FIELD NOTES FROM SWEDEN: PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION THROUGH ASLO’S LOREX PROGRAM

Science is an increasingly cooperative endeavor, and opportunities to engage in collaborative research benefit early career researchers in numerous measurable and intangible ways. Some of these benefits include expanding collaborative skills and networks, learning new scientific techniques, and broadening perspectives. During the summer of 2025, I participated in the ASLO LOREX program, where I traveled to northern Sweden to investigate methane and carbon dioxide dynamics in boreal headwater streams in the Krycklan Catchment Study. While there, I learned field techniques to sample stream hyporheic water, traveled to southern Sweden to attend a class on the analysis of dissolved organic matter, spent many hours outdoors sampling in the field and exploring Umeå, and met other international researchers. This experience differed from previous multi-year collaborative projects I have been involved with in that it involved initiating a partnership, traveling internationally, and executing the project on a short timeline. I found that the ability and willingness be flexible with plans and timelines were helpful leading up to and during the two-months in Sweden. Overall, learning about and studying a new system, conducting research in a different country, and working and engaging with new people was a rewarding experience both personally and scientifically.

Presentation Preference: Poster

Primary Presenter: Megan Berberich, Michigan Technological University (meberber@mtu.edu)

Authors:

Megan Berberich, Michigan Technological University  (meberber@mtu.edu)

Ryan Sponseller, Umeå University  (ryan.sponseller@umu.se)

Amy Marcarelli, Michigan Technological University  (ammarcar@mtu.edu)