Alanna Grant
- Please introduce yourself.
I am a biogeochemistry field scientist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Edinburgh. I started in this role in 2020 and work across a wide variety of research areas including freshwater biogeochemical monitoring and carbon and greenhouse gas cycling in environments such as lakes, rivers, estuaries, reservoirs, and peatlands. My main role in these works is to provide field and laboratory expertise such as field campaign planning and implementation, campaign logistics, field data recording as well as water, sediment, greenhouse gas, and eDNA sample collection. In the lab I specialise in dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus analysis as well as greenhouse gas analysis through gas chromatography.
- What do you do within BIOPOLE?
In BIOPOLE, I work in collaboration with researchers and technicians in WP1 to design and execute polar land-based field campaigns with the aim of assessing the nutrient sources of major freshwater inputs from land to determine their eventual inputs to open-ocean ecosystems. We have recently completed the first land-based field campaign in Ny Ålesund, Svalbard, which took place over the month of July 2023 and resulted in the collection of over 1500 samples to be analysed for 24 different determinands, across multiple partner labs. This was a major undertaking and a real logistical challenge but we have learned many important lessons and are looking forward to more campaigns in the projects future.
- What have you enjoyed about BIOPOLE so far?
I have enjoyed learning from so many talented and diverse researchers as I expand my field research into the Polar Regions. I also very much enjoyed staying and working in the UK Arctic Research Station in Ny Ålesund and seeing several polar bears!
- Tell us about a skill or trait unique to you that you would like to share?
I lived in Canada for 11 years and was a keen snowboarder. Now that I live in Scotland, I have traded snowboarding for surfing! When I’m not working, I enjoy being outside surfing, hiking, and cycling and I’m hoping to learn how to sail soon.
I also ran a 5k in Ny Ålesund which I believe may be the world’s northernmost 5k!