02254nas a2200217 4500008004100000245009400041210006900135260001200204300000600216490000700222520158800229653002601817653002401843653001901867653002401886653001801910100002301928700002101951700002201972856004201994 2025 eng d00aRethinking the lake history of Taylor Valley, Antarctica during the Ross Sea I glaciation0 aRethinking the lake history of Taylor Valley Antarctica during t c01/2025 a90 v153 a

The Ross Sea I glaciation, marked by the northward advance of the Ross Ice Sheet (RIS) in the Ross Sea, east Antarctica, corresponds with the last major expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the last glacial period. During its advance, the RIS was grounded along the southern Victoria Land coast, completely blocking the mouths of several of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs). Several authors have proposed that very large paleolakes, proglacial to the RIS, existed in many of the MDVs. Studies of these large paleolakes have been key in the interpretation of the regional landscape, climate, hydrology, and glacier and ice sheet movements. By far the most studied of these large paleolakes is Glacial Lake Washburn (GLW) in Taylor Valley. Here, we present a comprehensive review of literature related to GLW, focusing on the waters supplying the paleolake, signatures of the paleolake itself, and signatures of past glacial movements that controlled the spatial extent of GLW. We find that while a valley-wide proglacial lake likely did exist in Taylor Valley during the early stages of the Ross Sea I glaciation, during later stages two isolated lakes occupied the eastern and western sections of the valley, confined by an expansion of local alpine glaciers. Lake levels above ~140 m asl were confined to western Taylor Valley, and major lake level changes were likely driven by RIS movements, with climate variables playing a more minor role. These results may have major implications for our understanding of the MDVs and the RIS during the Ross Sea I glaciation.

10aGlacial Lake Washburn10aMcMurdo Dry Valleys10aRoss Ice Sheet10aRoss Sea glaciation10aTaylor Valley1 aStone, Michael, S.1 aDoran, Peter, T.1 aMyers, Krista, F. uhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15/1/902147nas a2200205 4500008004100000245009900041210006900140260005900209300000800268490000900276520148500285653001501770653001601785653001401801653001801815653001701833100002201850700002101872856004801893 2024 eng d00aDevelopment of a laboratory simulation for freeze-thaw of aeolian sediments in glacial systems0 aDevelopment of a laboratory simulation for freezethaw of aeolian aBoulder, CO, USAbUniversity of Colorado Boulderc2024 a2610 vM.A.3 a

Glacial systems are vital for supplying trace metals, nutrients, and weathering products to downstream ecosystems. While subglacial and proglacial weathering pathways are highly studied, supraglacial weathering processes receive less attention. Aeolian sediments on glaciers can lower albedo, generating meltwater; this water can refreeze around sediment grains during cloudy periods or when the sun is obstructed, resulting in a freeze-thaw process. For solute generation in the most upstream source in glacial-proglacial environments, it's unclear whether chemical or physical weathering dominates nutrient release. This study presents a methodology to simulate freeze-thaw processes in a controlled laboratory setting to understand the importance of freeze-thaw in nutrient mobilization. Analysis of sediments from Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys showed significant differences in the concentrations of ion, nutrient, and trace metal between initial wetting and subsequent freeze-thaw cycles. For example, phosphorus concentrations consistently increased with each cycle, indicating that freeze-thaw is an important mobilization mechanism for this nutrient. Silicon increased from cycle 1-30 but decreased at cycle 60 and iron concentrations were initially higher but decreased during subsequent cycles. This research highlights the importance of freeze-thaw processes in understanding glacial weathering dynamics and nutrient release for downstream ecosystems.

10aAntarctica10afreeze-thaw10anutrients10aTaylor Valley10atrace metals1 aMondragon, Denise1 aDiaz, Melisa, A. uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/306679220202206nas a2200229 4500008004100000022001400041245015000055210006900205260001200274300001400286490000700300520141400307653001801721653001501739653001801754100002101772700001601793700001901809700002901828700002601857856009301883 2022 eng d a0954-102000aAntibiotic resistance genes and taxa analysis from mat and planktonic microbiomes of Antarctic perennial ice-covered Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney0 aAntibiotic resistance genes and taxa analysis from mat and plank c12/2022 a408 - 4220 v343 a

