Select students will spend the next five summers in the Arctic documenting changes in vegetation as part of the Arctic Observatory Network.
Grand Valley received a $502,600 grant for five years from the National Science Foundation as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Students will document changes in plants related to climate change or global warming.
“There are three key areas of importance with this study,” said Robert Hollister, assistant professor of biology. “We still study the amount of carbon dioxide released by the soils, the amount of energy absorbed by the vegetation, and the nutrient content of the plants.”
Hollister said the vegetation in the Arctic is changing and the goal of the project is to document the change and understand the impacts of the climate changes. He said the ultimate goal is to forecast the impact of continued climate change on the Arctic.
The research is a collaborative effort with the University of Texas,
Florida International University and University of Alaska.
