@article {5004, title = {Winter warming of McMurdo Dry Valleys soils}, journal = {Antarctic Science}, year = {2025}, month = {01/2025}, pages = {1-18}, abstract = {

Continuous permafrost is present across the McMurdo Dry Valleys of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. While summer active-layer thaw is common in the low-elevation portions of the Dry Valleys, active layers have not significantly thickened over time. However, in some locations, coastal Antarctic permafrost has begun to warm. Here, based on soil and meteorological measurements from 1993 to 2023, we show that wintertime soil temperatures have increased across multiple sites in the Dry Valleys, at rates exceeding the pace of summer soil warming. Linear warming trends over time are significant (P \< 0.05) at six of seven soil monitoring sites. Winter warming is strongly correlated with increased numbers of down-valley wind events (Foehn/katabatics), but it may also be driven by increased incident longwave radiation at some stations (although winter longwave increase is not significant over time). While down-valley wind events increase winter warming, when down-valley wind events are excluded from the record, winter soil warming remains persistent and significant, suggesting that Antarctic soils are experiencing less cold winters over time in response to regional warming. Together, these observations suggest that some Antarctic permafrost may be approaching a transition to discontinuous permafrost in some regions as winter freezing intensity is reduced over time.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, Foehn wind, katabatic wind, McMurdo Dry Valleys, microclimate, permafrost}, issn = {0954-1020}, doi = {10.1017/S0954102024000488}, url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0954102024000488/type/journal_article}, author = {Fowler, Gavin and Joseph S. Levy} } @article {4733, title = {Wintertime brine discharge at the surface of a cold polar glacier and the unexpected absence of associated seismicity}, journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface}, volume = {127}, year = {2022}, month = {03/2022}, abstract = {

A subglacial groundwater system beneath Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, discharges hypersaline, iron-rich brine episodically at the glacier surface to create Blood Falls. However, the triggering mechanism for these brine release events is not yet understood. Identifying which fracture processes are observed seismically can help us better characterize the hydrological system at Taylor Glacier, and more generally, provide us with a broader understanding of englacial hydrologic activity in cold glaciers. We document wintertime brine discharge using time-lapse photography. Subfreezing air temperatures during the brine discharge indicate that surface melt-induced hydrofracture is an unlikely trigger for brine release. Further, we analyze local seismic data to test a hypothesis that fracturing generates elevated surface wave energy preceding and/or coinciding with brine release events. Our results show no discernible elevated Rayleigh wave activity prior to or during Blood Falls brine release. Instead, we find a pattern of seismic events dominated by a seasonal signal, with more Rayleigh events occurring in the summer than the winter from the Blood Falls source area. We calculate that the volumetric opening of cracks that would generate Rayleigh waves at our detection limits are of similar size to myriad cracks in glacier ice, lake ice, and frozen sediment in the terminus area. We therefore propose that any fracturing coincident with brine release activity likely consists of a series of smaller opening events that are masked by other seismicity in the local environment.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, crevasses, cryoseismology, glacier hydrology, Rayleigh waves}, issn = {2169-9003}, doi = {10.1029/2021JF006325}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JF006325}, author = {Carr, Chris G. and Carmichael, Joshua D. and Pettit, Erin C.} } @article {1100, title = {Water track modification of soil ecosystems in the Lake Hoare basin, Taylor Valley, Antarctica}, journal = {Antarctic Science}, year = {2013}, pages = {1 - 10}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1017/S095410201300045X}, author = {Joseph S. Levy and Andrew G Fountain and Michael N. Gooseff and John E. Barrett and Robert Vantreese and Kathleen A. Welch and W. Berry Lyons and Uffe N. Nielsen and Diana H. Wall} } @phdthesis {4193, title = {Wind as an ecological factor in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2012}, month = {2012}, pages = {201}, school = {Montana State University}, type = {doctoral}, address = {Bozeman, MT}, abstract = {

