WANTED: Students, researchers, scientists for Clean Planet Peninsula Project

The initiative aims to raise awareness around critical environmental challenges in the Arctic, and offer invaluable fieldwork experience to participants.

Successful applicants will first engage in a polar training course in the UK, before being given the opportunity to head for Scandinavia, where they will continue in real Arctic conditions.

The programme is delivered by the UK Polar Network, funded by the Clean Planet Foundation, and led by renowned environmental educator and the 12th Briton to ski to the geographic North Pole, and reach the South Pole solo, Antony Jinman Ed.D. 

‘This is an exciting opportunity to help share knowledge and develop fieldwork skills for young polar scientists, so that they can enrich their own experience and further career opportunities,’ said Jinman.

Aimed at early career polar scientists and researchers (ECRs), the project has partly been developed in response to recent surveys that suggested many starting out in this area feel they do not possess the necessary skills to safely engage in fieldwork. This poses a significant challenge to the continued expansion of research in this critical space, which is necessary to build on our understanding of how climate conditions are impacting the polar regions. 

A key goal of the Clean Planet Peninsula Project is to emphasise the importance of understanding the scale of plastic pollution and what effects this is having on the Arctic. Meanwhile, rising temperatures leading to rapid melting of ice caps and glaciers will also be a focus, with a view to gauging more accurately what this means in terms of sea level rise. 

PhD research students, and those who recently completed postgraduate courses and have now entered the industry, a particularly encouraged to apply. Candidates have until Tuesday 30th May to submit proposals, although late applications will be accepted for future opportunities. The initial training for the first programme is due to begin this summer. You can find full details of the process here. 

‘The UK Polar Network’s mission is to support early career polar researchers and engage broad audiences on topics concerning polar science. This training opportunity helps achieve this mission and the Network is thrilled that following a hiatus on in person training during covid lockdowns, we are now able to offer this opportunity to our members, peers, and colleagues,’ said Chloe Nunn, Co-President of the UK Polar Network. 

More on the Arctic: 

27 feedback loops could accelerate climate crisis, warn scientists

Sea-level rises are ‘now inevitable’ due to Greenland ice cap melting

Greenland ice sheet lost six billion tonnes of ice in 3 days

Arctic heating up four times faster than rate of global heating

Image: Daiwei Lu