Background The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research Project is an interdisciplinary study of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in a cold desert region of Antarctica. In 1992 this area was selected as a study site within the National Science Foundation's Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Program. Details about the research can be reviewed through the original 1992 research proposal to the National Science Foundation, or the most recent 2016 proposal, resulting in funding for another 6 years.