B-023 - Snow Patch Biogeochemistry
PI: Dr. John E Barrett, Dr. Michael N Gooseff
Project Lead: Michael Gooseff
Funding Source: NSF/PLR 0838850
Location: McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Dates: 2009-11-25 to 2013-05-21
Project Summary
It is generally held that "where there is water, there is life". We are investigating the control of discontinuous seasonal snow cover on microbial structure and biogeochemical cycling in soils across the valley bottoms of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Very little snow falls in the Dry Valleys during the summer. In the winter, snow is blown in from the polar plateau, and it collects in topographic low points (behind ridges, in streambeds, etc.). We expect that these snow packs are important local controls of soil microbiology and biogeochemical cycling because they occupy approximately the same locations each year. These snow packs then slowly ablate during the austral spring and summer. Most snow appears to be lost to sublimation, and some lost to melt that infiltrates the underlying soils. Subnivian soils (soils under the snow pack) are likely influenced in several ways by the presence of the snow pack: 1) potential moisture source, 2) insulation during the winter and spring, 3) disconnection from the atmosphere during the winter. We expect that these factors influence the microbial communities under these snow packs, possibly selecting for specific species, and that the associated biogeochemical cycles within the soils are different than in adjacent soils that are rarely covered by snow.(Text from [http://water.engr.psu.edu/antsnow/water.engr.psu.edu/antsnow])
Project Sites
- PS01 Lake Bonney
- PS02 Lake Vanda
- PS03 Upper Wright
- PS04 Lake Hoare
- PS05 Lake Hoare Tarp
- PS06 Lower Wright
- PS07 Lake Fryxell
- PS08 Lake Fryxell Tarp
- PS09 Lake Bonney Tarp