Hej!  I am Apryl Perry and I am from Antrim, New Hampshire.  I am an Environmental Science major at the University of New Hampshire with a concentration in Soil and Watershed Management.  The majority of my experience has been inside labs processing gas and biomass samples and I am really looking forward to getting out into the field.  I love the outdoors and when time allows I will often find myself on the side of a mountain with a snowboard, riding a motorcycle or in a kayak exploring some new river.  Reading is another activity that causes me to lose large tracts of time.

While in Abisko my research will focus on determining how different lake characteristics affect the emission of methane (CH4) andcarbon dioxide (CO2).  Approximately twenty subarctic lakes will be sampled for CH4, CO2, temperature, and several other characteristics.  The completion of this multi-lake survey will provide a better understanding of how different lake characteristics effect the emission of CH4 and CO2. The increased temperatures and thawing of the permafrost in Sweden provide an excellent opportunity to study how this local ecosystem is being affected by climate change and how those changes will feedback to the atmosphere globally.  As our climate continues to change, a comprehensive understanding of the effects are essential to our ability to mitigate and adapt. 

The data from this study will also help to explain how the ecology of the subarctic peatlands, now a carbon sink, may be on its way to changing into a source of carbon and the effect this will have on atmospheric concentrations of CH4 and CO2.  The interactions between terrestrial ecosystems, hydrology and a warming climate are just a part of the larger picture.