Placing a chamber that flows into a “Ghostbuster” gas analyzer, Tenorio measures differences in nitrous oxide emissions between barren and more vegetated patches of remote, thawed tundra. Back in the labs in Utqiaġvik and San Diego, she and her peers will collaboratively analyze the role that the gases from these permafrost landforms play in the ever-changing Arctic climate. (Scott Hargrove/SDSU)
For decades, San Diego State University researchers have traveled to Utqiaġvik, Alaska—occasionally packing their own portable toilet along with muck boots and bear spray—to document the dynamics of climate change in the frigid tundra.
SDSU students, under the guidance of biology professor Donatella Zona and local Indigenous partners, spend months monitoring seasonal fluctuations in greenhouse gasses, frozen soil depth and plant growth. Their work has shown that the Arctic releases large amounts of methane, partially explaining why the region is warming faster than any other place on Earth.
SDSU NewsCenter has the full story.