Lauren South, University of St Andrews, was part-funded by the Arctic Travel and Partnerships Fund to attend and present at Arctic Science Summit Week in Denmark in March 2026.

I am a PhD student at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, studying organic carbon in Arctic fjords and the vulnerability of these fjords to anthropogenic disturbance. In March, I received funding from the Scottish Arctic Network (ScAN) Arctic Travel and Partnerships Fund to travel to Aarhus, Denmark, and attend the Arctic Science Summit Week 2026 (ASSW 26). Hosted at the beautiful Aarhus University campus, the conference brought together Arctic researchers from around the world to share they research on topics from data sovereignty, climatology, Arctic observations, and more. I was able to attend and present a poster during the designated “Arctic Observations Science Day”, which focused on the work of early career Arctic researchers. I presented my work on sediment organic matter reactivity, organic carbon content, and sources from surface sediments collected in Disko Bay, Greenland. During the poster session, I had the opportunity to discuss my research with many other early carrer researchers and more established researchers, many of whom asked very insightful questions which helped me reframe some of my research questions and interpretations. This event, as well as coffee breaks and lunches throughout the conference, presented a great opportunity for networking with other researchers in my field and other related fields.

I also shared some preliminary results from my broader research at the special UK-Greenland collaboration session, which showcased some examples of UK-based research efforts being undertaken in Greenland. These examples ranged from data tools to arts-based community projects, to my own efforts to quantify the organic carbon dynamics of Arctic fjords and how this information can inform policy/behavioural choices at the national and local levels when it comes to managing fjords for their climate mitigation and biodiversity potentials.

The highlight of my time at the conference was the keynote speech, where Prof. Terry V. Callaghan described how important long-term observations and monitoring of Arctic systems are for understanding how these environments are changing, as well as anticipating how they could exist in the future. I am so grateful to the Scottish Arctic Network for the opportunity to attend this conference and be able to share my research with such a great group of researchers and I hope that future students will have the opportunity to benefit from this the network’s generous support.