The landscape of Sisimiut, situated on the west coast of Greenland, is characterized by rocky terrain and sparse vegetation, with frozen soil concealing processes essential to the planet’s environmental balance. In this setting, on 22 August, researchers from Instituto Superior Técnico initiated a new scientific campaign in the Arctic, as part of the European project ILLUQ, which means “partner” in the Inuit language. The consortium aims to understand how thawing permafrost affects ecosystems and local communities.
João Canário, professor at Técnico and researcher at Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), returned to the region as part of ILLUQ, after several scientific missions in the Arctic. “Our main objective is to assess how permafrost degradation can contribute to the release of contaminants into the environment and what impacts this release has on the flora, fauna, and indigenous populations of the Arctic”, he explains.
In the field, the team collects vegetation samples and takes measurements. “While our team is focused on this aspect, the ILLUQ project also includes other activities, such as studies on population health and the effects on regional infrastructure. One of the fundamental pillars of the project is also the active involvement of stakeholders and rightsholders”, he adds.
The work focuses on economically valuable plant species that grow in areas where permafrost is degrading. These will be analysed for the accumulation of metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in their tissues. “We want to understand how these plants can accumulate contaminants and how they respond, biochemically and physiologically, to increased contamination”, says the Técnico professor.
The samples collected will then be studied in the laboratory using advanced methodologies. “State-of-the-art techniques will be used, including incubations with stable isotopes and their analysis by high-resolution ICP-MS (a technique that measures chemical elements in very small quantities), and ecotoxicological tests based on biomarkers, with a view to providing solid answers to the scientific questions”, stresses João Canário.
The ILLUQ project is coordinated in Portugal by João Canário, with Técnico being the only national partner. The researcher’s experience in the Arctic includes expeditions examining the impacts of global warming on soils and waters, leading a terrestrial working group, and participating in studies on the environmental effects of permafrost thaw, which embodies the spirit of partnership that inspired the project’s name.
Also participating in the campaign are Rute Cesário, a researcher at Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), Mário Dias, a doctoral student in Environmental Engineering, and Vasco Cardoso, a master’s student in Molecular Science and Engineering at Técnico.
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