@article {3248, title = {Antarctic microbial mats: A modern analog for Archean lacustrine oxygen oases}, journal = {Geology}, year = {2015}, month = {10/2015}, pages = {G36966.1}, abstract = {

The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis was the most important geochemical event in

Earth history, causing the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) ~2.4 b.y. ago. However, evidence is mixed as to whether O2 production occurred locally as much as 2.8 b.y. ago, creating O2 oases, or initiated just prior to the GOE. The biogeochemical dynamics of possible O2 oases have been poorly constrained due to the absence of modern analogs. However, cyanobacteria in microbial mats in a perennially anoxic region of Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, create a 1\–2 mm O2-containing layer in the upper mat during summer, providing the first known modern analog for formation of benthic O2 oases. In Lake Fryxell, benthic cyanobacteria are present below the oxycline in the lake. Mat photosynthesis rates were slow due to low photon flux rate (1\–2 μmol m-2 s-1) under thick ice cover, but photosynthetic O2 production was sufficient to sustain up to 50 μmol O2 L-1, sandwiched between anoxic overlying water and anoxic sedi- ments. We hypothesize that Archean cyanobacteria could have similarly created O2 oases in benthic mats prior to the GOE. Analogous mats may have been at least partly responsible for geological evidence of oxidative weathering prior to the GOE, and habitats such as Lake Fryxell provide natural laboratories where the impact of benthic O2 oases on biogeochemical signatures can be investigated.\ 

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, issn = {0091-7613}, doi = {10.1130/G36966.1}, url = {http://geology.gsapubs.org/lookup/doi/10.1130/G36966.1}, author = {Sumner, Dawn Y. and Ian Hawes and Mackey, Tyler J. and Jungblut, Anne D. and Peter T. Doran} } @article {3214, title = {Autonomous Year-Round Sampling and Sensing to Explore the Physical and Biological Habitability of Permanently Ice-Covered Antarctic Lakes}, journal = {Marine Technology Society Journal}, volume = {48}, year = {2014}, month = {Jan-09-2014}, pages = {8 - 17}, abstract = {

The lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are some of the only systems on our planet that are perennially ice-covered and support year-round metabolism. As such, these ecosystems can provide important information on conditions and life in polar regions on Earth and on other icy worlds in our solar system. Working in these extreme environments of the Dry Valleys poses many challenges, particularly with respect to data collection during dark winter months when logistical constraints make fieldwork difficult. In this paper, we describe the motivation, design, and challenges for this recently deployed instrumentation in Lake Bonney, a lake that has been the subject of summer research efforts for more than 40 years. The instrumentation deployed includes autonomous water, phytoplankton, and sediment samplers as well as cable-mounted profiling platforms with dissolved gas and fluorometry sensors. Data obtained from these instruments will allow us, for the first time, to define the habitability of this environment during the polar night. We include lessons learned during deployment and recommendations for effective instrument operation in these extreme conditions.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, issn = {00253324}, doi = {10.4031/MTSJ.48.5.6}, url = {http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article\&issn=0025-3324\&volume=48\&issue=5\&spage=8http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2014/00000048/00000005/art00002}, author = {Winslow, Luke A. and Hilary A. Dugan and Heather N. Buelow and Cronin, Kyle D. and John C. Priscu and Cristina D. Takacs-Vesbach and Peter T. Doran} } @inbook {1168, title = {Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valley stream ecosystems as analog to fluvial systems on Mars}, booktitle = {Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments}, year = {2010}, pages = {139 - 159}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, organization = {Cambridge University Press}, address = {Cambridge}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, isbn = {9780521889193}, doi = {10.1017/CBO9780511712258.005}, author = {Michael N. Gooseff and Diane M. McKnight and Carr, M. H. and Baeseman, J.}, editor = {Peter T. Doran and W. Berry Lyons and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {1256, title = {Antarctic Climate Cooling and Response of Diatoms in Glacial Meltwater Streams}, journal = {Geophysical Research Letters}, volume = {33}, year = {2006}, month = {04/2006}, pages = {L07406}, type = {Journal}, abstract = {

To understand biotic responses to an Antarctic cooling trend, we analyzed diatom samples from glacial meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, the largest ice-free area in Antarctica. Diatoms are abundant in these streams, and 24 of 40 species have only been found in the Antarctic. The percentage of these Antarctic diatom species increased with decreasing annual stream flow and increasing harshness of the stream habitat. The species diversity of assemblages reached a maximum when the Antarctic species accounted for 40\–60\% of relative diatom abundance. Decreased solar radiation and air-temperatures reduce annual stream flow, raising the dominance of these Antarctic species to levels above 60\%. Thus, cooling favors the Antarctic species, and lowers diatom species diversity in this region.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Biggie}, doi = {10.1029/2006GL025903}, author = {Rhea M.M. Esposito and Horn, S and Diane M. McKnight and Cox, M and Grant, M and Sarah A. Spaulding and Peter T. Doran and Cozzetto, K} } @inbook {1322, title = {Antarctic Paleolimnology}, booktitle = {Long-Term Environmental Change in Arctic and Antarctic Lakes}, year = {2004}, publisher = {Kluwer Academic Publishers}, organization = {Kluwer Academic Publishers}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Hodgson, D and John A. E. Gibson and Peter T. Doran}, editor = {Pienitz, R and Douglas, Marianne S. V. and J.P. Smol} } @article {1377, title = {Antarctic climate cooling and terrestrial ecosystem response}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {415}, year = {2002}, month = {01/2002}, pages = {517-520}, type = {Journal}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Climate Response}, doi = {10.1038/nature710}, author = {Peter T. Doran and John C. Priscu and W. Berry Lyons and John E. Walsh and Andrew G Fountain and Diane M. McKnight and Daryl L. Moorhead and Ross A. Virginia and Diana H. Wall and Gary D. Clow and Christian H. Fritsen and Christopher P. McKay and Andrew N. Parsons} } @inbook {1449, title = {Arctic and Antarctic lakes: contrast or continuum?}, booktitle = {Poles Apart: A Study in Contrasts}, year = {1999}, pages = {59-68}, publisher = {University of Ottawa Press}, organization = {University of Ottawa Press}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Biggie}, author = {Peter T. Doran and Peter Adams and Ecclestone, M} } @article {1483, title = {Antarctic paleolake sediments and the search for extinct life on Mars}, journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets}, volume = {103}, year = {1998}, month = {05/1998}, pages = {28481-28493}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1029/98JE01713}, author = {Peter T. Doran and Robert A. Wharton Jr. and David J. DesMarais and Christopher P. McKay} }