Anna Stasiewicz

In January 2025, I had the pleasure of participating in a student internship at Geocryolab – a periglacial geomorphology laboratory located at the University of Montreal. The research was conducted within an international team under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Fortier and Prof. Vincent Langlois.

In the future, rain may become the dominant form of precipitation in the Arctic, and rainwater infiltration, through heat advection, may accelerate permafrost degradation processes and trigger mass movements. Such a phenomenon was observed in 2019 on Bylot Island in Nunavut, Canada. This event inspired Prof. Daniel Fortier, the head and founder of Geocryolab, to recreate Arctic conditions in a controlled laboratory environment.

The main goal of the internship was to become familiar with physical modeling methods and to conduct a series of experiments simulating the impact of various climatic factors on permafrost stability. In particular, the research focused on the influence of rainfall on the occurrence of active layer detachment slides

The physical modeling process I participated in involved the repeated preparation of samples replicating permafrost, which were then placed in a cold chamber. Thanks to a network of thermocouples installed at different depths, we could precisely control the freezing and thawing processes of the samples. Additionally, we used a 3D scanner to analyze and compare changes in surface structure. Ultimately, the collected data allowed for numerical modeling.

Participating in laboratory work provided me with invaluable hands-on experience, which I will undoubtedly apply in the next stages of my education. Joining the "PermaIntern" internship program not only allowed me to expand my international network of contacts but also gave me the opportunity to collaborate in an academic environment and contribute to ongoing research.