A visual story by Cheristy Jones, POLARIN Ambassador, PhD Candidate, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New Hampshire.

The Arctic is changing rapidly, with important consequences for carbon cycling. Cheristy Jones, a fifth-year PhD candidate at the University of New Hampshire, travelled from Boston, USA to Zackenberg, Greenland to study how carbon and nutrients move through permafrost catchments, compare glacial and non-glacial systems at high spatial resolution and how aquatic carbon connects to CO₂ and CH₄ emissions.

Cheristy’s visual story provide us with photographic captures and insights from her field work in Greenland, including training in the field, permafrost thaw, arctic flora and fauna. As Cheristy notes:

“Our time in Zackenberg flew by and we were sad to leave all of the amazing new people we met. Hopefully, we will be back to expand our work in the future. Through POLARIN, I was able to expand my PhD research beyond my original field sites and apply my questions about carbon cycling to a new Arctic region. The program provided hands-on experience with eddy covariance data, strengthening my skills in flux processing and interpretation. Just as importantly, POLARIN broadened my collaborations and professional network, connecting me with international researchers and opening doors for future cross-site and interdisciplinary work. POLARIN provided a rare opportunity for PhD students to lead their own grant.”

ARC- LINK was one of the projects successfully selected through POLARIN’s first call for Transnational Access to Polar Research Infrastructures.