Project Title

LTER: MCM6: The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem

Summary

Event Number:
C-504-M
NSF / OPP Award 2224760

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Melisa Antonia Diaz
diaz.237@osu.edu
Ohio State University
Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center
Columbus, Ohio

Project Web Site:
https://mcm.lternet.edu/

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Lake Fryxell, Lake Bonney, New Harbor, McMurdo Dry Valleys

Description

In this iteration of the McMurdo Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM-LTER) project (MCM6), the science team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (e.g., geological legacies, extreme seasonality) and driven by microbial organisms. Since microorganisms regulate most of the world’s critical biogeochemical functions, these insights can be relevant beyond polar ecosystems and can inform understanding and expectations of how natural and managed ecosystems respond to ongoing environmental variation. MCM6 builds on foundational research both in Antarctica and within the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network, to consider the temporal aspects of connectivity and how it relates to ecosystem stability. This hypothesis will be tested with new and continuing monitoring, experiments, and analyses of long-term datasets to examine (1) the stability of these ecosystems as reflected by sentinel taxa; (2) the relationship between ecological legacies and ecosystem resilience; (3) the importance of material carryover during periods of low connectivity to maintaining biological activity and community stability; and (4) how changes in disturbance dynamics disrupt ecological cycles through the polar night.

Field Season Overview

Four participants will deploy on the LTER surface processes team from early-December 2026 to late January 2027, based primarily out of F6 camp in Taylor Valley, with occasional stays at Lake Bonney and New Harbor and trips back to Albert P. Crary Science and Engineering Center to process samples. The science team will collect aeolian, stream, and other sediments and shallow ice cores from Taylor Valley glaciers. It will also measure nutrient concentrations in streams and lakes and use an uncrewed aerial system to map and characterize hydrologically active areas at several locations in the Dry Valleys. Following field work, one participant will remain on station into mid-February to process samples.

Deploying Team Members