Welcome to our first early career research spotlight of 2026! Today we are highlighting Ally Jacoby, a PhD student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities working in one of the most remote environments in the world: the tropical glaciers and páramo ecosystems of Ecuador. This unique region has thick peatlands that hold some of the highest carbon stocks in the world, and, despite lying near the equator, has mountains so tall that they bear glaciers. In fact, the equator runs directly...