Our Arctic Nation, a blog curated by the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council of the U.S. State Department, features an article by Benjamin Runkle, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering. The blog devotes one article per week to each of the fifty United States, highlighting the connection of each state to the Arctic. Runkle was asked to provide the entry for the state of Arkansas.

Before coming to the University of Arkansas, Runkle conducted research in the Arctic as a scientist at the University of Hamburg in Germany. In his article, Runkle describes his research on the ways Arctic wetlands preserve organic matter, and the implications this could have on climate change. He also explains that research in the wetlands of the Lena River Delta relates to his current research in Arkansas.

"Arkansas has its own Delta where the St. Francis, the White, and the Arkansas rivers empty into the Mississippi from the west. Our state is home to more than 50 percent of the rice paddies in the U.S.A.," Runkle explains. "Like so much of the Arctic, the rice fields are wetlands – and wetlands have certain similar characteristics no matter where they are on our earth. … Because of these similarities, many of the lessons we learn in the Arctic can be applied to better understanding the rice plants grown in Arkansas, and vice-versa."