Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Gaku Amada (Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute)

I stayed at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) from August 26th to September 25th, which was supported by short-term Overseas Fellowship Program of ArCSII. During this stay, in order to clarify mechanisms of vegetation responses to permafrost degradation, I investigated vertical distributions of fine roots (diameter<2 mm) in a black-spruce forest underlain by permafrost. Permafrost degradation occur in circumpolar regions have that are rapidly warming. Recent studies suggest that plants spreading their roots to deeper soil layers can sensitively respond to permafrost thawing. However, there few studies that examine the vertical fine-root distributions of permafrost vegetations because it is so difficult to identify species of fine roots. Thus, in this program, I conducted vertical root samplings in a typical black-spruce forest underlain by permafrost in interior Alaska.

Study sites was established in the Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. In the PFRR, UAF and JAMSTEC researchers investigates permafrost conditions. Ten small quadrats were established there, and soil cores were collected at every 10-cm depth. I brought the cores to the UAF laboratory and divided them to three soil samples: ① samples for species identification, ② samples for root biomass measurements, and ③ samples for soil nutrient analyses. In ① and ②, I carefully sorted fine roots from the soil samples (136 samples) with tweezers. This is so hard because It took me 2-3 hours to sort each sample. Then, I handed over the root samples of ② to Diana Wolf and Naoki Takebayashi who are specialist for the genetic analysis. I brought ③ soil samples back to Japan and am conducting soil nutrient analyses in Japan.

I sincerely appreciate the ArCS II research gland. With this financial support, I was able to complete my fieldwork in Alaska.

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Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Asaka Homma (Nagoya University)

As part of the Overseas Fellowship Program, Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II) Project, I stayed at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) from 25th August to 19th September 2024 for a research exchange.

During my stay, I mainly studied a hydrological model called HYPE. HYPE divides a river basin into smaller basins and performs simulations in each of these basins with different calculations depending on land use and soil type. So, it can simulate discharge that are highly consistent with observed data. My research is on how the river water of the Lena River in Russia is formed, so HYPE is very useful in simulating which areas of the basin have higher runoff. In studying the model, I also gained hydrological insights into what runoff mechanisms are present in the soil and in what aspects of the model there is a large uncertainty with the actual situation. I am now considering if I can use the model to further improve my research. During my stay at the institute, I was also given the opportunity to introduce my research at a seminar. Although I was nervous about the question-and-answer session in English for the first time, I received a variety of feedback from many researchers, which was very helpful for my research.

In addition, I accompanied them on field work on the Torne River on the border between Sweden and Finland. The aim of this field work was to observe the river discharge, and the experience of the actual measurement methods led to a deeper understanding of the research methodology. Besides, although the Torne River was a smaller river than the Lena River, which is the area of my research, it was a large river that is not found in Japan. Therefore, it is currently not possible to visit the Lena River, but this field research gave me an image of what the Lena River is like.

Throughout my stay, I had discussions with host researchers almost every day at overseas research institutions and conducted field work while covered in mud in the great outdoors, which contributed to the improvement of my own research and was a very good experience in terms of conducting research abroad.

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Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Nao Taniguchi (Prefectural University of Hiroshima)

I conducted three tasks which related to my research topic in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway as follow.

1. Installing biodegradable plastic samples
2. Collection of 4 types of soil
3. Digging out biodegradable plastic samples installed 2 years ago

Plastic is a convenient material, but it causes environmental problems because of mismanaged waste. Biodegradable plastics have attracted social attention as way to solve this problem. It has been produced as a product. They are spread around the world by humans　or by drifting into the sea. This problem has been observed in the Arctic region. In this study, two types of experiments are planning to clarify how biodegradable plastics decompose at terrestrial region in the Arctic. One method is to install the biodegradable plastic in the field and measure the degradation rate from the change in its weight. The other method is to measure the carbon dioxide emitted when microorganisms decompose the biodegradable plastics and determine the degradation rate. This method is based on the principle that biodegradable plastics are decompose into water and carbon dioxide ultimately.

