{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "COMMUNITY DYNAMICS"}
[{"awards": "1744989 LaRue, Michelle", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Detecting climate signals in populations: case of emperor penguin; Emperor penguin population trends (2009-2018); Landfast ice: a major driver of reproductive success in a polar seabird", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601513", "doi": "10.15784/601513", "keywords": "Antarctica; Breeding Success; Emperor Penguin; Fast Sea Ice", "people": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie; Labrousse, Sara", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Landfast ice: a major driver of reproductive success in a polar seabird", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601513"}, {"dataset_uid": "601491", "doi": "10.15784/601491", "keywords": "Antarctica", "people": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Detecting climate signals in populations: case of emperor penguin", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601491"}, {"dataset_uid": "200410", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.m63xsj48v", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Emperor penguin population trends (2009-2018)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m63xsj48v"}], "date_created": "Thu, 08 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project on emperor penguin populations will quantify penguin presence/absence, and colony size and trajectory, across the entire Antarctic continent using high-resolution satellite imagery. For a subset of the colonies, population estimates derived from high-resolution satellite images will be compared with those determined by aerial surveys - these results have been uploaded to MAPPPD (penguinmap.com) and are freely available for use. This validated information will be used to determine population estimates for all emperor penguin colonies through iterations of supervised classification and maximum likelihood calculations on the high-resolution imagery. The effect of spatial, geophysical, and environmental variables on population size and decadal-scale trends will be assessed using generalized linear models. This research will result in a first ever empirical result for emperor penguin population trends and habitat suitability, and will leverage currently-funded NSF infrastructure and hosting sites to publish results in near-real time to the public.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; USA/NSF; Amd/Us; USAP-DC; Antarctica; AMD", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "LaRue, Michelle; Ito, Emi; Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Dryad; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "A Multi-scale Approach to Understanding Spatial and Population Variability in Emperor Penguins", "uid": "p0010447", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2224760 Gooseff, Michael", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(162.87 -77)", "dataset_titles": "EDI Data Portal: McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200379", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Environmental Data Initiative (EDI)", "science_program": null, "title": "EDI Data Portal: McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER", "url": "https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/browseServlet?searchValue=MCM"}], "date_created": "Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "In this iteration of the McMurdo LTER project (MCM6), the project team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (geological legacies, extreme seasonality, and contemporary climate change) and driven by microbial organisms. Since microorganisms regulate most of the world\u0027s critical biogeochemical functions, these insights will be relevant far beyond polar ecosystems and will inform understanding and expectations of how natural and managed ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. MCM6 builds on previous foundational research, both in Antarctica and within the LTER network, to consider the temporal aspects of connectivity and how it relates to ecosystem stability. The project will examine how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with the legacies of the existing landscape that have defined habitats and biogeochemical cycling for millennia. The project team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the MDV ecosystem is dependent upon 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. Tests of these hypotheses will occur in field and modeling activities using new and long-term datasets already collected. New datasets resulting from field activities will be made freely available via widely-known online databases (MCM LTER and EDI). The project team has also developed six Antarctic Core Ideas that encompass themes from data literacy to polar food webs and form a consistent thread across the education and outreach activities. Building on past success, collaborations will be established with teachers and artists embedded within the science teams, who will work to develop educational modules with science content informed by direct experience and artistic expression. Undergraduate mentoring efforts will incorporate computational methods through a new data-intensive scientific training program for MCM REU students. The project will also establish an Antarctic Research Experience for Community College Students at CU Boulder, to provide an immersive educational and research experience for students from diverse backgrounds in community colleges. MCM LTER will continue its mission of training and mentoring students, postdocs, and early career scientists as the next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Historically underrepresented participation will be expanded at each level of the project. To aid in these efforts, the project has established Education \u0026 Outreach and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees to lead, coordinate, support, and integrate these activities through all aspects of MCM6.", "east": 162.87, "geometry": "POINT(162.87 -77)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; ABLATION ZONES/ACCUMULATION ZONES; SOIL TEMPERATURE; DIATOMS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; PERMANENT LAND SITES; BUOYS; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; SEDIMENTS; SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS; FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS; VIRUSES; PHYTOPLANKTON; ACTIVE LAYER; FIELD SURVEYS; RADIO TRANSMITTERS; DATA COLLECTIONS; ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; LANDSCAPE; GROUND WATER; SNOW/ICE CHEMISTRY; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS; ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; HUMIDITY; GEOCHEMISTRY; SURFACE WINDS; RIVERS/STREAM; GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE; SNOW; LAND RECORDS; ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; AIR TEMPERATURE; GLACIERS; SNOW/ICE TEMPERATURE; SOIL CHEMISTRY; METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; WATER QUALITY/WATER CHEMISTRY; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS; MOORED; PROTISTS; STREAMFLOW STATION; Dry Valleys; LAKE/POND; LAKE ICE; SNOW DEPTH; AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; SNOW DENSITY; FIELD SITES", "locations": "Dry Valleys", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Gooseff, Michael N.; Adams, Byron; Barrett, John; Diaz, Melisa A.; Doran, Peter; Dugan, Hilary A.; Mackey, Tyler; Morgan-Kiss, Rachael; Salvatore, Mark; Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Zeglin, Lydia H.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e DATA COLLECTIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e RADIO TRANSMITTERS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e STREAMFLOW STATION; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e BUOYS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e BUOYS \u003e MOORED; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e BUOYS \u003e MOORED \u003e BUOYS", "repo": "Environmental Data Initiative (EDI)", "repositories": "Environmental Data Initiative (EDI)", "science_programs": "LTER", "south": -77.0, "title": "LTER: MCM6 - The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem", "uid": "p0010440", "west": 162.87}, {"awards": "2026045 Schofield, Oscar; 2224611 Schofield, Oscar", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-79.65 -63.738,-77.9728 -63.738,-76.29560000000001 -63.738,-74.61840000000001 -63.738,-72.94120000000001 -63.738,-71.26400000000001 -63.738,-69.58680000000001 -63.738,-67.9096 -63.738,-66.2324 -63.738,-64.5552 -63.738,-62.878 -63.738,-62.878 -64.3683,-62.878 -64.9986,-62.878 -65.6289,-62.878 -66.25919999999999,-62.878 -66.8895,-62.878 -67.5198,-62.878 -68.1501,-62.878 -68.7804,-62.878 -69.41069999999999,-62.878 -70.041,-64.5552 -70.041,-66.2324 -70.041,-67.9096 -70.041,-69.5868 -70.041,-71.26400000000001 -70.041,-72.94120000000001 -70.041,-74.61840000000001 -70.041,-76.29560000000001 -70.041,-77.9728 -70.041,-79.65 -70.041,-79.65 -69.41069999999999,-79.65 -68.7804,-79.65 -68.1501,-79.65 -67.5198,-79.65 -66.8895,-79.65 -66.25919999999999,-79.65 -65.6289,-79.65 -64.9986,-79.65 -64.3683,-79.65 -63.738))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data of LMG2301; Expedition Data of NBP2113; Palmer LTER data in the Environmental Data Initiative Repository", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200371", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data of LMG2301", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG2301"}, {"dataset_uid": "200367", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "EDI", "science_program": null, "title": "Palmer LTER data in the Environmental Data Initiative Repository", "url": "https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/browseServlet?searchValue=PAL"}, {"dataset_uid": "200370", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data of NBP2113", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP2113"}], "date_created": "Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The goal of all LTER sites is to conduct policy-relevant ecosystem research for questions that require tens of years of data and cover large geographical areas. The Palmer Antarctica Long Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER) site has been in operation since 1990 and has been studying how the marine ecosystem west of the Antarctica Peninsula (WAP) is responding to a climate that is changing as rapidly as any place on the Earth. The study is evaluating how warming conditions and decreased ice cover leading to extended periods of open water are affecting many aspects of ecosystem function. The team is using combined cutting-edge approaches including yearly ship-based research cruises, small-boat weekly sampling, autonomous vehicles, animal biologging, oceanographic floats and seafloor moorings, manipulative lab-based process studies and modeling to evaluate both seasonal and annual ecosystem responses. These combined approaches are allowing for the study the ecosystem changes at scales needed to assess both short-term and long-term drivers. The study region also includes submarine canyons that are special regions of enhanced biological activity within the WAP. This research program is paired with a comprehensive education and outreach program promoting the global significance of Antarctic science and research. In addition to training for graduate and undergraduate students, they are using newly-developed Polar Literacy Principles as a foundation in a virtual schoolyard program that shares polar instructional materials and provides learning opportunities for K-12 educators. The PAL-LTER team is also leveraging the development of Out of School Time materials for afterschool and summer camp programs, sharing Palmer LTER-specific teaching materials with University, Museum, and 4-H Special Interest Club partners.\r\n\r\nPolar ecosystems are among the most rapidly changing on Earth. The Palmer LTER (PAL-LTER) program builds on three decades of coordinated research along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) to gain new mechanistic and predictive understanding of ecosystem changes in response to disturbances spanning long-term decadal (press) drivers and changes due to higher-frequency (pulse) drivers, such as large storms and extreme seasonal anomaly in sea ice cover. The influence of major natural climate modes that modulate variations in sea ice, weather, and oceanographic conditions to drive changes in ecosystem structure and function (e.g., El Nio Southern Oscillation and Southern Annular Mode) are being studied at multiple time scales from diel, seasonal, interannual, to decadal intervals, and space scalesfrom hemispheric to global scale investigated by remote sensing, the regional scales. Specifically, the team is evaluating how variability of physical properties (such as vertical and alongshore connectivity processes) interact to modulate biogeochemical cycling and community ecology in the WAP region. The study is providing an evaluation of ecosystem resilience and ecological responses to long-term press-pulse drivers and a decadal-level reversal in sea ice coverage. This program is providing fundamental understanding of population and biogeochemical responses for a marine ecosystem experiencing profound change.", "east": -62.878, "geometry": "POINT(-71.26400000000001 -66.8895)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SEA ICE; PLANKTON; PELAGIC; West Antarctic Shelf; R/V NBP; OCEAN MIXED LAYER; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; PENGUINS; R/V LMG", "locations": "West Antarctic Shelf", "north": -63.738, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Schofield, Oscar; Steinberg, Deborah", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "EDI; R2R", "science_programs": "LTER", "south": -70.041, "title": "LTER: Ecological Response and Resilience to \u201cPress-Pulse\u201d Disturbances and a Recent Decadal Reversal in Sea Ice Trends Along the West Antarctic Peninsula", "uid": "p0010426", "west": -79.65}, {"awards": "2137375 Schmidt, Steven; 2137377 Bergstrom, Anna; 2137376 Porazinska, Dorota; 2137378 Varsani, Arvind", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Cryoconite holes are sediment-filled melt holes in the surface of glaciers that can be important sites of active microbial life in an otherwise mostly frozen and barren landscape. Previous studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica suggest that viral infections of microbes, and a general lack of fertilizers (i.e., nutrients), may be important factors shaping the development and functioning of microbial communities in cryoconite holes. The researchers propose an experimental approach to understand how nutrient limitation affects diversity (number of species) and overall abundance of microbes, and how the diversity and abundance of microbes in turn affects the diversity, abundance, and infection type of viruses that parasitize the microbes in cryoconite sediments. The researchers will use sediments previously collected from Antarctic glaciers that have varying concentrations of viruses and nutrients, to set up