Northern Exposure

Researchers are using snowdrifts to artificially warm Arctic tundra during winter and finding that more carbon is released from the soil than plants can soak up from the atmosphere.

Written byJef Akst

| 5 min read

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BLANKET OF WHITE: (Top) Snowpack on top of some plots in the winter insulated the ground and simulated a warming climate.PHOTO BY JJ NEVILLE; ANDRES BARON

For five straight years, from 2008 to 2012, ecosystem ecologist Sue Natali traveled to Alaska every spring for what she calls her mental vacation. For two weeks in April or May, Natali, then a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Ted Schuur at the University of Florida, worked alongside other postdocs, students, and even a few locals from the nearby town of Healy to remove mounds of snow from their experimental plots in rolling fields in the shadow of Denali National Park.

“It’s long days,” Natali says, a hint of exhaustion in her voice as she recalls the laborious experience. “We shovel the old-fashioned way with shovels and sleds [because] we don’t want to disturb the plants. . .Everybody’s sore [from the work], but it’s ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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