At the site, I dig out biodegradable plastic samples that were installed two years ago by a senior student in my laboratory (Fig. 1), installed new samples (Fig. 2), and collected soil samples. The installed samples will be removed after several years. The collected soils were brought back to my laboratory for decomposition experiments. For the installation of biodegradable plastic samples and soil sampling, we used bare soil without vegetation and soil under the polar willow (Salix Polaris) to elucidate differences in degradation rates among the Arctic soils.

On a side note, during my stay in Ny-Ålesund, I saw plastic wastes in the field on several occasions. Given the growing plastic pollution in the Arctic region, we need plastics that can decompose even in harsh environments such as the Arctic. If I can elucidate the degradation rate of biodegradable plastics in the Arctic region through my experiments, it will help in the development of new materials. I believe that this will play an important role in realizing a more sustainable society.

I had many other valuable experiences in the Arctic. The most memorable was viewing the glacier. In particular, the glacier seen from the plane from Ny-Ålesund to Longyearbyen was especially impressive (Fig. 3).

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to everyone involved in this project.

The post Degradation rate of biodegradable plastics in Arctic soils first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Tomohiro M. Nakayama (Hokkaido University)

With support from the ArCS II Overseas Fellowship Program, I stayed in Qaanaaq, located in northwestern Greenland, for three weeks from July 17 to August 7, 2024, where I conducted discharge measurements, acoustic observations, and studies on river dynamics from glacier runoff.

In recent years, the melting of glaciers in Qaanaaq, northwestern Greenland, has increased, and floods caused by overflowing rivers from the glaciers have become more frequent. In 2023, a large flood submerged the road connecting the village and the airport, destroying the bridge. Continuous monitoring of river discharge and understanding the fluctuations in river dynamics have become crucial issues.

In traditional methods for river discharge measurement, as shown in Fig. 1, an observer enters the river to measure its depth and determine the shape of its cross-section. The water passing through that cross-section is measured with a current meter to calculate the discharge. Since only one point of discharge data is obtained from a single measurement, continuous water level data, which correlates with discharge, is also collected, and the discharge is estimated from the water level. To determine the relationship between water level and discharge, multiple observations are necessary to create a conversion formula, which requires a lot of effort.

Given this labor-intensive process, I am developing a method to measure river discharge without entering the river, using the sound of flowing water. There is a correlation between the intensity of sound and the size of the discharge, allowing us to estimate discharge by measuring sound. During this survey, four acoustic sensors were placed at regular intervals along the river, starting from the upstream, to capture the sound of the water.

Additionally, to determine whether changes in sound levels were caused by changes in discharge or by shifts in the distance between the sound source (the river) and the sensors, three time-lapse cameras were also installed (Fig. 2). This setup is expected to enable more accurate discharge measurements using acoustic sensors.

The village of Qaanaaq, where I stayed (Fig. 3), is located at a high latitude of 77.5 degrees north, well within the Arctic Circle. During my stay, it was in a state of midnight sun, with the sun continuously visible throughout the period.

While there, I witnessed several atmospheric optics caused by sunlight refracting and scattering through ice crystal clouds. Among these, the phenomenon I observed on July 26 was particularly memorable. It spanned the entire sky, and nearly every atmospheric optics that can theoretically be seen appeared simultaneously. The sky over Qaanaaq that day is something I will never forget.

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Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Akira Yamada (The University of Tokyo)

Clouds reflect the sunlight, as is familiar from a dark sky on a cloudy day. Since the amount of energy the Earth receives from the sunlight determines how much the Earth is warmed, how much clouds reflect solar radiation plays an important role in the Earth’s climate. Lower clouds, defined as clouds below about 2,000 meters, are believed to have strong cooling effects on the Earth. However, the detailed processes of their formation, maintenance, and dissipation are remained unknown, which leads to a great discrepancy in cloud cover predictions among different climate models. It is important to clarify the physical processes involved in such lower clouds.

