds to warming conditions in tundra ecosystems through in-situ experiments and observations.  Alongside the science, Vanessa shares her experiences working in the Arctic, from rapidly changing weather and mosquito-filled field days to encounters with wildlife and the striking light of the midnight sun, while acknowledging that the research takes place on the ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples.   Explore Vanessa’s visual story to learn more.   DROP  was one of the projects successfully selected through POLARIN’s first call for Transnational Access to Polar Research Infrastructures.

Beyond the Bite: Mapping Arctic Mosquito Viromes with a Mobile Sequencing Lab What does it take to sequence mosquito viruses in remote Arctic environments?   In a new POLARIN Ambassador blog, Hanna Vauhkonen from the University of Helsinki shares the story of the MOSQUITO project’s field campaign in Greenland, where researchers combined field sampling with mobile sequencing technologies under typical Arctic research conditions. The project was funding by POLARIN’s first call on Transnational Access to polar research infrastructures.   Working from Nuuk and the Kobbefjord Research Station, the team carried out mosquito sampling and off-grid sequencing. Working from a mobile laboratory packed into cabin-size luggage, the researchers collected both larval and adult mosquitoes, adapting their sampling strategy to a delayed mosquito season and unpredictable weather. With solar panels, a backup generator, and offline sequencing software, the team successfully ran multiple Nanopore MinION sequencing experiments in the field even after flight cancellations, power outages, and long days of careful sample processing.   Despite logistical challenges, the results were striking. The team detected more than 50 virus taxa, including highly divergent and potentially endemic species, revealing a previously hidden layer of Arctic biodiversity. Differences between mosquito species highlighted how even simple Arctic ecosystems can host complex, host-specific viral communities.   In her blog, Hanna Vauhkonen reflects on the realities of Arctic fieldwork, from troubleshooting equipment during sequencing runs to enjoying moments of quiet in the fjord landscape after long hours in the lab. The experience underscores the importance of field-based observations and local reference databases for understanding how polar ecosystems, and their microbial networks, may respond to a warming climate.