ArcSolution is currently conducting fieldwork in Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund) in East Greenland, one of the most remote and environmentally significant regions of the Arctic.
Together with researchers Christian Sonne, Jens Søndergaard, and Rune Dietz, the team is collecting samples from wildlife to study environmental contaminants and how they move through Arctic ecosystems. During the fieldwork, the researchers are also carrying out human sampling to explore potential links between traditional diets, contaminant exposure, immune system function, and other physiological effects.
The work follows a One Health approach, examining how human health, animal health, and the environment are closely connected. In Arctic communities, these relationships are particularly visible, as people, wildlife, and the environment are tightly intertwined.
Fieldwork in the high north can also be unpredictable. During the preparations for microbiome and microplastic sampling, heavy snow and strong winds overnight made it impossible for the researchers to go outside, even blocking the door of their field station.
Such conditions are a reminder that Arctic research often depends not only on careful planning, but also on the forces of nature.
More pictures from the field trip:
