Collaborative Research: The Role of Snow Patches on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Microbial Communities and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Antarctic Dry Valleys
Project Duration: 15-Aug-2009 - 31-Jul-2012
Principal Investigators: John E. Barrett (Virginia Tech) Michael Gooseff Cristina Takacs-Vesbach (University of New Mexico) Time lapse of a snowpatch studied in 1999-2000 austral summer.
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Overview: It is generally held that "where there is water, there is life". We are investigating the control of discontinuous seasonal snow cover on microbial structure and biogeochemical cycling in soils across the valley bottoms of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Very little snow falls in the Dry Valleys during the summer. In the winter, snow is blown in from the polar plateau, and it collects in topographic low points (behind ridges, in streambeds, etc.). We expect that these snow packs are important local controls of soil microbiology and biogeochemical cycling because they occupy approximately the same locations each year. These snow packs then slowly ablate during the austral spring and summer. Most snow appears to be lost to sublimation, and some lost to melt that infiltrates the underlying soils. |
Subnivian soils (soils under the snow pack) are likely influenced in several ways by the presence of the snow pack: 1) potential moisture source, 2) insulation during the winter and spring, 3) disconnection from the atmosphere during the winter. We expect that these factors influence the microbial communities under these snow packs, possibly selecting for specfic species, and that the associated biogeochemical cycles within the soils are different than in adjacent soils that are rarely covered by snow.
Graduate Students supported on this project:
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Postdoctoral Researcher supported on this project:
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Data Archive:
We collected soil temperature, moisture, and suction pressures at three primary monitoring sites in Taylor Valley from 2010-2012, available from the Antarctic Master Directory here. These data are provided with metadata files.
We collected soil temperature, moisture, and suction pressures at three primary monitoring sites in Taylor Valley from 2010-2012, available from the Antarctic Master Directory here. These data are provided with metadata files.
Published Results from this Project (* indicates student lead author)
- Barrett, JE, MA Poage, MN Gooseff, and C Takacs-Vesbach. The legacy of aqueous environments on soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys: Contexts for future exploration of Martian soils in Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments: Astrobiological Analogues, eds. P Doran, WB Lyons, and DM McKnight, Cambridge, UK, 78-109
- *Eveland, JW, MN Gooseff, DJ Lampkin, JE Barrett, and CD Takacs-Vesbach. 2013. Seasonal controls on snow distribution and aerial ablation at the snow-patch and landscape scales, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. The Cryosphere, 7:917-931.
- *Eveland, JW, MN Gooseff, DJ Lampkin, JE Barrett, and CD Takacs-Vesbach. 2013. Spatial and temporal patterns of snow accumulation and aerial ablation across the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Hydrological Processes, 22:2864-2875.
- Geyer, KM, AE Altrichter, DJ Van Horn, CD Takacs-Vesbach, MN Gooseff, and JE Barrett. 2013. Environmental controls over bacterial communities in polar desert soils. Ecosphere, 4:art127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00048.1.
- Gooseff, MN, JE Barrett, and JS Levy. 2013. Shallow groundwater systems in a polar desert, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Hydrogeology Journal, 21(1):171-183.
- Gooseff, MN, DM McKnight, P Doran, AG Fountain, and WB Lyons. 2011. Hydrological connectivity of the landscape of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Geography Compass, 5(9):666-681.
- Takacs-Vesbach, C, LH Zeglin, JC Priscu, JE Barrett, and MN Gooseff. Factors promoting microbial diversity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarcticain Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments: Astrobiological Analogues, eds. P Doran, WB Lyons, and DM McKnight, Cambridge, UK, 221-257.
- Van Horn, DJ, ML Van Horn, JE Barrett, MN Gooseff, AE Altrichter, KM Geyer, LH Zeglin, CD Takacs-Vesbach. 2013. Factors controlling soil microbial biomass and bacterial diversity and community composition in a cold desert ecosystem: Role of geographic scale. PLOS-ONE, 8(6): e66103.
Conference Presentations from this Project
- *Altrichter, AE, KM Geyer, JE Barrett, MN Gooseff, and C Takacs-Vesbach. 2010. Influence of snow packs on soil biota and biogeochemical cycling in polar desert soils. 95th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA.
- *Altrichter, AE, JE Barrett, KM Geyer, C Takacs-Vesbach, and MN Gooseff. 2012. Landscape history and contemporary environmental drivers of microbial community structure and function. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, [COS 30-6].
- *Geyer, KM, JE Barrett, MN Gooseff, and C Takacs-Vesbach. 2010. Geochemical controls over biotic communities in melt-water ponds of Wright Valley, Antarctica. 95th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA.
- Geyer, KM, AE Altrichter, JE Barrett, C Takacs-Vesbach, and MN Gooseff. 2012. Influence of resource gradients on soil microbial communities in a polar desert. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, [COS 109-8].
- Geyer, K, AE Altrichter, JE Barrett, C Takacs-Vesbach, and MN Gooseff. 2012. Influence of resource gradients on microbial communities of a polar desert soil. XXXII SCAR and Open Science Conference, Portland OR, USA; July 2012.
- *Eveland, JW, MN Gooseff, DJ Lampkin, JE Barrett, and CD Takacs-Vesbach. 2010. Snow Dynamics in a Polar Desert, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA (C33C-0542).
- *Eveland, JW, MN Gooseff, DJ Lampkin, J Barrett, and CD Takacs-Vesbach. 2011. Seasonal Comparison of Snow Distribution and Aerial Ablation within the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA (C33D-0679).
Theses/Dissertations from this Project
- Altrichter, A. 2012. Landscape history and contemporary environmental drivers of microbial community structure and function, MS Thesis, Department of Biology, Virginia Tech.
- Eveland, J. 2011. Snow Dynamics in a Polar Desert, the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, MS Thesis, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University.
This project is funded through the National Science Foundation's Division of Polar Programs.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 0830050, 0838879, and 0838922. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. |