a nutrient-addition experiment to determine how nutrients affect microbial and viral population dynamics. The results will deepen our understanding of how microbial communities in general are shaped by nutrients and viruses and give new insights into the functioning of viruses in extremely cold environments. The researchers will publish their findings in scientific journals and will share their discoveries with K-12 students from rural schools in collaboration with the Pinhead Institute and will connect undergraduate students from under-represented minorities to polar research through participation in the universitys Science, Technology, Engineering \u0026 Mathematics Routes Uplift Research Program. Outreach will be achieved through videos produced and distributed by a professional science communicator. The research advances a National Science Foundation goal of expanding fundamental knowledge of Antarctic systems, biota, and processes by utilizing the unique characteristics of the Antarctic region as a science observing platform. \r\n\r\nThe Principal Investigators propose an experimental approach to understand how nutrient limitation affects microbial diversity and abundances and their cascading effects on virus diversity, abundance, and mode of infection (lysis vs. lysogeny) in Antarctic cryoconite holes. Cryoconite holes are ideal natural microcosms for manipulative studies, not available in other cryospheric ecosystems. The PIs will use previously collected cryoconite from across a gradient of both viral diversity and nutrient levels to address questions about key limiting nutrients and microbial-viral community dynamics in cryoconite sediments. Nutrient manipulation experiments will be conducted in a growth chamber that closely approximates the light and temperature regime of in situ cryoconite holes to test three core hypotheses: (1) phosphorus availability limits microbial productivity and abundance in cryoconite holes; (2) relaxing nutrient limitation in cryoconite from low-diversity glaciers will increase species diversity, leading microbial communities to resemble those found on more nutrient-rich glaciers; (3) relaxing nutrient limitation will increase the diversity and abundance of viruses by increasing the availability of suitable hosts, and decrease the prevalence of lysogenic infections. By manipulating nutrient limitation within a realistic range, this project will help verify hypothesized phosphorus limitation of Antarctic cryoconite holes and will extend understanding of the connections between nutrients, diversity, and viral infection dynamics in the cryosphere more generally. A better understanding of these dynamics in cryoconite sediments improves the ability of scientists to forecast future impacts of environmental changes in the cryosphere.\r\n\r\nThis award reflects NSF\u0027\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; Taylor Valley", "locations": "Taylor Valley", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Varsani, Arvind; Porazinska, Dorota; Schmidt, Steven; Bergstrom, Anna", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Role of Nutrient Limitation and Viral Interactions on Antarctic Microbial Community Assembly: A Cryoconite Microcosm Study", "uid": "p0010418", "west": null}, {"awards": "2011454 Veit, Richard; 2011285 Santora, Jarrod", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-39 -53,-38.6 -53,-38.2 -53,-37.8 -53,-37.4 -53,-37 -53,-36.6 -53,-36.2 -53,-35.8 -53,-35.4 -53,-35 -53,-35 -53.2,-35 -53.4,-35 -53.6,-35 -53.8,-35 -54,-35 -54.2,-35 -54.4,-35 -54.6,-35 -54.8,-35 -55,-35.4 -55,-35.8 -55,-36.2 -55,-36.6 -55,-37 -55,-37.4 -55,-37.8 -55,-38.2 -55,-38.6 -55,-39 -55,-39 -54.8,-39 -54.6,-39 -54.4,-39 -54.2,-39 -54,-39 -53.8,-39 -53.6,-39 -53.4,-39 -53.2,-39 -53))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 06 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part I: Non-technical description: \r\nOcean warming in the western Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea in winter is among the highest worldwide. This project will quantify the impact of the climate warming on seabirds. The study area is in South Georgia in the South Atlantic with the largest and most diverse seabird colonies in the world. Detecting and understanding how physics and biology interact to bring positive or negative population changes to seabirds has long challenged scientists. The team in this project hypothesizes that 1) Cold water seabird species decline while warm water species increase due to ocean warming observed in the last 30 years; 2) All species decrease with ocean warming, affecting how they interact with each other and in doing so, decreasing their chances of survival; and 3) Species profiles can be predicted using multiple environmental variables and models. To collect present-day data to compare with observations done in 1985, 1991 and 1993, 2 cruises are planned in the austral winter; the personnel will include the three Principal Investigators, all experienced with sampling of seabirds, plankton and oceanography, with 2 graduate and 5 undergraduate students. Models will be developed based on the cruise data and the environmental change experienced in the last 30 years. The research will improve our understanding of seabird and marine mammal winter ecology, and how they interact with the environment. This project benefits NSF\u0027s goals to expand the fundamental knowledge of Antarctic systems, biota, and processes. The project will provide an exceptional opportunity to teach polar field skills to undergraduates by bringing 5 students to engage in the research cruises. To further increase polar literacy training and educational impacts, broader impacts include the production of an educational documentary that will be coupled to field surveys to assess public perceptions about climate change. \r\n\r\nPart II: Technical description: \r\nOcean warming in the western Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea in winter is among the highest worldwide. Based on previous work, the Principal Investigators in this project want to test the hypothesis that warming would have decreased seabird abundance and species associations in the South Georgia region of the South Atlantic. A main premise of this proposal is that because of marine environmental change, the structure of the seabird communities has also changed, and potentially in a manner that has diminished the mutually beneficial dynamics of positive interactions, with subsequent consequences to fitness and population trends. The study is structured by 3 main objectives: 1) identify changes in krill, bird and mammal abundance that have occurred from previous sampling off both ends of South Georgia during winter in 1985, 1991 and 1993, 2) identify pairings of species that benefit each other in searching for prey, and quantify how such relationships have changed since 1985, and 3) make predictions about how these changes in species pairing might continue given predicted future changes in climate. The novelty of the approach is the conceptual model that inter-species associations inform birds of food availability and that the associations decrease if bird abundance decreases, thus warming could decrease overall population fitness. These studies will be essential to establish if behavioral patterns in seabird modulate their response to climate change. The project will provide exceptional educational opportunity to undergraduates by bringing 5 students to participate on the cruises. To further increase polar literacy training and educational impacts, broader impacts include the production of an educational documentary that will be coupled to field surveys to assess public perceptions about climate change.\r\n\r\nThis award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -35.0, "geometry": "POINT(-37 -54)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Local Enhancement; South Georgia Island; Mutualism; Climate Change; Positive Interactions; Seabirds; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; R/V NBP", "locations": "South Georgia Island", "north": -53.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Veit, Richard; Manne, Lisa; Santora, Jarrod", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -55.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Climate, Changing Abundance and Species Interactions of Marine Birds and Mammals at South Georgia in Winter", "uid": "p0010382", "west": -39.0}, {"awards": "1937595 Briggs, Brandon; 1937546 Morgan-Kiss, Rachael", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((162 -77.616667,162.1 -77.616667,162.2 -77.616667,162.3 -77.616667,162.4 -77.616667,162.5 -77.616667,162.6 -77.616667,162.7 -77.616667,162.8 -77.616667,162.9 -77.616667,163 -77.616667,163 -77.6283336,163 -77.6400002,163 -77.6516668,163 -77.6633334,163 -77.67500000000001,163 -77.68666660000001,163 -77.69833320000001,163 -77.7099998,163 -77.7216664,163 -77.733333,162.9 -77.733333,162.8 -77.733333,162.7 -77.733333,162.6 -77.733333,162.5 -77.733333,162.4 -77.733333,162.3 -77.733333,162.2 -77.733333,162.1 -77.733333,162 -77.733333,162 -77.7216664,162 -77.7099998,162 -77.69833320000001,162 -77.68666660000001,162 -77.67500000000001,162 -77.6633334,162 -77.6516668,162 -77.6400002,162 -77.6283336,162 -77.616667))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": " Microbial communities are of more than just a scientific curiosity. Microbes represent the single largest source of evolutionary and biochemical diversity on the planet. They are the major agents for cycling carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements through the ecosystem. Despite their importance in ecosystem function, microbes are still generally overlooked in food web models and nutrient cycles. Moreover, microbes do not live in isolation: their growth and metabolism are influenced by complex interactions with other microorganisms. This project will focus on the ecology, activity and roles of microbial communities in Antarctic Lake ecosystems. The team will characterize the genetic underpinnings of microbial interactions and the influence of environmental gradients (e.g. light, nutrients, oxygen, sulfur) and seasons (e.g. summer vs. winter) on microbial networks in Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney in the Taylor Valley within the McMurdo Dry Valley region. Finally, the project furthers the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists by including undergraduate and graduate students, a postdoctoral researcher and a middle school teacher in both lab and field research activities. This partnership will involve a number of other outreach training activities, including visits to classrooms and community events, participation in social media platforms, and webinars. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003ePart II: Technical description: Ecosystem function in the extreme Antarctic Dry Valleys ecosystem is dependent on complex biogeochemical interactions between physiochemical environmental factors (e.g. light, nutrients, oxygen, sulfur), time of year (e.g. summer vs. winter) and microbes. Microbial network complexity can vary in relation to specific abiotic factors, which has important implications on the fragility and resilience of ecosystems under threat of environmental change. This project will evaluate the influence of biogeochemical factors on microbial interactions and network complexity in two Antarctic ice-covered lakes. The study will be structured by three main objectives: 1) infer positive and negative interactions from rich spatial and temporal datasets and investigate the influence of biogeochemical gradients on microbial network complexity using a variety of molecular approaches; 2) directly observe interactions among microbial eukaryotes and their partners using flow cytometry, single-cell sorting and microscopy; and 3) develop metabolic models of specific interactions using metagenomics. Outcomes from amplicon sequencing, meta-omics, and single-cell genomic approaches will be integrated to map specific microbial network complexity and define the role of interactions and metabolic activity onto trends in limnological biogeochemistry in different seasons. These studies will be essential to determine the relationship between network complexity and future climate conditions. Undergraduate researchers will be recruited from both an REU program with a track record of attracting underrepresented minorities and two minority-serving institutions. To further increase polar literacy training and educational impacts, the field team will include a teacher as part of a collaboration with the successful NSF-funded PolarTREC program and participation in activities designed for public outreach.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 163.0, "geometry": "POINT(162.5 -77.67500000000001)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "MICROALGAE; AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; Antarctica; LAKE/POND; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -77.616667, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Morgan-Kiss, Rachael; Briggs, Brandon", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -77.733333, "title": "ANT LIA: Collaborative Research: Genetic Underpinnings of Microbial Interactions in Chemically Stratified Antarctic Lakes", "uid": "p0010355", "west": 162.0}, {"awards": "1744885 Moline, Mark", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-64.643 -64.703149,-64.5388975 -64.703149,-64.43479500000001 -64.703149,-64.3306925 -64.703149,-64.22659 -64.703149,-64.1224875 -64.703149,-64.018385 -64.703149,-63.9142825 -64.703149,-63.81018 -64.703149,-63.706077500000006 -64.703149,-63.601975 -64.703149,-63.601975 -64.7258003,-63.601975 -64.7484516,-63.601975 -64.77110289999999,-63.601975 -64.7937542,-63.601975 -64.8164055,-63.601975 -64.8390568,-63.601975 -64.86170809999999,-63.601975 -64.8843594,-63.601975 -64.9070107,-63.601975 -64.929662,-63.706077500000006 -64.929662,-63.81018 -64.929662,-63.9142825 -64.929662,-64.018385 -64.929662,-64.1224875 -64.929662,-64.22659 -64.929662,-64.3306925 -64.929662,-64.43479500000001 -64.929662,-64.5388975 -64.929662,-64.643 -64.929662,-64.643 -64.9070107,-64.643 -64.8843594,-64.643 -64.86170809999999,-64.643 -64.8390568,-64.643 -64.8164055,-64.643 -64.7937542,-64.643 -64.77110289999999,-64.643 -64.7484516,-64.643 -64.7258003,-64.643 -64.703149))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 18 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This research project will use specially designed autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to investigate interactions between Adelie and Gentoo penguins (the predators) and their primary food source, Antarctic krill (prey). While it has long been known that penguins feed on krill, details about how they search for food and target individual prey items is less well understood. Krill aggregate in large swarms, and the size or the depth of these swarms may influence the feeding behavior of penguins. Similarly, penguin feeding behaviors may differ based on characteristics of the environment, krill swarms, and the presence of other prey and predator species. This project will use specialized smart AUVs to simultaneously collect high-resolution observations of penguins, their prey, and environmental conditions. Data will shed light on strategies used by penguins prove foraging success during the critical summer chick-rearing period. This will improve predictions of how penguin populations may respond to changing environmental conditions in the rapidly warming Western Antarctic Peninsula region. Greater understanding of how individual behaviors shape food web structure can also inform conservation and management efforts in other marine ecosystems. This project has a robust public education and outreach plan linked with the Birch and Monterey Bay Aquariums.