Project Title

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

Summary

Event Number:
C-506-M
NSF / OPP Award 2224760

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Michael N Gooseff
michael.gooseff@colorado.edu
University of Colorado Boulder
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
Boulder, Colorado

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

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Lake Hoare, Lake Fryxell, 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. The team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the McMurdo Dry Valleys ecosystem depends on legacies and the contemporary frequency, duration, and magnitude of ecological connectivity. 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 Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) streams and glaciers team from early November 2026 to early-February 2027. The team will primarily base out of F6 camp in Taylor Valley, with occasional stays at New Harbor camp and day trips to streams and glaciers throughout Taylor, Wright, Garwood, Victoria, and Miers valleys. The team will also spend some time at Lake Hoare early in their season. Activities will include maintaining the network of 17 stream gauges, surveying lake levels, collecting water samples, monitoring microbial mats in abandoned channels, collecting shallow glacier ice cores, deploying and recovering sensors, and maintaining various sensor and data collection systems deployed throughout the region.

Deploying Team Members