POLARIS

The POLARIS project, funded under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), will investigate polar forest ecosystems during Earth’s last hothouse period, the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (ca. 53–49 million years ago). During this extreme greenhouse interval, tropical-like forests expanded well beyond the polar circles, creating a biome drastically different from today’s Arctic. Despite its importance, the adaptations and structure of these ancient forests are still poorly understood.

Dr Miriam Slodownik, the awardee of this project, will lead the research to reconstruct the canopy structure, primary productivity, and atmospheric CO2 levels that sustained these polar forests. Using state-of-the-art palaeobotanical and biogeochemical proxies, along with advanced climate models, POLARIS will adopt a multi-proxy approach to ensure reliable, verifiable results. This research will provide crucial insights into the role these forests played in the global carbon cycle during a period of extreme warmth and contribute to refining modern climate models, offering a better understanding of how ecosystems might respond to future warming scenarios.

The project will be based at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, with collaborative secondments at the Smithsonian Institution and Wesleyan University, USA. These partnerships will bring together world-class experts in palaeobotany, climate science, and proxy development, providing Dr. Slodownik with diverse, hands-on training and networking opportunities. This unique exposure across multiple institutions will equip her to become a future leader in the field.