@article {4160, title = {Transit times and rapid chemical equilibrium explain chemostasis in glacial meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica}, journal = {Geophysical Research Letters}, volume = {45}, year = {2018}, month = {12/2018}, pages = {13322 - 13331}, abstract = {

Fluid\  transit\  time\  is\  understood\  to\  be\  an\  important\  control\  on\  the\  shape\  of concentration-discharge (C-q) relationships, yet empirical evidence supporting this linkage is limited. We investigated C-q relationships for weathering-derived solutes across seven Antarctic glacial meltwate streams. We hypothesized that (H1) solute fluxes in McMurdo Dry Valley streams are reaction limited so that C-q\ relationships are characterized by dilution and that (H2) transit time explains between-stream variability in the degree of C-q dilution. Results show that C-q relationships are chemostatic because solute equilibrium times are shorter than stream corridor fluid transit times. Between-stream variability in the efficiency of solute production is positively correlated with transit time, suggesting that transit time is an important control on the solute export regime. These results provide empirical evidence for the controls on weathering-derived C-q relationships and have important implications for Antarctic ecosystems and solute export regimes of watersheds worldwide.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1029/2018GL080369}, url = {https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018GL080369}, author = {Wlostowski, Adam and Michael N. Gooseff and Diane M. McKnight and W. Berry Lyons} } @article {4018, title = {Thermal autecology describes the occurrence patterns of four benthic diatoms in McMurdo Dry Valley streams}, journal = {Polar Biology}, volume = {40}, year = {2017}, month = {06/2017}, pages = {2381-2396}, abstract = {

Benthic microbial mats in the glacial-fed melt- water streams are hotspots of productivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica. Benthic diatoms are common in these mats and the[45 primarily endemic taxa represent the most diverse group of eukaryotes in the MDV. In this harsh polar desert, streams are thermally dynamic with daily water temperatures varying 6\–9 \°C and daily maximum temperatures as high as 15 \°C. Stream temperature may play a role in determining growth rates and survival strategies. To understand taxon-specific adaptations to their environment, we measured the growth rates of unialgal cultures of four diatom taxa (Psammothidium papilio, Hantzschia abundans, Hantzschia amphioxys, and Hantzschia amphioxys f. muelleri) under three temperature conditions (7.6, 10, and 15 \°C) that were representative of maximum daily stream temperatures. We found that P. papilio exhibited a constant growth rate across the full temperature range; this species is most common in streams that begin to flow early in the summer and with less variable thermal regimes. Growth rates for H. abundans were greatest at 15 \°C, but showed a non-linear relationship with temperature. H. amphioxys f. muelleri

grew faster than the other taxa studied and thrived at 10 \°C. Hantzschia amphioxys grew only at the two lower temperatures. These results aligned with the observed relationships between each taxon\’s relative abundance and stream temperatures in the long-term record maintained by the MDV Long-Term Ecological Research program. Overall, our observations suggest that differences in thermal optima may be one factor contributing to and maintaining the diversity of benthic diatom flora in the MDV.
}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1007/s00300-017-2151-y}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-017-2151-y}, author = {Darling, Joshua P. and Garland, Deena D. and Lee F. Stanish and Rhea M.M. Esposito and Eric R. Sokol and Diane M. McKnight} } @proceedings {1251, title = {Trends in discharge and flow season timing of the Onyx River, Wright Valley, Antarctica since 1969}, journal = {Antarctica; A keystone in a changing world--online proceedings for the tenth international symposium}, year = {2007}, publisher = {U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1047}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {LTER}, author = {Michael N. Gooseff and Diane M. McKnight and Peter T. Doran and W. Berry Lyons}, editor = {Alan Cooper and Carol Raymond and ISAES Editorial Team} }