The aim of this work was to investigate the role of wind on the ecology of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (MDV), one of the coldest and driest deserts on Earth. The MDV landscape consists of a mosaic of permanently ice-covered lakes, ephemeral streams, exposed soils, and glaciers, all of which contain habitats dominated by microorganisms. Data on wind-driven flux of sediments and associated organic matter were collected using passive aeolian traps and dynamic mass erosion particle counters to investigate the timing, direction and magnitude of aeolian sediment transport. Combination of genomic techniques and phenotypical fingerprinting (pigment analysis) was used to examine microbial diversity over a wide variety of wind-eroded habitats across the MDV landscape to elucidate the role of wind dispersal on the contemporary distribution of microorganisms across the MDVs. Sediment entrainment occurs predominantly within 20 cm of the ground surface and has character of saltation bursts that occupy \<3\% of the total time within a year. The high-energy winter f{\"o}hn winds uplift sediments in the upper parts of the MDVs and transport them down-valley where they are deposited onto the surface of perennially ice-covered lakes and surrounding soils. The sediment that enters the water column of the lakes does not provide a significant source of organic carbon for bacterioplankton communities compared to the in situ production by phytoplankton but can be a source of new microbial propagules. The aeolian material is low in organic matter (\<1\% dw) but is composed of a relatively large numbers of cyanobacterial taxa (~20 OTUs) that can be found in all other MDV habitats. In conclusion, wind distributes microorganisms across the MDV landscape but local environment selects for specific taxa. Predicted climate warming will increase the importance of wind transport, which will affect nutrient cycling and connectivity among MDV ecosystem components.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, url = {https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/2171}, author = {Marie {\v S}aback{\'a} and John C. Priscu} } @article {1133, title = {Water tracks and permafrost in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: Extensive and shallow groundwater connectivity in a cold desert ecosystem}, journal = {Geological Society of America Bulletin}, volume = {123}, year = {2011}, month = {11/2011}, pages = {2295-2311}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1130/B30436.1}, url = {http://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/content/123/11-12/2295.short}, author = {Joseph S. Levy and Andrew G Fountain and Michael N. Gooseff and Kathleen A. Welch and W. Berry Lyons} } @article {1138, title = {When a habitat freezes solid: microorganisms over-winter within the ice column of a coastal Antarctic lake}, journal = {FEMS Microbiology Ecology}, volume = {76}, year = {2011}, month = {06/2011}, pages = {401 - 412}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01061.x}, url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01061.x/full}, author = {Christine M. Foreman and Markus Dieser and Mark Greenwood and Rose M. Cory and Johanna Laybourn-Parry and John T. Lisle and Chris Jaros and Penney L. Miller and Yu-Ping Chin and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {1183, title = {Where{\textquoteright}s the ecology in molecular ecology?}, journal = {Oikos}, volume = {118}, year = {2009}, month = {05/2009}, pages = {1601-1609}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17557.x}, author = {Jerry B. Johnson and Scott M. Peat and Byron Adams} } @mastersthesis {1253, title = {WETTED MARGIN HYDROLOGY OF THE DRY VALLEYS OF ANTARCTICA}, volume = {M.S.}, year = {2007}, school = {Colorado School of Mines,}, type = {masters}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {LTER}, author = {Northcott, M} } @article {1279, title = {Wind dispersal of soil invertebrates in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica}, journal = {Polar Biology}, volume = {29}, year = {2006}, pages = {346-352}, abstract = {

Dispersal of soil organisms is crucial for their spatial distribution and adaptation to the prevailing conditions of the Antarctic Dry Valleys. This study investigated the possibility of wind dispersal of soil invertebrates within the dry valleys. Soil invertebrates were evaluated in (1) pockets of transported sediments to lake ice and glacier surfaces, (2) wind-transported dust particles in collection pans (Bundt pans) 100\ cm above the soil surface, and (3) sediments transported closer to the surface (\<50\ cm) and collected in open top chambers (OTCs). Invertebrates were extracted and identified. Nematodes were identified to species and classified according to life stage and sex. Three species of nematodes were recovered and\ Scottnema lindsayae\ was the most dominant. There were more juveniles (\∼71\%) in the transported sediments than adults (29\%). Tardigrades and rotifers were more abundant in sediments on lake and glacier surfaces while nematodes were more abundant in the dry sediment collections of Bundt pans and OTCs. The abundance of immobile (dead) nematodes in the Bundt pans and OTCs was three times greater than active (live) nematodes. Anhydrobiosis constitutes a survival mechanism that allows wind dispersal of nematodes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Our results show that soil invertebrates are dispersed by wind in the Dry Valleys and are viable in ice communities on lake surfaces and glaciers.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Biggie}, doi = {10.1007/s00300-005-0061-x}, url = {http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007\%2Fs00300-005-0061-x}, author = {Johnson N. Nkem and Diana H. Wall and Ross A. Virginia and John E. Barrett and Broos, E and Porazinska, D and Byron Adams} } @article {1375, title = {Weathering reactions and hyporheic exchange controls on stream water chemistry in a glacial meltwater stream in the McMurdo Dry Valleys}, journal = {Water Resources Research}, volume = {38}, year = {2002}, month = {12/2002}, pages = {1279-1296}, type = {Journal}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Biggie}, doi = {10.1029/2001WR000834}, url = {http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2002/2001WR000834.shtml}, author = {Michael N. Gooseff and Diane M. McKnight and W. Berry Lyons and Blum, A} } @inbook {1474, title = {The world beneath our feet: Soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning}, booktitle = {Nature and Human Society: The Quest for a Sustainable World}, year = {1999}, publisher = {National Academy of Sciences Press}, organization = {National Academy of Sciences Press}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Diana H. Wall and Ross A. Virginia} } @article {1585, title = {A weather network in McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica}, journal = {The Campbell Update}, volume = {7}, year = {1996}, pages = {3}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Peter T. Doran} } @article {1647, title = {Water column transformations of nitrogen in Lake Bonney, a perennially ice-covered antarctic lake}, journal = {Antarctic Journal of the U.S.}, volume = {28}, year = {1993}, pages = {237-239}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {John C. Priscu and Bess B. Ward and Malcolm T. Downes} }