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Polygons of new knowledge |
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Each polygon is surrounded by an interconnected network of ice wedges.
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I developed Permafrost Grown as a permafrost expert with a desire to do science that was useful to my community, but I knew nothing of farming or agriculture.
This kept me humble during the project as I was reliant on my project collaborators who were knowledgeable about farming in Alaska. I came into this project with expertise on ice wedges, the most common form of large ice bodies (called massive ice) in permafrost. Ice wedges create patterned polygonal ground visible on the Arctic tundra and conical mounds in patchy-permafrost areas like Interior Alaska. In this piece, I filled each polygon with things I learned about during the project, including peonies, hay and vegetable farming. |
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Polygons visible on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska.
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This ice wedge was exposed when a tundra lake drained.
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Art and text by Melissa Ward Jones, research associate professor at the Institute of Northern Engineering and principal investigator of the Permafrost Grown Project.
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