Archana Dayal

Role:

  • Member-At-Large, 2021-2022
  • UKPN President, 2017-18
  • UKPN Representative, UK Arctic and Antarctic Partnership (UKAAP), 2017-18
  • UKPN Representative, UK National Committee for Antarctic Research (UKNCAR), 2017-18
  • UKPN Representative, Antarctic Science Ltd, 2017-18
  • UKPN Secretary, 2016-17
  • UKPN Treasurer, 2015-16

APECS Council Member, 2013-18

Contacts:

Current research:

I was awarded my PhD in 2021 for the thesis titled “Seasonal microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of snow during spring and summer melt in Svalbard”. This work was carried out at 3 universities, namely, The University of Sheffield (UK), University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), and Aberystwyth University (UK), funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship.

Education and outreach work at UKPN:  

I like to share my enthusiasm and excitement in polar research through active participation in education and outreach activities. I have been part of various outreach projects, workshops, talks, and poster presentations through the years at UKPN. Notably, lead and collaborated on a joint UKPN-APECS Russia proposal and was awarded funding from the Global Britain Fund (£38,365; press release). This award was utilized for the organization of an interdisciplinary field course workshop in the Russian Arctic for both UK and Russian early career researchers (ARCTIS2019), and set the stage for subsequent collaborations (ARCTIS2020 etc).   

I am very happy and grateful for the opportunity to continue as a committee member and look forward to actively participating in its future activities!

Background:

I have a Master’s in Climate Science & Policy from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University, New Delhi and Bachelors in Biological Sciences (Hons) from the University of Delhi (India).  A summer internship and Master’s dissertation at National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa on the study of organic carbon and dust in Antarctic snow sparked my interest in the field of polar sciences. Further, I was selected as a student researcher for the 33rd Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica to carry out an independent research project to study the biogeochemistry of blue ice and cryoconite holes, during which I spent 4 months in Antarctica carrying out field work and collecting samples (Dec 2013 – April 2014).

Key interests: Snow/ice microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, organic carbon, dust, flow cytometry, spatio-temporal nutrient dynamics.