Study Buddy #1 - Peatlands and How They Form

Hello out there and happy summer! I'm beginning the long process of preparing for my comprehensive exams which is pretty fun and completely intimidating. I learn best by using the Feynman technique, so have decided to employ that in my long study journey via informal podcasts. This first episode is a very general overview of what peatlands are and how they form.

I have to give a few disclaimers here...

1. I made this in Garage Band with my wired Apple earbuds
2. I am not gifted at writing compelling podcast scripts (or delivering them in an engaging way...)
3. In the spirit of the Feynman technique, this is VERY high level and mostly plain language

All of this have given me a real appreciation for podcasters. Not only is writing an engaging script extremely difficult but talking to yourself is so awkward! In the future I would love to incorporate some kind of visual companion to this kind of thing, but for now this is what I have to share. In place of a relevant scientific diagram, please enjoy this photo of Eva enjoying a refreshing sip of bog water while we worked on bail tests.

References

Alonso-Serra, J. (2021). Carbon sequestration: Counterintuitive feedback of plant growth. Quantitative Plant Biology, 2, e11. https://doi.org/10.1017/qpb.2021.11

Friedlingstein, P., O’Sullivan, M., Jones, M. W., Andrew, R. M., Hauck, J., Landschützer, P., Le Quéré, C., Li, H., Luijkx, I. T., Olsen, A., Peters, G. P., Peters, W., Pongratz, J., Schwingshackl, C., Sitch, S., Canadell, J. G., Ciais, P., Jackson, R. B., Alin, S. R., … Zeng, J. (2024). Global Carbon Budget 2024. ESSD – Anthroposphere/Energy and anthropogenic emissions. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-519

Liu, H., Wu, H., Zhang, W., Yu, J., Geng, J., Le, X., & Yu, Y. (2025). Spatiotemporal distribution of global peatland area during the Holocene. Scientific Data, 12(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04339-0

Pelletier, N., Talbot, J., Olefeldt, D., Turetsky, M., Blodau, C., Sonnentag, O., & Quinton, W. L. (2017). Influence of Holocene permafrost aggradation and thaw on the paleoecology and carbon storage of a peatland complex in northwestern Canada. The Holocene, 27(9), 1391–1405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683617693899

Rydin, H., & Jeglum, J. K. (2006). The biology of peatlands. Oxford University press.