The Arctic temperature is increasing more rapidly than that of other regions. In order to investigate the elementary processes of how the Arctic lower clouds respond to climate change, we stayed at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway for 10 days. The main objective was to install an instrument called Hawkeye on a mountain at an altitude of about 500 meters and set up an environment for continuous observation and remote monitoring of the lower clouds. Hawkeye has three instruments: FCDP, 2DS, CPI. FCDP measures sizes of cloud droplets, 2DS measures sizes of raindrops, and CPI takes photographs of particles. The system is equipped with a fan that creates air flow to intake particles from outside and a fin that allow Hawkeye to rotate in accordance with the wind direction to efficiently let particles in. Although we faced some problems, the installation was successfully completed within the stay.

After installation, we kept an eye on the operational status and observed a large number of particles every time lower clouds cover around Hawkeye. We have continued to monitor the system by connecting remotely to the local computer after coming back to Japan. Although problems such as dust entering the instrument sometimes happen, the local technicians maintain the instrument and it has continued to operate without any serious problems. I am looking forward to analyzing the accumulated data comparing with observation data from other instruments.

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Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Soshi Osaki(Waseda University)

The growing season of High Arctic plants is short and cold. Recently, the Arctic ecosystems have been experiencing rapid global warming, which has caused longer snow-free seasons. How do the High Arctic plants respond to such significant environmental changes? This study aims to predict the impact of a more extended snow-free season on the productivity of the High Arctic plants under future climate warming. For this purpose, I measured the time-cause changes in photosynthetic activity of three common deciduous High Arctic plants (Salix polaris, Oxyria digyna, and Bistorta vivipara) (Fig. 1).

This year, snow melt was observed in early June in Longyearbyen (78° 13’ N, 15° 38’ E), Spitsbergen, Svalbard, where I visited for the field research. If the weather is typical, the first snowfall will be observed between early and mid-September. Therefore, the period available for growth and reproduction is almost only three months for the plants in this region.

The difficulties in the field research were that High Arctic plants are tiny and dwarf to survive harsh Arctic environments (Fig. 2), so measuring photosynthesis by inserting a leaf into a chamber was nerve-wracking. The herbivores such as reindeers and geese were threatened during field research because they frequently tried to eat my measuring plants (Fig. 3).

This time was my second time conducting research in the Svalbard, yet I still feel the unique challenges of Arctic research. On the other hand, I realised many things through actual investigation and observation, which constantly stimulated my curiosity. I believe it was a very fruitful study.

Finally, I would like to thank all people who have supported me.

The post Measuring photosynthesis of High Arctic plants in Longyearbyen, Svalbard first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2024 Short-Term Program
Saaya Hamamoto (Nagoya University)

I attended the European Geoscience Union General Assembly 2024 (EGU) held at the Vienna International Centre in Austria from April 14-19, 2024. EGU is a large scale international academic geoscience conference attended by about 20,000 researchers from around the world. I mainly attended to the session on ice cores, which is my area of research, and learned about the latest trends in ice core research. I was also able to learn not only about ice core, but also about a wide range of other research arears, such as climate modeling.

In the poster session, I presented my research on the dating of ice cores drilled in south-east Greenland. It was my first time presenting in a poster session and in English, so I struggled a lot, but I was able to get feedback from different researchers.

There was a meeting of young ice-core researchers during the conference, and I was able to construct network with others of my age. Lunch meetings were also held in certain communities to provide opportunities for socializing.

I received a lot of stimulation during this trip and had a very meaningful time. In my future research, I will improve my study through the insights gained from others’ presentations and the suggestions given in my poster presentation. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone involved in the ArCS II Overseas Fellowship Program for giving me this opportunity and to all those who were involved in this research.

The post Participation and research presentation in European Geoscience Union General Assembly 2024 first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2023 First Call Short-Term Program
Wakaba Otani (Hokkaido University)

I participated in the Ocean Science Meeting 2024 (OSM), which took place in New Orleans, USA, from February 18-23, 2024. OSM is an international conference to discuss the development and project of the future of ocean science held every two years. The event featured around 20 oral sessions at one time and over 2500 poster presentations, making it a significant gathering in the field of ocean science.

