The Portuguese team (yes—the one that loves belugas!) set off on August 22nd to Sisimiut, Greenland, with the mission of collecting samples for WP1 and WP2 of the Illuq project.
The main objective? To investigate how the release of inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) from degrading permafrost affects fragile boreal ecosystems.
Our work began with the selection of sampling sites—thanks to the invaluable support of Thomas and other colleagues from DTU—followed by setting up all the equipment needed for the campaign.
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The fieldwork was divided into four major components:
- Soil core collection with and without vegetation to establish baseline levels of contaminants. For As and Hg, we also performed speciation (quantifying inorganic and organic forms) to evaluate potential toxicity.
- Controlled incubations at different depths with organic and inorganic compounds of Hg and As, to assess the soils’ capacity to transform those contaminants forms and the possible implications for toxicity.
- Incubations in intact vegetated cores (roots and shoots) with all four contaminants, to study toxicodynamics (biochemical and physiological plant responses) and toxicokinetics (if and how contaminants move through the plant).
- Additional cores for isotope fractionation of Hg and Pb, to identify potential sources of these metals.
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In parallel, we also measured several in-field parameters to better characterize the system. For example, every day we recorded PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulation) and PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) in the incubated plants, to check for signs such as reduced photosynthetic capacity.
It was an intense campaign under all sorts of weather—heat, cold, rain, and even snow. And on three magical nights, we were rewarded with the breathtaking beauty of the northern lights.
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The ULisbon researchers were also joined by a team from RTP (Portuguese public television), who are preparing a documentary about the expedition to be broadcast both nationally (RTP) and internationally (RTP Africa and RTP International). This documentary is one of the planned outputs of the Hop On project, which enabled the ULisbon team to join this consortium.
In total, around 270 samples were collected and transported frozen to Lisbon in September. These will now undergo chemical, microbiological, and isotopic analyses.
After such a remarkable field campaign, the team is already preparing for its next big adventure: Canada, in 2026.
ULisbon team