The perennial ice-covered lakes of the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys harbour oligotrophic microbial communities that are separated geographically from other aquatic systems. Their microbiomes include planktonic microbes as well as lift-off mat communities that emerge from the ice. We used the ShortBRED protein family profiler to quantify the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from metagenomes of lift-off mats emerging from ice and from filtered water samples of Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney. The overall proportion of ARG hits was similar to that found in temperate-zone rural ponds with moderate human inputs. Specific ARGs showed distinct distributions for the two lakes and for mat vs planktonic sources. Metagenomic taxa distributions showed that mat phototrophs consisted mainly of cyanobacteria or Betaproteobacteria, whereas the water column phototrophs were mainly protists. An enrichment culture of the Betaproteobacterium Rhodoferax antarcticus from a Lake Fryxell mat sample showed an unusual mat-forming phenotype not previously reported for this species. Its genome showed no ARGs associated with Betaproteobacteria but had ARGs consistent with a minor Pseudomonas component. The Antarctic lake mats and water showed specific ARGs distinctive to the mat and water sources, but overall ARG levels were similar to those of temperate water bodies with moderate human inputs.

10amicrobial mat10aRhodoferax10aTaylor Valley1 aTallada, Sheetal1 aHall, Grant1 aBarich, Daniel1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aSlonczewski, Joan, L. uhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0954102022000360/type/journal_article02119nas a2200217 4500008004100000245007600041210006900117260001200186520131800198653001101516653003001527653002801557653002201585653002401607653001201631653001801643100002401661700002101685700002001706856017501726 2020 eng d00aGIS tool to predict photosynthetically active radiation in a Dry Valley0 aGIS tool to predict photosynthetically active radiation in a Dry c04/20203 a

Understanding primary productivity is a core research area of the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Network. This study presents the development of the GIS-based Topographic Solar Photosynthetically Active Radiation (T-sPAR) toolbox for Taylor Valley. It maps surface photosynthetically active radiation using four meteorological stations with ~20 years of data. T-sPAR estimates were validated with ground-truth data collected at Taylor Valley's major lakes during the 2014–15 and 2015–16 field seasons. The average daily error ranges from 0.13 mol photons m-2 day-1 (0.6%) at Lake Fryxell to 3.8 mol photons m-2 day-1 (5.8%) at Lake Hoare. We attribute error to variability in terrain and sun position. Finally, a user interface was developed in order to estimate total daily surface photosynthetically active radiation for any location and date within the basin. T-sPAR improves upon existing toolboxes and models by allowing for the inclusion of a statistical treatment of light attenuation due to cloud cover. The T-sPAR toolbox could be used to inform biological sampling sites based on radiation distribution, which could collectively improve estimates of net primary productivity, in some cases by up to 25%.

10aArcMap10aautomated weather station10adigital elevation model10aice-covered lakes10aMcMurdo Dry Valleys10aR model10aTaylor Valley1 aAcosta, Dimitri, R.1 aDoran, Peter, T.1 aMyers, Madeline uhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/gis-tool-to-predict-photosynthetically-active-radiation-in-a-dry-valley/BD0BE4FF6A8F3DAAF32D69879728707802216nas a2200193 4500008004100000245012200041210006900163260001200232520155300244653001501797653001701812653002101829653002901850653001801879100002101897700001501918700001701933856007201950 2019 eng d00aThe geochemistry of glacial deposits in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: Comparison to upper continental crustal abundances0 ageochemistry of glacial deposits in Taylor Valley Antarctica Com c05/20193 a

Wet-based glacial deposits have been used traditionally as an analog for upper continental crust (UCC) abundances. To provide more information on the validity of using glacial deposits from wet-based glaciers, samples deposited by the dry-based polar glaciers located in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, were collected. Stream channel sediments, comprised of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks initially deposited as glacial tills by polar glaciers, were analyzed by XRF, ICP-MS, and SEM. Based on the Chemical Index of Alteration values and A–CN–K ternary diagram, there are low levels of chemical weathering in these tills. Additionally, major and trace element geochemical data are compared to the average UCC values. The observed discrepancies between the mean UCC and Antarctic samples develop from the existence of mafic components, most likely the McMurdo Volcanic Group and Ferrar Dolerite, being present in the Taylor Valley tills. Even though the mafic material typically comprises 3–7% of the till, the volcanic rocks have a significant influence on the tills’ bulk geochemistry. The existence of this mafic fraction in the dry-based glacial tills results from the reduced rate of weathering, as compared to wet-based glaciers. Geochemical analyses of the dry-based glacial tills in polar deserts, such as those found in Taylor Valley, may provide a better representative composition of the original material than wet-based glaciers and need to be incorporated into upper continental crust calculations.

10aAntarctica10ageochemistry10aglacial deposits10apolar dry-based glaciers10aTaylor Valley1 aDowling, Carolyn1 aWelch, Sue1 aLyons, Berry uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292719301246