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003ePrevious studies have shown that sub-mesoscale variability (1-10 km) in Antarctic krill densities and structure impact the foraging behavior of air-breathing predators. However, there is little understanding of how krill aggregation characteristics are linked to abundance on fine spatial scales, how these patterns are influenced by the habitat, or how prey characteristics influences the foraging behavior of predators. These data gaps remain because it is extremely challenging to collect detailed data on predators and prey simultaneously at the scale of an individual krill patch and single foraging event. Building on previously successful efforts, this project will integrate echosounders into autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), so that oceanographic variables and multi-frequency acoustic scattering from both prey and penguins can be collected simultaneously. This will allow for quantification of the environment at the scale of individual foraging events made by penguins during the critical 50+ day chick-rearing period. Work will be centered near Palmer Station, where long-term studies have provided significant insight into predator and prey population trends. The new data to be collected by this project will test hypotheses about how penguin prey selection and foraging behaviors are influenced by physical and biological features of their ocean habitat at extremely fine scale. By addressing the dynamic relationship between individual penguins, their prey, and habitat at the scale of individual foraging events, this study will begin to reveal the important processes regulating resource availability and identify what makes this region a profitable foraging habitat and breeding location.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -63.601975, "geometry": "POINT(-64.1224875 -64.8164055)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COASTAL; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; Palmer Station; MICROALGAE; PENGUINS; ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES", "locations": "Palmer Station", "north": -64.703149, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Moline, Mark; Benoit-Bird, Kelly; Cimino, Megan", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -64.929662, "title": "Collaborative Research: Linking Predator Behavior and Resource Distributions: Penguin-directed Exploration of an Ecological Hotspot", "uid": "p0010347", "west": -64.643}, {"awards": "2037598 Alberto, Filipe; 2037670 Heine, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((162 -76,162.8 -76,163.6 -76,164.4 -76,165.2 -76,166 -76,166.8 -76,167.6 -76,168.4 -76,169.2 -76,170 -76,170 -76.3,170 -76.6,170 -76.9,170 -77.2,170 -77.5,170 -77.8,170 -78.1,170 -78.4,170 -78.7,170 -79,169.2 -79,168.4 -79,167.6 -79,166.8 -79,166 -79,165.2 -79,164.4 -79,163.6 -79,162.8 -79,162 -79,162 -78.7,162 -78.4,162 -78.1,162 -77.8,162 -77.5,162 -77.2,162 -76.9,162 -76.6,162 -76.3,162 -76))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 23 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Collaborative Research: Biogeography, population genetics, and ecology of two common species of fleshy red algae in McMurdo Sound\r\n\r\nClimate change is predicted to increase the period of fast ice-free conditions in polar habitats. As early colonizers, macroalgae may take advantage of increased light availability to outcompete invertebrates (e.g., sponges, bryozoans, tunicates, and polychaetes) for space in shallow subtidal hardbottom habitats. The project will compare patterns in vegetative and reproductive characteristics of two macroalgal species Phyllophora antarctica and Iridaea cordata collected from the 1980s to present-day. Populations will be collected from coastal and offshore sites in shallow (3\u20134 m) and greater (approx.12 m) depths at Cape Royds, Cape Evans, Little Razorback Islands, Turtle Rock, Arrival Heights, Granite Harbor, and Dellbridge Seamount. Genetic diversity of the two algal species will be measured and is expected to be relatively low due to limited dispersal in McMurdo Sound. No previous research has investigated the potential effects of climate, in particular reductions in annual sea ice cover and resulting increase in light intensity and duration, on macroalgal communities in McMurdo Sound. For the first time, photogrammetry will be used to collect community-level data on the newly discovered offshore Dellbridge Seamount and 3D visualization from the video footage will be shared with web-based interactive applications to engage and educate the public in subtidal polar ecology and the importance of Antarctic science to their lives.\r\n", "east": 170.0, "geometry": "POINT(166 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; McMurdo Sound; USAP-DC; Amd/Us; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; MACROALGAE (SEAWEEDS); USA/NSF", "locations": "McMurdo Sound", "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Heine, John; Goldberg, Nisse; Alberto, Filipe", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -79.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Biogeography, Population Genetics, and Ecology of two Common Species of Fleshy Red Algae in McMurdo Sound", "uid": "p0010322", "west": 162.0}, {"awards": "1644155 Twining, Benjamin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((78 -68.4,78.05 -68.4,78.1 -68.4,78.15 -68.4,78.2 -68.4,78.25 -68.4,78.3 -68.4,78.35 -68.4,78.4 -68.4,78.45 -68.4,78.5 -68.4,78.5 -68.419,78.5 -68.438,78.5 -68.457,78.5 -68.476,78.5 -68.495,78.5 -68.514,78.5 -68.533,78.5 -68.552,78.5 -68.571,78.5 -68.59,78.45 -68.59,78.4 -68.59,78.35 -68.59,78.3 -68.59,78.25 -68.59,78.2 -68.59,78.15 -68.59,78.1 -68.59,78.05 -68.59,78 -68.59,78 -68.571,78 -68.552,78 -68.533,78 -68.514,78 -68.495,78 -68.476,78 -68.457,78 -68.438,78 -68.419,78 -68.4))", "dataset_titles": "Flow cytometry enumeration of virus-like and bacteria-like abundance in Ace, Deep, \u0026 Organic lakes (Antarctica)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601626", "doi": "10.15784/601626", "keywords": "Ace Lake; Antarctica; Deep Lake; Organic Lake; Vestfold Hills", "people": "Martinez-Martinez, Joaquin; Twining, Benjamin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Flow cytometry enumeration of virus-like and bacteria-like abundance in Ace, Deep, \u0026 Organic lakes (Antarctica)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601626"}], "date_created": "Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Viruses are prevalent in aquatic environments where they reach up to five hundred million virus particles in a teaspoon of water. Ongoing discovery of viruses seems to confirm current understanding that all forms of life can host and be infected by viruses and that viruses are one of the largest reservoirs of unexplored genetic diversity on Earth. This study aims to better understand interactions between specific viruses and phytoplankton hosts and determine how these viruses may affect different algal groups present within lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. These lakes (Ace, Organic and Deep)were originally derived from the ocean and contain a broad range of saline conditions with a similarly broad range of physicochemical characteristics resulting from isolation and low external influence for thousands of years. These natural laboratories allow examination of microbial processes and interactions that would be difficult to characterize elsewhere on earth. The project will generate extensive genomic information that will be made freely available. The project will also leverage the study of viruses and the genomic approaches employed to advance the training of undergraduate students and to engage and foster an understanding of Antarctic science and studies of microbes during a structured informal education program in Maine for the benefit of high school students.\r\n\r\nBy establishing the dynamics and interactions of (primarily) specific dsDNA virus groups in different habitats with different redox conditions throughout seasonal and inter annual cycles the project will learn about the biotic and abiotic factors that influence microbial community dynamics. This project does not require fieldwork in Antarctica. Instead, the investigators will leverage already collected and archived samples from three lakes that have concurrent measures of physicochemical information. Approximately 2 terabyte of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) (including metagenomes, SSU rRNA amplicons and single virus genomes) will be generated from selected available samples through a Community Science Program (CSP) funded by the Joint Genome Institute. The investigators will employ bioinformatics to interrogate those sequence databases. In particular, they will focus on investigating the presence, phylogeny and co-occurrence of polintons, polinton-like viruses, virophages and large dsDNA phytoplankton viruses as well as of their putative eukaryotic microbial hosts. Bioinformatic analyses will be complemented with quantitative digital PCR and microbial association network analysis to detect specific virus-host interactions from co-occurrence spatial and temporal patterns. Multivariate analysis and network analyses will also be performed to investigate which abiotic factors most closely correlate with phytoplankton and virus abundances, temporal dynamics, and observed virus-phytoplankton associations within the three lakes. The results of this project will improve understanding of phytoplankton and their viruses as vital components of the carbon cycle in Antarctic, marine-derived aquatic environments, and likely in any other aquatic environment. Overall, this work will advance understanding of the genetic underpinnings of adaptations in unique Antarctic environments.", "east": 78.5, "geometry": "POINT(78.25 -68.495)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; AMD; USAP-DC; VIRUSES; Vestfold Hills; Amd/Us; FIELD SURVEYS; USA/NSF", "locations": "Vestfold Hills", "north": -68.4, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Twining, Benjamin; Martinez-Martinez, Joaquin", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -68.59, "title": "Viral control of microbial communities in Antarctic lakes", "uid": "p0010237", "west": 78.0}, {"awards": "1744794 Jenouvrier, Stephanie; 1744989 LaRue, Michelle", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Detecting climate signals in populations: case of emperor penguin; Emperor penguin population trends (2009-2018); Landfast ice: a major driver of reproductive success in a polar seabird", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601513", "doi": "10.15784/601513", "keywords": "Antarctica; Breeding Success; Emperor Penguin; Fast Sea Ice", "people": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie; Labrousse, Sara", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Landfast ice: a major driver of reproductive success in a polar seabird", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601513"}, {"dataset_uid": "601491", "doi": "10.15784/601491", "keywords": "Antarctica", "people": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Detecting climate signals in populations: case of emperor penguin", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601491"}, {"dataset_uid": "200388", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Github", "science_program": null, "title": "Emperor penguin population trends (2009-2018)", "url": "https://github.com/davidiles/EMPE_Global"}], "date_created": "Wed, 14 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project on emperor penguin populations will quantify penguin presence/absence, and colony size and trajectory, across the entire Antarctic continent using high-resolution satellite imagery. For a subset of the colonies, population estimates derived from high-resolution satellite images will be compared with those determined by aerial surveys - these results have been uploaded to MAPPPD (penguinmap.com) and are freely available for use. This validated information will be used to determine population estimates for all emperor penguin colonies through iterations of supervised classification and maximum likelihood calculations on the high-resolution imagery. The effect of spatial, geophysical, and environmental variables on population size and decadal-scale trends will be assessed using generalized linear models. This research will result in a first ever empirical result for emperor penguin population trends and habitat suitability, and will leverage currently-funded NSF infrastructure and hosting sites to publish results in near-real time to the public.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USA/NSF; Ross Sea; USAP-DC; AMD; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; Amd/Us", "locations": "Ross Sea", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "LaRue, Michelle; Ito, Emi; Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Github; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "A Multi-scale Approach to Understanding Spatial and Population Variability in Emperor Penguins", "uid": "p0010229", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1846837 Bowman, Jeff", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The coastal Antarctic is undergoing great environmental change. Physical changes in the environment, such as altered sea ice duration and extent, have a direct impact on the phytoplankton and bacteria species which form the base of the marine foodweb. Photosynthetic phytoplankton are the ocean\u0027s primary producers, transforming (fixing) CO2 into organic carbon molecules and providing a source of food for zooplankton and larger predators. When phytoplankton are consumed by zooplankton, or killed by viral attack, they release large amounts of organic carbon and nutrients into the environment. Heterotrophic bacteria must eat other things, and function as \"master recyclers\", consuming these materials and converting them to bacterial biomass which can feed larger organisms such as protists. Some protists are heterotrophs, but others are mixotrophs, able to grow by photosynthesis or heterotrophy. Previous work suggests that by killing and eating bacteria, protists and viruses may regulate bacterial populations, but how these processes are regulated in Antarctic waters is poorly understood. This project will use experiments to determine the rate at which Antarctic protists consume bacteria, and field studies to identify the major bacterial taxa involved in carbon uptake and recycling. In addition, this project will use new sequencing technology to obtain completed genomes for many Antarctic marine bacteria. To place this work in an ecosystem context this project will use microbial diversity data to inform rates associated with key microbial processes within the PALMER ecosystem model.