Permafrost with Devin Drown

<h2 class="heading">Episode Summary</h2> <div class="content"> <div dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Dr. Devin Drown, associate professor of biology and faculty director of the Institute of Arctic Biology Genomics Core at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, discusses how soil disturbance gradients in the permafrost layer impact microbial communities. He also explains the larger impacts of his research on local plant, animal and human populations, and shares his experience surveilling SARS-CoV-2 variants in Alaska, where he and colleagues have observed a repeat pattern of founder events in the state.</div> <h2>Ashley's Biggest Takeaways</h2> <ul> <li>Permafrost is loosely defined as soil that has been frozen for 2 or more years in a row.</li> <li>Some permafrost can be quite young, but a lot of it is much older—1000s of years old.</li> <li>This frozen soil possesses large storage capacity for walking carbon and other kinds of nutrients that can ...