One of the last ones to introduce in our PAGE21 reseracher series is Niels Weiss from the University of Stockholm.
Research Focus
I quantify the permafrost soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and I'm also looking at the quality. That is how labile SOC is, or how fast it might decompose after thawing out. My assessment is supposed to be relatively simple, cheap and applicable to (a) large (variety of) areas.
How is your research affiliated with the PAGE21 project?
Maps on size, distribution and lability of the carbon are used as direct input for modelers in WP4. Researching decomposition trajectories in for example thermokarst features will also improve understanding of permafrost landforms and processes (WP2).
Hard work in the taiga. Luckily permafrost dug out from a soil pit is an efficient way to cool down, as Matthias demonstrates. With Juri Palmtag, Matthias Siewert and me. Photo by Elin HögströmWhat is the current challenge within this topic?
I have a lot of work to do. Its relatively easy to investigate SOC quality but it's a lot harder to find a way to do it cheap, easy and fast.
How did it happen that you became a researcher?
After my MSc I was certain of one thing: that I never wanted to do a PhD. One year later, after teaching geography in a high school in Amsterdam, I realized how much I missed studying and the 'academic challenge'. I still miss the kids though.
Why do you like being the researcher?
I once had a conversation with friends about what we would do if we would have all the time and money in the world. The general opinion was to travel and study. That's what I do.
What do you like most in being a researcher?
It's the best job in the world. I get payed to go to amazing places, study interesting things and share this with others. I'm relatively free in thinking about what I want to do, why I want to do it and how. Every day, with very few exceptions, I feel extremely lucky to be paid to do so. (Although I am aware that in two years I might regret saying this..)
Sampling at a windy exposure in Yedoma deposits. Photo by Niels Weiss.How a typical working day looks like?
Of course I don't travel to amazing places every day. In Stockholm I'm usually in the lab or behind my computer. At the moment I'm on Svalbard taking a very nice permafrost fieldcourse at UNIS.
Funniest response ever when you told somebody that you are a "polar researcher"?
I usually don't introduce myself as a 'polar researcher' but I met several people that were under the imperssion that a 'physical geographer' is involved in coming up with dance moves.
What are your plans for the upcoming three / five years?
Lots of fieldwork in summer and courses, labwork and writing papers the rest of the year.
Which expeditions do you participate this year?
I'll be heading to Svalbard for fieldwork in June/July and in August I will be doing more work in Zackenberg, Greenland. I'll come home with a lot of (hopefully) frozen mud. Last summer I did fieldwork in NE Russia which was an amazing experience. Those are the places that you'll never see if you're not in research.
The PAGE21 project has now been officially closed. The four years of research came to an end on October 31 2015, leaving only...
PAGE21 project was featured in a plenary session "Permafrost in the 21st century" at the 2015 Arctic Circle conference in Reykjavik,...
Never alone on a warm day in the tundra. Photo by Niels Weiss.Name