\r\n\r\nThis project addresses critical unknowns regarding the ecological role of heterotrophic marine bacteria in the coastal Antarctic and the top-down controls on bacterial populations. Previous work suggests that at certain times of the year grazing by heterotrophic and mixotrophic protists may meet or exceed bacterial production rates. Similarly, in more temperate waters bacteriophages (viruses) are thought to contribute significantly to bacterial mortality during the spring and summer. These different top-down controls have implications for carbon flow through the marine foodweb, because protists are grazed more efficiently by higher trophic levels than are bacteria. This project uses a combination of grazing experiments and field observations to assess the temporal dynamics of mortality due to temperate bacteriophage and protists. Although many heterotrophic bacterial strains observed in the coastal Antarctic are taxonomically similar to strains from other regions, recent work suggest that they are phylogenetically and genetically distinct. To better understand the ecological function and evolutionary trajectories of key Antarctic marine bacteria, their genomes will be isolated and sequenced. Then, these genomes will be used to improve the predictions of the paprica metabolic inference pipeline, and our understanding of the relationship between heterotrophic bacteria and their major predators in the Antarctic marine environment. Finally, the research team will modify the Regional Test-Bed Model model to enable microbial diversity data to be used to optimize the starting conditions of key parameters, and to constrain the model\u0027s data assimilation methods.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Magmatic Volatiles; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; VIRUSES; USA/NSF; Palmer Station; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; LABORATORY; Amd/Us; PROTISTS; AMD; USAP-DC", "locations": "Palmer Station", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bowman, Jeff; Connors, Elizabeth", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "CAREER: Understanding microbial heterotrophic processes in coastal Antarctic waters", "uid": "p0010201", "west": null}, {"awards": "1620976 Johnson, Sarah", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((160 -77,160.3 -77,160.6 -77,160.9 -77,161.2 -77,161.5 -77,161.8 -77,162.1 -77,162.4 -77,162.7 -77,163 -77,163 -77.1,163 -77.2,163 -77.3,163 -77.4,163 -77.5,163 -77.6,163 -77.7,163 -77.8,163 -77.9,163 -78,162.7 -78,162.4 -78,162.1 -78,161.8 -78,161.5 -78,161.2 -78,160.9 -78,160.6 -78,160.3 -78,160 -78,160 -77.9,160 -77.8,160 -77.7,160 -77.6,160 -77.5,160 -77.4,160 -77.3,160 -77.2,160 -77.1,160 -77))", "dataset_titles": "GenBank Sequence Read Archive with accession numbers SRR8217969 - SRR8217976 and project accession PRJNA506221", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200164", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "GenBank Sequence Read Archive with accession numbers SRR8217969 - SRR8217976 and project accession PRJNA506221", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA506221/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Despite recent advances, we still know little about how life and its traces persist in extremely harsh conditions. What survival strategies do cells employ when pushed to their limit? Using a new technique, this project will investigate whether Antarctic paleolakes harbor \"microbial seed banks,\" or caches of viable microbes adapted to past paleoenvironments that could help transform our understanding of how cells survive over ancient timescales. Findings from this investigation could also illuminate novel DNA repair pathways with possible biomedical and biotechnology applications and help to refine life detection strategies for Mars. The project will bring Antarctic research to Georgetown University\u0027\u0027s campus for the first time, providing training opportunities in cutting edge analytical techniques for multiple students and a postdoctoral fellow. The field site will be the McMurdo Dry Valleys, which provide an unrivaled opportunity to investigate fundamental questions about the persistence of microbial life. Multiple lines of evidence, from interbedded and overlying ashfall deposits to parameterized models, suggest that the large-scale landforms there have remained essentially fixed as far back as the middle of the Miocene Epoch (i.e., ~8 million years ago). This geologic stability, coupled with geographic isolation and a steady polar climate, mean that biological activity has probably undergone few qualitative changes over the last one to two million years. The team will sample paleolake facies using sterile techniques from multiple Dry Valleys sites and extract DNA from entombed organic material. Genetic material will then be sequenced using Pacific Biosciences\u0027\u0027 Single Molecule, Real-Time DNA sequencing technology, which sequences native DNA as opposed to amplified DNA, thereby eliminating PCR primer bias, and enables read lengths that have never before been possible. The data will be analyzed with a range of bioinformatic techniques, with results that stand to impact our understanding of cell biology, Antarctic paleobiology, microbiology and biogeography, biotechnology, and planetary science.", "east": 163.0, "geometry": "POINT(161.5 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; CYANOBACTERIA (BLUE-GREEN ALGAE); LABORATORY; Dry Valleys", "locations": "Dry Valleys", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Johnson, Sarah", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "NCBI GenBank", "repositories": "NCBI GenBank", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "EAGER: Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing of Antarctic Paleolakes", "uid": "p0010125", "west": 160.0}, {"awards": "1543450 Countway, Peter", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-66 -63,-65.7 -63,-65.4 -63,-65.1 -63,-64.8 -63,-64.5 -63,-64.2 -63,-63.9 -63,-63.6 -63,-63.3 -63,-63 -63,-63 -63.3,-63 -63.6,-63 -63.9,-63 -64.2,-63 -64.5,-63 -64.8,-63 -65.1,-63 -65.4,-63 -65.7,-63 -66,-63.3 -66,-63.6 -66,-63.9 -66,-64.2 -66,-64.5 -66,-64.8 -66,-65.1 -66,-65.4 -66,-65.7 -66,-66 -66,-66 -65.7,-66 -65.4,-66 -65.1,-66 -64.8,-66 -64.5,-66 -64.2,-66 -63.9,-66 -63.6,-66 -63.3,-66 -63))", "dataset_titles": "Biogenic Sulfur Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments; Dissolved Inorganic Nutrient Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments ; Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Total Dissolved Nitrogen (TDN) Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments; Flow Cytometry Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments; Heterotrophic Bacterial Production Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments; Western Antarctic Peninsula plankton raw sequence reads", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601646", "doi": "10.15784/601646", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon; Dissolved Organic Carbon; Nitrogen; Palmer Station; TDN; Total Dissolved Nitrogen", "people": "Matrai, Patricia; Countway, Peter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Total Dissolved Nitrogen (TDN) Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601646"}, {"dataset_uid": "200337", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Western Antarctic Peninsula plankton raw sequence reads", "url": "https://dataview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/object/PRJNA870587?reviewer=bmud2tbbrqbus79i2n2hb83uio"}, {"dataset_uid": "601647", "doi": "10.15784/601647", "keywords": "Antarctica; Palmer Station; Phytoplankton", "people": "Countway, Peter; Matrai, Patricia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Flow Cytometry Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601647"}, {"dataset_uid": "601645", "doi": "10.15784/601645", "keywords": "Antarctica; Nitrate; Nitrite; Palmer Station; Phosphate", "people": "Matrai, Patricia; Countway, Peter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Dissolved Inorganic Nutrient Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601645"}, {"dataset_uid": "601644", "doi": "10.15784/601644", "keywords": "3H-Leu; Antarctica; Bacteria; Biota; DMSP; Heterotrophic Bacterial Production; Palmer Station", "people": "Matrai, Patricia; Countway, Peter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Heterotrophic Bacterial Production Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601644"}, {"dataset_uid": "601648", "doi": "10.15784/601648", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Dimethyl Sulfide; Dimethylsulfoniopropionate; Dimethylsulfoxide; DMSP; DMSP Lyase; Palmer Station", "people": "Countway, Peter; Matrai, Patricia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Biogenic Sulfur Samples from Station E (Palmer Station, Antarctica) and Associated Incubation Experiments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601648"}], "date_created": "Sat, 01 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Southern Ocean in the vicinity of Antarctica is a region characterized by seasonally-driven marine phytoplankton blooms that are often dominated by microalgal species which produce large amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). DMSP can be converted to the compound dimethylsulfide (DMS) which is a molecule that can escape into the atmosphere where it is known to have strong condensation properties that are involved in regional cloud formation. Production of DMSP can influence the diversity and composition of microbial assemblages in seawater and the types and activities of microbes in the seawater will likely affect the magnitude of DMSP\\DMS production. The project examined the role of DMSP in structuring the microbial communities in Antarctic waters and how this structuring may influence DMSP cycling. The project interacted with elementary students in Maine and brought undergraduate students to Bigelow Laboratory. The project also engaged with a science writer and illustrator who joined the team in Palmer Station in 2018. Many posts are available at xxx\r\n\r\nThe project is examining (1) the extent to which the cycling of DMSP in southern ocean waters influenced the composition and diversity of bacterial and protistan assemblages; (2) conversely, whether the composition and diversity of southern ocean protistan and bacterial assemblages influenced the magnitude and rates of DMSP cycling; we are awaiting results on (3) the expression of DMSP degradation genes by marine bacteria seasonally and in response to field experimental additions of DMSP; and, this year (2020-21), we will synthesize these results by quantifying (4) the microbial networks resulting from the presence of DMSP-producers and DMSP-consumers along with their predators, all involved in the cycling of DMSP in southern ocean waters. The work was accomplished by conducting continuous growth experiments with DMSP-amended natural samples of different microbial communities present in summer (2016-17) and fall (2018) at Palmer Station, WAP. Data from the molecular (such as 16S/ 18S tag sequences, DMSP-cycle gene transcripts) and biogeochemical (such as biogenic sulfur cycling, bacterial production, microbial biomass) investigations will be integrated via network analysis in the coming year (2020-21). ", "east": -63.0, "geometry": "POINT(-64.5 -64.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; AMD; PLANKTON; Amd/Us; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES; Palmer Station; USA/NSF", "locations": "Palmer Station", "north": -63.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Countway, Peter", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "GenBank; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -66.0, "title": "Microbial Community Structure and Expression of Functional Genes Involved in the Seasonal Cycling of DMSP in the Southern Ocean", "uid": "p0010120", "west": -66.0}, {"awards": "1643684 Saito, Mak; 1644073 DiTullio, Giacomo", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -72,-173.6 -72,-167.2 -72,-160.8 -72,-154.4 -72,-148 -72,-141.6 -72,-135.2 -72,-128.8 -72,-122.4 -72,-116 -72,-116 -72.7,-116 -73.4,-116 -74.1,-116 -74.8,-116 -75.5,-116 -76.2,-116 -76.9,-116 -77.6,-116 -78.3,-116 -79,-122.4 -79,-128.8 -79,-135.2 -79,-141.6 -79,-148 -79,-154.4 -79,-160.8 -79,-167.2 -79,-173.6 -79,180 -79,178 -79,176 -79,174 -79,172 -79,170 -79,168 -79,166 -79,164 -79,162 -79,160 -79,160 -78.3,160 -77.6,160 -76.9,160 -76.2,160 -75.5,160 -74.8,160 -74.1,160 -73.4,160 -72.7,160 -72,162 -72,164 -72,166 -72,168 -72,170 -72,172 -72,174 -72,176 -72,178 -72,-180 -72))", "dataset_titles": "Algal pigment concentrations from the Ross Sea; Biogenic silica concentrations from the Ross Sea; NBP1801 Expedition data; Nutrients from NBP18-01 CICLOPS", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200056", "doi": "10.7284/907753", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1801 Expedition data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1801"}, {"dataset_uid": "601205", "doi": "10.15784/601205", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Chlorophyll; Chromatography; Liquid Chromatograph; Oceans; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sea Water; Seawater Measurements; Southern Ocean; Water Measurements; Water Samples", "people": "Ditullio, Giacomo", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Algal pigment concentrations from the Ross Sea", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601205"}, {"dataset_uid": "601428", "doi": "10.15784/601428", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; NBP1801; Nitrate; Nitrite; Nutrients; Phosphate; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Silicic Acid; Terra Nova Bay", "people": "Saito, Mak", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Nutrients from NBP18-01 CICLOPS", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601428"}, {"dataset_uid": "601225", "doi": "10.15784/601225", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biogenic Silica; Biogenic Silica Concentrations; Chemistry:Water; Geochemistry; NBP1801; Oceans; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sea Water; Southern Ocean; Spectroscopy; Water Measurements; Water Samples", "people": "Ditullio, Giacomo; Schanke, Nicole", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Biogenic silica concentrations from the Ross Sea", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601225"}], "date_created": "Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Phytoplankton blooms in the coastal waters of the Ross Sea, Antarctica are typically dominated by either diatoms or Phaeocystis Antarctica (a flagellated algae that often can form large colonies in a gelatinous matrix). The project seeks to determine if an association of bacterial populations with Phaeocystis antarctica colonies can directly supply Phaeocystis with Vitamin B12, which can be an important co-limiting micronutrient in the Ross Sea. The supply of an essential vitamin coupled with the ability to grow at lower iron concentrations may put Phaeocystis at a competitive advantage over diatoms. Because Phaeocystis cells can fix more carbon than diatoms and Phaeocystis are not grazed as efficiently as diatoms, the project will help in refining understanding of carbon dynamics in the region as well as the basis of the food web webs. Such understanding also has the potential to help refine predictive ecological models for the region. The project will conduct public outreach activities and will contribute to undergraduate and graduate research. Engagement of underrepresented students will occur during summer student internships. A collaboration with Italian Antarctic researchers, who have been studying the Terra Nova Bay ecosystem since the 1980s, aims to enhance the project and promote international scientific collaborations. