Swiss researcher Achille Capelli has found an open-air laboratory in Alaska. He is studying the polar ice shelf and is worried to see the impact of climate change. Unlike other Swiss scientists, Capelli is so far unaffected by funding cuts by the Trump administration, as his research is also of interest to the United States. Thick blankets of snow are falling over Fairbanks, Alaska. It is mid-April, and winter is in its last throes. Achille Capelli, from canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, is sitting in his office at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska. The Swiss researcher has been living in the 49th US state for the past four years. “When spring comes, the snow melts and the temperatures shoot up,” he says during a video call. It’s 8am in Alaska and 6pm in Switzerland. “Summer here is hotter than in Davos because the sun never sets, not even at night.” Warm welcome despite Arctic chill Between December and January, meanwhile, the polar night holds sway ...
