Approximately 1500g of soil or sediment were collected into Whirl-Pak(tm) bags with clean plastic scoops from 5 sections (0, 8, 16, 24, and 32 m away from the stream) along each transect. Five grams of sediment/soil were also collected from the top 1 cm for measurement of chlorophyll-a concentrations. Samples were mixed within the bags, placed into insulated coolers, and transported for analysis to the McMurdo laboratories. The soils were processed within 24 days of collection from the field. Until then, the soils were stored in a 4_C refrigerator. On return to the laboratory (within 8 hours of sampling), the soils were stored at 5C until further processing. In the laboratory, soil samples were handled in a laminar flow hood to prevent contamination. The Whirlpak bags of soil were mixed thoroughly prior to opening . A sub-sample of approximately 50g was removed and placed in a pre-weighed aluminum soil can, and weighed on a balance accurate to 0.01g. This sample was dried at 105C for 24 hours. The sample was removed, placed in a desiccator to cool down, and re-weighed. These data were used to calculate water content of the soil.