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe study will test whether a mutualistic symbioses between attached bacteria and Phaeocystis provides colonial cells a mechanism for alleviating chronic Vitamin B12 co-limitation effects thereby conferring them with a competitive advantage over diatom communities. The use of drifters in a time series study will provide the opportunity to track in both space and time a developing algal bloom in Terra Nova Bay and to determine community structure and the physiological nutrient status of microbial populations. A combination of flow cytometry, proteomics, metatranscriptomics, radioisotopic and stable isotopic labeling experiments will determine carbon and nutrient uptake rates and the role of bacteria in mitigating potential vitamin B12 and iron limitation. Membrane inlet and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry will also be used to estimate net community production and release of volatile organic carbon compounds that are climatically active. Understanding how environmental parameters can influence microbial community dynamics in Antarctic coastal waters will advance an understanding of how changes in ocean stratification and chemistry could impact the biogeochemistry and food web dynamics of Southern Ocean ecosystems.", "east": 160.0, "geometry": "POINT(-158 -75.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES; NBP1801; Amd/Us; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; NUTRIENTS; PIGMENTS; CHLOROPHYLL; R/V NBP; Ross Sea; AMD", "locations": "Ross Sea", "north": -72.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "DiTullio, Giacomo; Lee, Peter", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -79.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Cobalamin and Iron Co-Limitation Of Phytoplankton Species in Terra Nova Bay", "uid": "p0010045", "west": -116.0}, {"awards": "1543311 LaRue, Michelle; 1543230 Ainley, David; 1543003 Stammerjohn, Sharon; 1542791 Salas, Leonardo", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -64,-144 -64,-108 -64,-72 -64,-36 -64,0 -64,36 -64,72 -64,108 -64,144 -64,180 -64,180 -65.4,180 -66.8,180 -68.2,180 -69.6,180 -71,180 -72.4,180 -73.8,180 -75.2,180 -76.6,180 -78,144 -78,108 -78,72 -78,36 -78,0 -78,-36 -78,-72 -78,-108 -78,-144 -78,-180 -78,-180 -76.6,-180 -75.2,-180 -73.8,-180 -72.4,-180 -71,-180 -69.6,-180 -68.2,-180 -66.8,-180 -65.4,-180 -64))", "dataset_titles": "ContinentalWESEestimates; Counting seals from space tutorial; Fast Ice Tool; Weddell seals habitat suitability model for the Ross Sea", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200046", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "Weddell seals habitat suitability model for the Ross Sea", "url": "https://github.com/leosalas/WeddellSeal_SOS"}, {"dataset_uid": "200045", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "Fast Ice Tool", "url": "https://github.com/leosalas/FastIceCovars"}, {"dataset_uid": "200234", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "ContinentalWESEestimates", "url": "https://github.com/leosalas/ContinentalWESEestimates"}, {"dataset_uid": "200047", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Publication", "science_program": null, "title": "Counting seals from space tutorial", "url": "https://www.int-res.com/articles/suppl/m612p193_supp.pdf"}], "date_created": "Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Weddell seal is the southern-most mammal in the world, having a circumpolar distribution around Antarctica; the McMurdo Sound population in Antarctica is one of the best-studied mammal populations on earth. However, despite this, an understanding of how populations around the continent will fare under climate change is poorly understood. A complicating matter is the potential effects of a commercial enterprise in the Antarctic: a fishery targeting toothfish, which are important prey for Weddell seals. Although the species is easily detected and counted during the breeding season, no reliable estimates of continent-wide Weddell seal numbers exist, due to the logistic difficulties of surveying vast regions of Antarctica. Large-scale estimates are needed to understand how seal populations are responding to the fishery and climate change, because these drivers of change operate at scales larger than any single population, and may affect seals differently in different regions of the continent. We will take advantage of the ease of detectability of darkly colored seals when they the on ice to develop estimates of abundance from satellite images. This project will generate baseline data on the global distribution and abundance of Weddell seals around the Antarctic and will link environmental variables to population changes to better understand how the species will fare as their sea ice habitat continues to change. These results will help disentangle the effects of climate change and fishery operations, results that are necessary for appropriate international policy regarding fishery catch limits, impacts on the environment, and the value of marine protected areas. The project will also further the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists and of making scientific discoveries available to the general public. It will engage \"arm-chair\" scientists of all ages through connections with several non-governmental organizations and the general public. Anyone with access to the internet, including people who are physically unable to participate in field research directly, can participate in this project while simultaneously learning about multiple aspects of polar ecology through the project\u0027s interactive website. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eSpecifically, this research project will: 1) Quantify the distribution of Weddell seals around Antarctica and 2) Determine the impact of environmental variables (such as fast ice extent, ocean productivity, bathymetry) on habitat suitability and occupancy. To do this, the project will crowd-source counting of seals on high-resolution satellite images via a commercial citizen science platform. Variation in seal around the continent will then be related to habitat variables through generalized linear models. Specific variables, such as fast ice extent will be tested to determine their influence on population variability through both space and time. The project includes a rigorous plan for ensuring quality control in the dataset including ground truth data from other, localized projects concurrently funded by the National Science Foundation\u0027s Antarctic Science Program.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COASTAL; Southern Ocean; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; MAMMALS; SEA ICE; NOT APPLICABLE; Antarctica; PENGUINS; USAP-DC", "locations": "Antarctica; Southern Ocean", "north": -64.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "LaRue, Michelle; Stamatiou, Kostas", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "GitHub", "repositories": "GitHub; Publication", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Determining Factors Affecting Distribution and Population Variability of the Ice-obligate Weddell Seal", "uid": "p0010041", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1443733 Winsor, Peter; 1443680 Smith, Craig; 1443705 Vernet, Maria", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-66 -64,-65.6 -64,-65.2 -64,-64.8 -64,-64.4 -64,-64 -64,-63.6 -64,-63.2 -64,-62.8 -64,-62.4 -64,-62 -64,-62 -64.1,-62 -64.2,-62 -64.3,-62 -64.4,-62 -64.5,-62 -64.6,-62 -64.7,-62 -64.8,-62 -64.9,-62 -65,-62.4 -65,-62.8 -65,-63.2 -65,-63.6 -65,-64 -65,-64.4 -65,-64.8 -65,-65.2 -65,-65.6 -65,-66 -65,-66 -64.9,-66 -64.8,-66 -64.7,-66 -64.6,-66 -64.5,-66 -64.4,-66 -64.3,-66 -64.2,-66 -64.1,-66 -64))", "dataset_titles": "Andvord Bay Glacier Timelapse; Andvord Bay sediment core data collected during the FjordEco project (LMG1510 and NBP1603); Expedition Data; Expedition data of LMG1702; FjordEco Phytoplankton Ecology Dataset in Andvord Bay ; Fjord-Eco Sediment OrgC OrgN Data - Craig Smith; LMG1510 Expedition data; NBP1603 Expedition data; Sediment macrofaunal abundance and family richness from inner Andvord Bay to the open continental shelf", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200040", "doi": "10.7284/907085", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "LMG1510 Expedition data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1510"}, {"dataset_uid": "200039", "doi": "10.7284/907205", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1603 Expedition data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1603"}, {"dataset_uid": "601111", "doi": "10.15784/601111", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Iceberg; Photo; Photo/video; Photo/Video", "people": "Truffer, Martin; Winsor, Peter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "FjordEco", "title": "Andvord Bay Glacier Timelapse", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601111"}, {"dataset_uid": "601236", "doi": "10.15784/601236", "keywords": "Abundance; Andvord Bay; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Fjord; LMG1510; Marine Sediments; Oceans; Polychaete; Polychaete Family Richness; R/v Laurence M. Gould; Sediment Core Data; Sediment Macrofauna", "people": "Smith, Craig", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "FjordEco", "title": "Sediment macrofaunal abundance and family richness from inner Andvord Bay to the open continental shelf", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601236"}, {"dataset_uid": "002733", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of LMG1702", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}, {"dataset_uid": "001366", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}, {"dataset_uid": "000402", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}, {"dataset_uid": "601193", "doi": "10.15784/601193", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geochronology; Grain Size; LMG1510; NBP1603; Sediment; Sediment Core Data", "people": "Homolka, Khadijah; Smith, Craig; Eidam, Emily; Nittrouer, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Andvord Bay sediment core data collected during the FjordEco project (LMG1510 and NBP1603)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601193"}, {"dataset_uid": "601158", "doi": "10.15784/601158", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Ecology; Fjord; Phytoplankton", "people": "Vernet, Maria; Forsch, Kiefer; Manck, Lauren; Pan, B. Jack", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "FjordEco", "title": "FjordEco Phytoplankton Ecology Dataset in Andvord Bay ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601158"}, {"dataset_uid": "601157", "doi": "10.15784/601157", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Smith, Craig", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "FjordEco", "title": "Fjord-Eco Sediment OrgC OrgN Data - Craig Smith", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601157"}], "date_created": "Wed, 13 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Marine communities along the western Antarctic Peninsula are highly productive ecosystems which support a diverse assemblage of charismatic animals such as penguins, seals, and whales as well as commercial fisheries such as that on Antarctic krill. Fjords (long, narrow, deep inlets of the sea between high cliffs) along the central coast of the Peninsula appear to be intense, potentially climate sensitive, hotspots of biological production and biodiversity, yet the structure and dynamics of these fjord ecosystems are very poorly understood. Because of this intense biological activity and the charismatic fauna it supports, these fjords are also major destinations for a large Antarctic tourism industry. This project is an integrated field and modeling program to evaluate physical oceanographic processes, glacial inputs, water column community dynamics, and seafloor bottom community structure and function in these important yet little understood fjord systems. These Antarctic fjords have characteristics that are substantially different from well-studied Arctic fjords, likely yielding much different responses to climate warming. This project will provide major new insights into the dynamics and climate sensitivity of Antarctic fjord ecosystems, highlighting contrasts with Arctic sub-polar fjords, and potentially transforming our understanding of the ecological role of fjords in the rapidly warming west Antarctic coastal marine landscape. The project will also further the NSF goal of training new generations of scientists, providing scientific training for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. This includes the unique educational opportunity for undergraduates to participate in research cruises in Antarctica and the development of a novel summer graduate course on fjord ecosystems. Internet based outreach activities will be enhanced and extended by the participation of a professional photographer who will produce magazine articles, websites, radio broadcasts, and other forms of public outreach on the fascinating Antarctic ecosystem. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis project will involve a 15-month field program to test mechanistic hypotheses concerning oceanographic and glaciological forcing, and phytoplankton and benthic community response in the Antarctic fjords. Those efforts will be followed by a coupled physical/biological modeling effort to evaluate the drivers of biogeochemical cycles in the fjords and to explore their potential sensitivity to enhanced meltwater and sediment inputs. Fieldwork over two oceanographic cruises will utilize moorings, weather stations, and glacial, sea-ice and seafloor time-lapse cameras to obtain an integrated view of fjord ecosystem processes. The field team will also make multiple shipboard measurements and will use towed and autonomous underwater vehicles to intensively evaluate fjord ecosystem structure and function during spring/summer and autumn seasons. These integrated field and modeling studies are expected to elucidate fundamental properties of water column and sea bottom ecosystem structure and function in the fjords, and to identify key physical-chemical-glaciological forcing in these rapidly warming ecosystems.", "east": -62.0, "geometry": "POINT(-64 -64.5)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ECHO SOUNDERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e THERMOSALINOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "OCEAN CURRENTS; Bellingshausen Sea; LMG1702; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; FJORDS; R/V LMG; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; USAP-DC; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES; SEDIMENTATION; NOT APPLICABLE; BENTHIC", "locations": "Bellingshausen Sea", "north": -64.