I attended to “Arctic Ocean Changes and Processes” session dedicated to Arctic oceanography and presented the findings from my master’s thesis. The presentation format involved a digital poster, where I participated in 3-minute lightning presentation to provide an overview of my poster, followed by discussions with attendees at my monitor. My research focuses on the West Greenland region, where there are few studies for that region in Japan, I had active discussions with American researchers who are working on observation/modeling for the region of Greenland. Despite my research being model-based, I had the opportunity to interact with researchers conducting observations, leading to valuable insights. Additionally, I attended other presentations and engaged in discussions with industry representatives at the exhibition hall.

It was my first experience presenting at an international conference. I believe I delivered a satisfactory presentation without feeling overly nervous. The various attendees came to see my poster and had some interest in my study.

Lastly, I am grateful for the valuable experience provided through this opportunity. I acknowledge Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II) Overseas Fellowship Program for enabling me to participate in such events.

The post Participation in Ocean Science Meeting 2024 first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2023 First Call Short-Term Program
Xiling Zhou (Hokkaido University)

● 2023/12/10 Departure from Sapporo to San Francisco
After more than 10 hours of a tired airplane trip and 2 hours of customs inspection, I finally arrived in San Francisco.

● 2023/12/11 My poster presentation
I presented my research outcome, which is about the summer heatwaves over northeastern Siberia, to many researchers. Especially, the researchers from Korea showed much interest in my research. I also received many constructive comments from them, which helped to improve my research.

● 2023/12/11 My poster presentation
I listened to other researchers’ oral and poster presentations, focusing on heatwave and Arctic change topics. There are so many presentations in many disciplines, and some are very outstanding. From the outstanding presentation, including the content and presentation style, I Learn how to present a better oral presentation and poster presentation. That will be used to improve my research presentation.
I actively talked to many researchers all over the world (most of them are early career researchers) and discussed with them. In addition, I distributed my A4 size poster to them to increase the number of readers of my research as many as possible.
It was a very nice experience to meet with some researchers who wrote papers that are informative to my research. I also built connections and kept contact information with some researchers, which will be used in my future research and career plan.

● 2023/12/16–12/17 Departure from San Francisco to Sapporo
Again, after a very long trip by airplane, I finally arrived in Sapporo safely.

● The daily life during the stay in San Francisco
I was very surprised about the extremely high consumption level here. I was also shocked by the tip culture. By the way, the Golden Gate Bridge is magnificent.

The post Participating and research presentation in AGU Fall Meeting 2023 first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

Overseas Fellowship Program Participant：FY2023 First Call Short-Term Program
Moe Murakami (Hokkaido University)

I had the opportunity to go to Finland to participate in an international conference and sampling.

The International Boreal Forest Research Association Conference (IBFRA 2023, August 24th-31st 2023) was held in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Various research related to the boreal forest was presented at the conference. I have been researching forest fires, so I gave a poster presentation entitled “Changes in flammability depending on how fallen leaves mixed or layered.” During the presentation, several researchers were interested in my poster. I was very nervous about explaining in English, but I was very grateful that most of the researchers spoke in easy English. The questions they asked me were all very pertinent, and I realized the difficulty of telling the points of the study for those who were hearing about it for the first time. I have decided that in the future I will put more effort into studying English, as well as improve my poster design and the way I represent my results.

From the 1st to the 4th of September, we conducted tree sampling in a research forest owned by the University of Helsinki. I assisted my supervisor, Associate Professor Makoto Kobayashi, in the sampling. We were able to collect samples from the trunks and roots of 30 trees. Sampling was conducted in a coniferous forest dominated by European spruce and covered underfoot with moss and lichens such as reindeer lichen. The landscape formed by the mosaic of red bark of the tree stems and green moss was beautiful and different from the forests I often visit in Hokkaido.

In boreal forests, there is a growing concern about forest fires due to climate change and global warming. Learning about the ecological value of boreal forests at the conference and experiencing beautiful forests overseas has inspired me to pursue my current research.

The post Participation in “IBFRA 2023” and sampling in Finland first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).