As part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a systematic sampling program has been undertaken to monitor the glacial meltwater streams in that region. This dataset contains microbial biomass concentrations found in algal mats located in streams throughout the McMurdo Dry Valleys as well as in ponds of the nearby Cape Royds. Microbial mat biomass has been collected as part of the McMurdo LTER since the 1993-1994 field season and measured as ash-free dry mass (AFDM) and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a).
Dataset Results
This package contains data collected from microbial mat surveys (i.e., percent cover, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and pigment concentrations – chlorophyll-a, scytonemin, and carotenoids) associated with satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from the Lake Fryxell Basin of Taylor Valley, located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
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We conducted a field survey to quantify the biomass (chlorophyll-a and ash-free dry mass), nutrient ratios (molar C:N:P), and isotopic signatures (δ13C and δ15N) of four microbial mat types (green, orange, black, and red) in the glacial meltwater streams of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. All samples were taken from late December to late January during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 austral summers, and included sites from Taylor, Miers, Garwood, and Wright valleys. Most collection sites were located at the lake outlet of streams, but for a subset (e.g.
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Long-term ecological field surveys from the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program (MCM LTER) have documented the abundance and diversity of microbial mat types across ephemeral glacial meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. However, field surveys are limited and are incapable of being performed across the entirety of streams within a field season.