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Winsor, Peter; Truffer, Martin; Smith, Craig; Powell, Brian; Merrifield, Mark; Vernet, Maria; Kohut, Josh", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "FjordEco", "south": -65.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Fjord Ecosystem Structure and Function on the West Antarctic Peninsula - Hotspots of Productivity and Biodiversity? (FjordEco)", "uid": "p0010010", "west": -66.0}, {"awards": "1041022 McClintock, James", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-79 -60,-76.4 -60,-73.8 -60,-71.2 -60,-68.6 -60,-66 -60,-63.4 -60,-60.8 -60,-58.2 -60,-55.6 -60,-53 -60,-53 -61,-53 -62,-53 -63,-53 -64,-53 -65,-53 -66,-53 -67,-53 -68,-53 -69,-53 -70,-55.6 -70,-58.2 -70,-60.8 -70,-63.4 -70,-66 -70,-68.6 -70,-71.2 -70,-73.8 -70,-76.4 -70,-79 -70,-79 -69,-79 -68,-79 -67,-79 -66,-79 -65,-79 -64,-79 -63,-79 -62,-79 -61,-79 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Data from Schram et al. 2017 MEPS; Response time data for snails escaping from predatory sea stars; The effects of ocean acidification and rising sea surface temperatures on shallow-water benthic organisms in Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601162", "doi": "10.15784/601162", "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthos; Biota; Oceans; Snail; Southern Ocean; Visual Observations", "people": "Schram, Julie; Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Response time data for snails escaping from predatory sea stars", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601162"}, {"dataset_uid": "600122", "doi": "10.15784/600122", "keywords": "Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Amsler, Charles; McClintock, James; Angus, Robert", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The effects of ocean acidification and rising sea surface temperatures on shallow-water benthic organisms in Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600122"}, {"dataset_uid": "601062", "doi": "10.15784/601062", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Southern Ocean", "people": "Schram, Julie; Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from Schram et al. 2017 MEPS", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601062"}], "date_created": "Fri, 22 May 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The research will investigate the individual and combined effects of rising ocean acidification and sea surface temperatures on shallow-water calcified benthic organisms in western Antarctic Peninsular (WAP) marine communities. The Southern Ocean is predicted to become undersaturated in terms of both aragonite and calcite within 50 and 100 years, respectively, challenging calcification processes. Adding to the problem, antarctic calcified benthic marine organisms are more vulnerable to ocean acidification than temperate and tropical species because they are generally weakly calcified. Many antarctic organisms are essentially stenothermal, and those in the West Antarctic Peninsula are being subjected to rising seawater temperatures. The project employs both single-species and multi-species level approaches to evaluating the impacts of rising ocean acidification and seawater temperature on representative calcified and non-calcified macroalgae, on calcified and non-calcified mesograzers, and on a calcified macro-grazer, all of which are important ecological players in the rich benthic communities. Multi-species analysis will focus on the diverse assemblage of amphipods and mesogastropods that are associated with dominant macroalgae that collectively play a key role in community dynamics along the WAP. The project will support undergraduate research, both through NSF programs, as well as home university-based programs, some designed to enhance the representation of minorities in the sciences. The principal investigators also will support and foster graduate education through mentoring of graduate students. Through their highly successful UAB IN ANTARCTICA interactive web program, they will continue to involve large numbers of teachers, K-12 students, and other members of the community at large in their scientific endeavors in Antarctica.", "east": -53.0, "geometry": "POINT(-66 -65)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Angus, Robert; Amsler, Charles; McClintock, James", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "The effects of ocean acidification and rising sea surface temperatures on shallow-water benthic organisms in Antarctica", "uid": "p0000426", "west": -79.0}, {"awards": "0529815 Smith, Kenneth", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-68.12004 -52.65918,-65.348168 -52.65918,-62.576296 -52.65918,-59.804424 -52.65918,-57.032552 -52.65918,-54.26068 -52.65918,-51.488808 -52.65918,-48.716936 -52.65918,-45.945064 -52.65918,-43.173192 -52.65918,-40.40132 -52.65918,-40.40132 -53.972709,-40.40132 -55.286238,-40.40132 -56.599767,-40.40132 -57.913296,-40.40132 -59.226825,-40.40132 -60.540354,-40.40132 -61.853883,-40.40132 -63.167412,-40.40132 -64.480941,-40.40132 -65.79447,-43.173192 -65.79447,-45.945064 -65.79447,-48.716936 -65.79447,-51.488808 -65.79447,-54.26068 -65.79447,-57.032552 -65.79447,-59.804424 -65.79447,-62.576296 -65.79447,-65.348168 -65.79447,-68.12004 -65.79447,-68.12004 -64.480941,-68.12004 -63.167412,-68.12004 -61.853883,-68.12004 -60.540354,-68.12004 -59.226825,-68.12004 -57.913296,-68.12004 -56.599767,-68.12004 -55.286238,-68.12004 -53.972709,-68.12004 -52.65918))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of LMG0514A", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001484", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0902"}, {"dataset_uid": "002668", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of LMG0514A", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0514A"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project seeks to examine the importance of icebergs to the pelagic ecosystem of the North-West Weddell Sea. Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. The highest concentration of icebergs occurs in the NW Weddell Sea, where they drift in a clockwise pattern to the northeast, following the contours of the Antarctic Peninsula through an area dubbed \"Iceberg Alley\". Little is known about the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the pelagic ecosystem of the Weddell Sea or on the Southern Ocean as a whole. It is hypothesized that as drifting islands, icebergs of small to intermediate size (\u003c 10 km in largest dimension) impart unique physical, chemical and biological characteristics to the surrounding water. Three general questions will be asked to address this hypothesis: 1) What are the dynamics (approximate size, abundance and spatial distribution) of free-drifting icebergs on temporal scales of days to months, based on correlation of field measurements with imagery derived from satellite sensors? 2) What is the relationship between the size of free-drifting icebergs and the structure of the associated pelagic communities? 3) What is the estimated combined impact of free-drifting icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea on the biological characteristics of the pelagic zone? This interdisciplinary study will use standard oceanographic sampling coupled with unique methodology for staging shipboard data from all types of sensors and survey methods to determine the sphere of influence for a diverse set of biological factors as a function of iceberg size. The exploratory research proposed here will provide critical data on the effects of atmospheric warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The recent prevalence of free drifting icebergs in the Southern Ocean should have a pronounced enrichment effect on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem, altering community dynamics. Enhanced primary production associated with these icebergs could influence the global carbon cycle since the Southern Ocean is considered a major sink for excess CO2 from the atmosphere. \u003cbr/\u003eThe proposed research will include an innovative education component through the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC), whose focus is to provide a comprehensive view of the oceans, intelligible to non-scientists and researchers alike, with direct access to state-of-the-art databases and selected websites. The OEC will allow users to access content which has been classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. The results from this iceberg project will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the OEC, providing databases documenting the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem. These data then will be extrapolated to evaluate the impact of icebergs on the ecosystem of the Weddell Sea. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers and volunteers are an important part of the proposed field and laboratory work.", "east": -40.40132, "geometry": "POINT(-54.26068 -59.226825)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V LMG; R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -52.65918, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Smith, Ken", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.79447, "title": "Free Drifting Icebergs: Influence of Floating Islands on Pelagic Ecosystems in the Weddell Sea.", "uid": "p0000551", "west": -68.12004}, {"awards": "0650034 Smith, Kenneth", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of NBP0806; Expedition data of NBP0902", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002649", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of NBP0806", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0806"}, {"dataset_uid": "001484", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0902"}, {"dataset_uid": "002650", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of NBP0902", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0902"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project seeks to examine the importance of icebergs to the pelagic ecosystem of the North-West Weddell Sea. 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Three general questions will be asked to address this hypothesis: 1) What are the dynamics (approximate size, abundance and spatial distribution) of free-drifting icebergs on temporal scales of days to months, based on correlation of field measurements with imagery derived from satellite sensors? 2) What is the relationship between the size of free-drifting icebergs and the structure of the associated pelagic communities? 3) What is the estimated combined impact of free-drifting icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea on the biological characteristics of the pelagic zone? This interdisciplinary study will use standard oceanographic sampling coupled with unique methodology for staging shipboard data from all types of sensors and survey methods to determine the sphere of influence for a diverse set of biological factors as a function of iceberg size. The exploratory research proposed here will provide critical data on the effects of atmospheric warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The recent prevalence of free drifting icebergs in the Southern Ocean should have a pronounced enrichment effect on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem, altering community dynamics. Enhanced primary production associated with these icebergs could influence the global carbon cycle since the Southern Ocean is considered a major sink for excess CO2 from the atmosphere. \u003cbr/\u003eThe proposed research will include an innovative education component through the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC), whose focus is to provide a comprehensive view of the oceans, intelligible to non-scientists and researchers alike, with direct access to state-of-the-art databases and selected websites. The OEC will allow users to access content which has been classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. The results from this iceberg project will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the OEC, providing databases documenting the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem. These data then will be extrapolated to evaluate the impact of icebergs on the ecosystem of the Weddell Sea. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers and volunteers are an important part of the proposed field and laboratory work.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Smith, Ken", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Free Drifting Icebergs: Influence of Floating Islands on Pelagic Ecosystems in the Weddell Sea.", "uid": "p0000840", "west": null}, {"awards": "0127037 Neale, Patrick; 0338350 Dunbar, Robert; 0741411 Hutchins, David; 0338097 DiTullio, Giacomo; 0338157 Smith, Walker", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((173.31833 -46.5719,173.757539 -46.5719,174.196748 -46.5719,174.635957 -46.5719,175.075166 -46.5719,175.514375 -46.5719,175.953584 -46.5719,176.392793 -46.5719,176.832002 -46.5719,177.271211 -46.5719,177.71042 -46.5719,177.71042 -48.759516,177.71042 -50.947132,177.71042 -53.134748,177.71042 -55.322364,177.71042 -57.50998,177.71042 -59.697596,177.71042 -61.885212,177.71042 -64.072828,177.71042 -66.260444,177.71042 -68.44806,177.271211 -68.44806,176.832002 -68.44806,176.392793 -68.44806,175.953584 -68.44806,175.514375 -68.44806,175.075166 -68.44806,174.635957 -68.44806,174.196748 -68.44806,173.757539 -68.44806,173.31833 -68.44806,173.31833 -66.260444,173.31833 -64.072828,173.31833 -61.885212,173.31833 -59.697596,173.31833 -57.50998,173.31833 -55.322364,173.31833 -53.134748,173.31833 -50.947132,173.31833 -48.759516,173.31833 -46.5719))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Interactive Effects of Iron, Light and Carbon Dioxide on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Ross Sea; Processed Fluid Chemistry Data from the Ross Sea acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP0601", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601340", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Fluid Chemistry Data; Geochemistry; NBP0601; Niskin Bottle; Oceans; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Southern Ocean; Water Measurements", "people": "Smith, Walker; DiTullio, Giacomo", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Fluid Chemistry Data from the Ross Sea acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP0601", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601340"}, {"dataset_uid": "001584", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0508"}, {"dataset_uid": "001545", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0608"}, {"dataset_uid": "001580", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0601"}, {"dataset_uid": "001687", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0305"}, {"dataset_uid": "600036", "doi": "10.15784/600036", "keywords": "Biota; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Diatom; Oceans; Phytoplankton; Ross