What question or problem were you trying to address, and why is it important?
I participated in two extensive field seasons in Greenland with 18 fellow multidisciplinary researchers. Our group aimed to pull together a breadth of knowledge to understand how the Arctic is changing and adapting to climate change. The graduate students of this team were also required to produce a dissertation chapter related to science outreach and education.
How did you use QGreenland in your work?
QGreenland provided material for our group to better understand our field sites prior to deployment. This included locating streams within our study area that are both connected and disconnected from the ice sheet, the type of parent bedrock and soil types present at these streams, and specific watersheds that were accessible to us. Additionally, I included QGreenland in an educational GIS module created for the use of Greenlandic high schools.
What did QGreenland enable you to do that you couldn’t do before?
QGreenland enabled our team to better understand our study area prior to deployment. As many of the team, including most of the PIs, had not been to Greenland before, we had a limited understanding of the field and the area that would be of interest to us before landing.
What would you tell someone considering using QGreenland?
QGreenland is an excellent resource that can aid researchers in better planning a field season in Greenland. It is also useful as a repository for educators and students to have access to GIS data in Greenland.
About the contributor
Megan Black is a PhD candidate and graduate assistant at the University of Florida.
A case study by Megan Black
Use type(s): Research – exploration of field area; Teaching; Field planning; Data exploration; Finding out what data exists in an area; Team data coordination; Outreach; For fun! | Discipline(s): Geological sciences; Hydrology; Education
Who are you and what do you do?
I am a PhD candidate working to identify how deglaciated landscapes respond post-glaciation to climate change in the Arctic. I use remote sensing and GIS applications in my work to access remote locations in southwest Greenland to better amplify our understanding of these landscapes.
How did you use QGreenland?
I use QGreenland to identify potential study areas in my research. I also have used it in the third chapter of my dissertation to support an education module targeted to help Greenlandic high school and undergraduate students to learn remote sensing and GIS skills.