Sea; Southern Ocean", "people": "DiTullio, Giacomo", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Interactive Effects of Iron, Light and Carbon Dioxide on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Ross Sea", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600036"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The objectives of this proposal are to investigate the controls on the large-scale distribution and production of the two major bloom-forming phytoplankton taxa in the Southern Ocean, diatoms and Phaeocystis Antarctica. These two groups, through their involvement in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements, may have played important roles in the climate variations of the late Quaternary, and they also may be key players in future environmental change. A current paradigm is that irradiance and iron availability drive phytoplankton dynamics in the Southern Ocean. Recent work, however, suggests that carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations may also be important in structuring algal assemblages, due to species-specific differences in the physiology. This proposal examines the interactive effects of iron, light and CO2 on the physiology, ecology and relative dominance of Phaeocystis and diatoms in the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea is an ideal system in which to investigate the environmental factors that regulate the distribution and production of these two algal groups, since it is characterized by seasonal blooms of both P. Antarctica and diatoms that are typically separated in both space and time. This study will take the form of an interdisciplinary investigation that includes a field survey and statistical analysis of algal assemblage composition, iron, mixed layer depth, and CO2 levels in the southern Ross Sea, coupled with shipboard experiments to examine the response of diatom and P. Antarctica assemblages to high and low levels of iron, light and CO2 during spring and summer. \u003cbr/\u003eThis project will provide information on some of the major factors controlling the production and distribution of the two major bloom forming phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and the related biogeochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements. The results may ultimately advance the ability to predict how the Southern Ocean will be affected by and possibly modulate future climate change. This project will also make significant educational contributions at several levels, including the planned research involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates, a student teacher, and community outreach and educational activities. A number of activities are planned to interface the project with K-12 education. Presentations will be made at local schools to discuss the research and events of the research cruise. During the cruise there will be daily interactive email contact with elementary classrooms. Established websites will be used to allow students to learn about the ongoing research, and to allow researchers to communicate with students through text and downloaded images.", "east": 177.71042, "geometry": "POINT(175.514375 -57.50998)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e TURBIDITY METERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FRRF; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FRRF", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "B-15J; OCEAN PLATFORMS; FIELD SURVEYS; R/V NBP", "locations": "B-15J", "north": -46.5719, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ditullio, Giacomo; Smith, Walker; Dryer, Jennifer; Neale, Patrick", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIXED PLATFORMS \u003e SURFACE \u003e OCEAN PLATFORMS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -68.44806, "title": "Collaborative Research: Interactive Effects of Iron, Light and Carbon Dioxide on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Ross Sea", "uid": "p0000540", "west": 173.31833}, {"awards": "0338164 Sedwick, Peter", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of NBP0601", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001580", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0601"}, {"dataset_uid": "002619", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of NBP0601", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0601"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The objectives of this proposal are to investigate the controls on the large-scale distribution and production of the two major bloom-forming phytoplankton taxa in the Southern Ocean, diatoms and Phaeocystis Antarctica. These two groups, through their involvement in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements, may have played important roles in the climate variations of the late Quaternary, and they also may be key players in future environmental change. A current paradigm is that irradiance and iron availability drive phytoplankton dynamics in the Southern Ocean. Recent work, however, suggests that carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations may also be important in structuring algal assemblages, due to species-specific differences in the physiology. This proposal examines the interactive effects of iron, light and CO2 on the physiology, ecology and relative dominance of Phaeocystis and diatoms in the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea is an ideal system in which to investigate the environmental factors that regulate the distribution and production of these two algal groups, since it is characterized by seasonal blooms of both P. Antarctica and diatoms that are typically separated in both space and time. This study will take the form of an interdisciplinary investigation that includes a field survey and statistical analysis of algal assemblage composition, iron, mixed layer depth, and CO2 levels in the southern Ross Sea, coupled with shipboard experiments to examine the response of diatom and P. Antarctica assemblages to high and low levels of iron, light and CO2 during spring and summer. \u003cbr/\u003eThis project will provide information on some of the major factors controlling the production and distribution of the two major bloom forming phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and the related biogeochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements. The results may ultimately advance the ability to predict how the Southern Ocean will be affected by and possibly modulate future climate change. This project will also make significant educational contributions at several levels, including the planned research involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates, a student teacher, and community outreach and educational activities. A number of activities are planned to interface the project with K-12 education. Presentations will be made at local schools to discuss the research and events of the research cruise. During the cruise there will be daily interactive email contact with elementary classrooms. Established websites will be used to allow students to learn about the ongoing research, and to allow researchers to communicate with students through text and downloaded images.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SAMPLERS \u003e BOTTLES/FLASKS/JARS \u003e WATER BOTTLES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e TURBIDITY METERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ditullio, Giacomo", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Interactive Effects of Iron, Light and CO2 on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Ross Sea", "uid": "p0000831", "west": null}]
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Project Title/Abstract/Map | NSF Award(s) | Date Created | PIs / Scientists | Dataset Links and Repositories | Abstract | Bounds Geometry | Geometry | Selected | Visible | |||||||||
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A Multi-scale Approach to Understanding Spatial and Population Variability in Emperor Penguins
|
1744989 |
2024-02-08 | LaRue, Michelle; Ito, Emi; Jenouvrier, Stephanie | This project on emperor penguin populations will quantify penguin presence/absence, and colony size and trajectory, across the entire Antarctic continent using high-resolution satellite imagery. For a subset of the colonies, population estimates derived from high-resolution satellite images will be compared with those determined by aerial surveys - these results have been uploaded to MAPPPD (penguinmap.com) and are freely available for use. This validated information will be used to determine population estimates for all emperor penguin colonies through iterations of supervised classification and maximum likelihood calculations on the high-resolution imagery. The effect of spatial, geophysical, and environmental variables on population size and decadal-scale trends will be assessed using generalized linear models. This research will result in a first ever empirical result for emperor penguin population trends and habitat suitability, and will leverage currently-funded NSF infrastructure and hosting sites to publish results in near-real time to the public. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | ||||||||||
LTER: MCM6 - The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem
|
2224760 |
2023-11-14 | Gooseff, Michael N.; Adams, Byron; Barrett, John; Diaz, Melisa A.; Doran, Peter; Dugan, Hilary A.; Mackey, Tyler; Morgan-Kiss, Rachael; Salvatore, Mark; Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Zeglin, Lydia H. |
|
In this iteration of the McMurdo LTER project (MCM6), the project team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (geological legacies, extreme seasonality, and contemporary climate change) and driven by microbial organisms. Since microorganisms regulate most of the world's critical biogeochemical functions, these insights will be relevant far beyond polar ecosystems and will inform understanding and expectations of how natural and managed ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. MCM6 builds on previous foundational research, both in Antarctica and within the LTER network, to consider the temporal aspects of connectivity and how it relates to ecosystem stability. The project will examine how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with the legacies of the existing landscape that have defined habitats and biogeochemical cycling for millennia. The project team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the MDV ecosystem is dependent upon 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. Tests of these hypotheses will occur in field and modeling activities using new and long-term datasets already collected. New datasets resulting from field activities will be made freely available via widely-known online databases (MCM LTER and EDI). The project team has also developed six Antarctic Core Ideas that encompass themes from data literacy to polar food webs and form a consistent thread across the education and outreach activities. Building on past success, collaborations will be established with teachers and artists embedded within the science teams, who will work to develop educational modules with science content informed by direct experience and artistic expression. Undergraduate mentoring efforts will incorporate computational methods through a new data-intensive scientific training program for MCM REU students. The project will also establish an Antarctic Research Experience for Community College Students at CU Boulder, to provide an immersive educational and research experience for students from diverse backgrounds in community colleges. MCM LTER will continue its mission of training and mentoring students, postdocs, and early career scientists as the next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Historically underrepresented participation will be expanded at each level of the project. To aid in these efforts, the project has established Education & Outreach and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees to lead, coordinate, support, and integrate these activities through all aspects of MCM6. | POINT(162.87 -77) | POINT(162.87 -77) | false | false | |||||||||
LTER: Ecological Response and Resilience to “Press-Pulse” Disturbances and a Recent Decadal Reversal in Sea Ice Trends Along the West Antarctic Peninsula
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2026045 2224611 |
2023-07-26 | Schofield, Oscar; Steinberg, Deborah |
|
The goal of all LTER sites is to conduct policy-relevant ecosystem research for questions that require tens of years of data and cover large geographical areas. The Palmer Antarctica Long Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER) site has been in operation since 1990 and has been studying how the marine ecosystem west of the Antarctica Peninsula (WAP) is responding to a climate that is changing as rapidly as any place on the Earth. The study is evaluating how warming conditions and decreased ice cover leading to extended periods of open water are affecting many aspects of ecosystem function. The team is using combined cutting-edge approaches including yearly ship-based research cruises, small-boat weekly sampling, autonomous vehicles, animal biologging, oceanographic floats and seafloor moorings, manipulative lab-based process studies and modeling to evaluate both seasonal and annual ecosystem responses. These combined approaches are allowing for the study the ecosystem changes at scales needed to assess both short-term and long-term drivers. The study region also includes submarine canyons that are special regions of enhanced biological activity within the WAP. This research program is paired with a comprehensive education and outreach program promoting the global significance of Antarctic science and research. In addition to training for graduate and undergraduate students, they are using newly-developed Polar Literacy Principles as a foundation in a virtual schoolyard program that shares polar instructional materials and provides learning opportunities for K-12 educators. The PAL-LTER team is also leveraging the development of Out of School Time materials for afterschool and summer camp programs, sharing Palmer LTER-specific teaching materials with University, Museum, and 4-H Special Interest Club partners. Polar ecosystems are among the most rapidly changing on Earth. The Palmer LTER (PAL-LTER) program builds on three decades of coordinated research along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) to gain new mechanistic and predictive understanding of ecosystem changes in response to disturbances spanning long-term decadal (press) drivers and changes due to higher-frequency (pulse) drivers, such as large storms and extreme seasonal anomaly in sea ice cover. The influence of major natural climate modes that modulate variations in sea ice, weather, and oceanographic conditions to drive changes in ecosystem structure and function (e.g., El Nio Southern Oscillation and Southern Annular Mode) are being studied at multiple time scales from diel, seasonal, interannual, to decadal intervals, and space scalesfrom hemispheric to global scale investigated by remote sensing, the regional scales. Specifically, the team is evaluating how variability of physical properties (such as vertical and alongshore connectivity processes) interact to modulate biogeochemical cycling and community ecology in the WAP region. The study is providing an evaluation of ecosystem resilience and ecological responses to long-term press-pulse drivers and a decadal-level reversal in sea ice coverage. This program is providing fundamental understanding of population and biogeochemical responses for a marine ecosystem experiencing profound change. | POLYGON((-79.65 -63.738,-77.9728 -63.738,-76.29560000000001 -63.738,-74.61840000000001 -63.738,-72.94120000000001 -63.738,-71.26400000000001 -63.738,-69.58680000000001 -63.738,-67.9096 -63.738,-66.2324 -63.738,-64.5552 -63.738,-62.878 -63.738,-62.878 -64.3683,-62.878 -64.9986,-62.878 -65.6289,-62.878 -66.25919999999999,-62.878 -66.8895,-62.878 -67.5198,-62.878 -68.1501,-62.878 -68.7804,-62.878 -69.41069999999999,-62.878 -70.041,-64.5552 -70.041,-66.2324 -70.041,-67.9096 -70.041,-69.5868 -70.041,-71.26400000000001 -70.041,-72.94120000000001 -70.041,-74.61840000000001 -70.041,-76.29560000000001 -70.041,-77.9728 -70.041,-79.65 -70.041,-79.65 -69.41069999999999,-79.65 -68.7804,-79.65 -68.1501,-79.65 -67.5198,-79.65 -66.8895,-79.65 -66.25919999999999,-79.65 -65.6289,-79.65 -64.9986,-79.65 -64.3683,-79.65 -63.738)) | POINT(-71.26400000000001 -66.8895) | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Role of Nutrient Limitation and Viral Interactions on Antarctic Microbial Community Assembly: A Cryoconite Microcosm Study
|
2137375 2137377 2137376 2137378 |
2023-05-10 | Varsani, Arvind; Porazinska, Dorota; Schmidt, Steven; Bergstrom, Anna | No dataset link provided | Cryoconite holes are sediment-filled melt holes in the surface of glaciers that can be important sites of active microbial life in an otherwise mostly frozen and barren landscape. Previous studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica suggest that viral infections of microbes, and a general lack of fertilizers (i.e., nutrients), may be important factors shaping the development and functioning of microbial communities in cryoconite holes. The researchers propose an experimental approach to understand how nutrient limitation affects diversity (number of species) and overall abundance of microbes, and how the diversity and abundance of microbes in turn affects the diversity, abundance, and infection type of viruses that parasitize the microbes in cryoconite sediments. The researchers will use sediments previously collected from Antarctic glaciers that have varying concentrations of viruses and nutrients, to set up a nutrient-addition experiment to determine how nutrients affect microbial and viral population dynamics. The results will deepen our understanding of how microbial communities in general are shaped by nutrients and viruses and give new insights into the functioning of viruses in extremely cold environments. The researchers will publish their findings in scientific journals and will share their discoveries with K-12 students from rural schools in collaboration with the Pinhead Institute and will connect undergraduate students from under-represented minorities to polar research through participation in the universitys Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Routes Uplift Research Program. Outreach will be achieved through videos produced and distributed by a professional science communicator. The research advances a National Science Foundation goal of expanding fundamental knowledge of Antarctic systems, biota, and processes by utilizing the unique characteristics of the Antarctic region as a science observing platform. The Principal Investigators propose an experimental approach to understand how nutrient limitation affects microbial diversity and abundances and their cascading effects on virus diversity, abundance, and mode of infection (lysis vs. lysogeny) in Antarctic cryoconite holes. Cryoconite holes are ideal natural microcosms for manipulative studies, not available in other cryospheric ecosystems. The PIs will use previously collected cryoconite from across a gradient of both viral diversity and nutrient levels to address questions about key limiting nutrients and microbial-viral community dynamics in cryoconite sediments. Nutrient manipulation experiments will be conducted in a growth chamber that closely approximates the light and temperature regime of in situ cryoconite holes to test three core hypotheses: (1) phosphorus availability limits microbial productivity and abundance in cryoconite holes; (2) relaxing nutrient limitation in cryoconite from low-diversity glaciers will increase species diversity, leading microbial communities to resemble those found on more nutrient-rich glaciers; (3) relaxing nutrient limitation will increase the diversity and abundance of viruses by increasing the availability of suitable hosts, and decrease the prevalence of lysogenic infections. By manipulating nutrient limitation within a realistic range, this project will help verify hypothesized phosphorus limitation of Antarctic cryoconite holes and will extend understanding of the connections between nutrients, diversity, and viral infection dynamics in the cryosphere more generally. A better understanding of these dynamics in cryoconite sediments improves the ability of scientists to forecast future impacts of environmental changes in the cryosphere. This award reflects NSF''s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation''s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. | None | None | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Climate, Changing Abundance and Species Interactions of Marine Birds and Mammals at South Georgia in Winter
|
2011454 2011285 |
2022-10-06 | Veit, Richard; Manne, Lisa; Santora, Jarrod | No dataset link provided | Part I: Non-technical description: Ocean warming in the western Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea in winter is among the highest worldwide. This project will quantify the impact of the climate warming on seabirds. The study area is in South Georgia in the South Atlantic with the largest and most diverse seabird colonies in the world. Detecting and understanding how physics and biology interact to bring positive or negative population changes to seabirds has long challenged scientists. The team in this project hypothesizes that 1) Cold water seabird species decline while warm water species increase due to ocean warming observed in the last 30 years; 2) All species decrease with ocean warming, affecting how they interact with each other and in doing so, decreasing their chances of survival; and 3) Species profiles can be predicted using multiple environmental variables and models. To collect present-day data to compare with observations done in 1985, 1991 and 1993, 2 cruises are planned in the austral winter; the personnel will include the three Principal Investigators, all experienced with sampling of seabirds, plankton and oceanography, with 2 graduate and 5 undergraduate students. Models will be developed based on the cruise data and the environmental change experienced in the last 30 years. The research will improve our understanding of seabird and marine mammal winter ecology, and how they interact with the environment. This project benefits NSF's goals to expand the fundamental knowledge of Antarctic systems, biota, and processes. The project will provide an exceptional opportunity to teach polar field skills to undergraduates by bringing 5 students to engage in the research cruises. To further increase polar literacy training and educational impacts, broader impacts include the production of an educational documentary that will be coupled to field surveys to assess public perceptions about climate change. Part II: Technical description: Ocean warming in the western Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea in winter is among the highest worldwide. Based on previous work, the Principal Investigators in this project want to test the hypothesis that warming would have decreased seabird abundance and species associations in the South Georgia region of the South Atlantic. A main premise of this proposal is that because of marine environmental change, the structure of the seabird communities has also changed, and potentially in a manner that has diminished the mutually beneficial dynamics of positive interactions, with subsequent consequences to fitness and population trends. The study is structured by 3 main objectives: 1) identify changes in krill, bird and mammal abundance that have occurred from previous sampling off both ends of South Georgia during winter in 1985, 1991 and 1993, 2) identify pairings of species that benefit each other in searching for prey, and quantify how such relationships have changed since 1985, and 3) make predictions about how these changes in species pairing might continue given predicted future changes in climate. The novelty of the approach is the conceptual model that inter-species associations inform birds of food availability and that the associations decrease if bird abundance decreases, thus warming could decrease overall population fitness. These studies will be essential to establish if behavioral patterns in seabird modulate their response to climate change. The project will provide exceptional educational opportunity to undergraduates by bringing 5 students to participate on the cruises. To further increase polar literacy training and educational impacts, broader impacts include the production of an educational documentary that will be coupled to field surveys to assess public perceptions about climate change. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. | POLYGON((-39 -53,-38.6 -53,-38.2 -53,-37.8 -53,-37.4 -53,-37 -53,-36.6 -53,-36.2 -53,-35.8 -53,-35.4 -53,-35 -53,-35 -53.2,-35 -53.4,-35 -53.6,-35 -53.8,-35 -54,-35 -54.2,-35 -54.4,-35 -54.6,-35 -54.8,-35 -55,-35.4 -55,-35.8 -55,-36.2 -55,-36.6 -55,-37 -55,-37.4 -55,-37.8 -55,-38.2 -55,-38.6 -55,-39 -55,-39 -54.8,-39 -54.6,-39 -54.4,-39 -54.2,-39 -54,-39 -53.8,-39 -53.6,-39 -53.4,-39 -53.2,-39 -53)) | POINT(-37 -54) | false | false | |||||||||
ANT LIA: Collaborative Research: Genetic Underpinnings of Microbial Interactions in Chemically Stratified Antarctic Lakes
|
1937595 1937546 |
2022-07-27 | Morgan-Kiss, Rachael; Briggs, Brandon | No dataset link provided | Microbial communities are of more than just a scientific curiosity. Microbes represent the single largest source of evolutionary and biochemical diversity on the planet. They are the major agents for cycling carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements through the ecosystem. Despite their importance in ecosystem function, microbes are still generally overlooked in food web models and nutrient cycles. Moreover, microbes do not live in isolation: their growth and metabolism are influenced by complex interactions with other microorganisms. This project will focus on the ecology, activity and roles of microbial communities in Antarctic Lake ecosystems. The team will characterize the genetic underpinnings of microbial interactions and the influence of environmental gradients (e.g. light, nutrients, oxygen, sulfur) and seasons (e.g. summer vs. winter) on microbial networks in Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney in the Taylor Valley within the McMurdo Dry Valley region. Finally, the project furthers the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists by including undergraduate and graduate students, a postdoctoral researcher and a middle school teacher in both lab and field research activities. This partnership will involve a number of other outreach training activities, including visits to classrooms and community events, participation in social media platforms, and webinars. <br/><br/>Part II: Technical description: Ecosystem function in the extreme Antarctic Dry Valleys ecosystem is dependent on complex biogeochemical interactions between physiochemical environmental factors (e.g. light, nutrients, oxygen, sulfur), time of year (e.g. summer vs. winter) and microbes. Microbial network complexity can vary in relation to specific abiotic factors, which has important implications on the fragility and resilience of ecosystems under threat of environmental change. This project will evaluate the influence of biogeochemical factors on microbial interactions and network complexity in two Antarctic ice-covered lakes. The study will be structured by three main objectives: 1) infer positive and negative interactions from rich spatial and temporal datasets and investigate the influence of biogeochemical gradients on microbial network complexity using a variety of molecular approaches; 2) directly observe interactions among microbial eukaryotes and their partners using flow cytometry, single-cell sorting and microscopy; and 3) develop metabolic models of specific interactions using metagenomics. Outcomes from amplicon sequencing, meta-omics, and single-cell genomic approaches will be integrated to map specific microbial network complexity and define the role of interactions and metabolic activity onto trends in limnological biogeochemistry in different seasons. These studies will be essential to determine the relationship between network complexity and future climate conditions. Undergraduate researchers will be recruited from both an REU program with a track record of attracting underrepresented minorities and two minority-serving institutions. To further increase polar literacy training and educational impacts, the field team will include a teacher as part of a collaboration with the successful NSF-funded PolarTREC program and participation in activities designed for public outreach.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. | POLYGON((162 -77.616667,162.1 -77.616667,162.2 -77.616667,162.3 -77.616667,162.4 -77.616667,162.5 -77.616667,162.6 -77.616667,162.7 -77.616667,162.8 -77.616667,162.9 -77.616667,163 -77.616667,163 -77.6283336,163 -77.6400002,163 -77.6516668,163 -77.6633334,163 -77.67500000000001,163 -77.68666660000001,163 -77.69833320000001,163 -77.7099998,163 -77.7216664,163 -77.733333,162.9 -77.733333,162.8 -77.733333,162.7 -77.733333,162.6 -77.733333,162.5 -77.733333,162.4 -77.733333,162.3 -77.733333,162.2 -77.733333,162.1 -77.733333,162 -77.733333,162 -77.7216664,162 -77.7099998,162 -77.69833320000001,162 -77.68666660000001,162 -77.67500000000001,162 -77.6633334,162 -77.6516668,162 -77.6400002,162 -77.6283336,162 -77.616667)) | POINT(162.5 -77.67500000000001) | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Linking Predator Behavior and Resource Distributions: Penguin-directed Exploration of an Ecological Hotspot
|
1744885 |
2022-07-18 | Moline, Mark; Benoit-Bird, Kelly; Cimino, Megan | No dataset link provided | This research project will use specially designed autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to investigate interactions between Adelie and Gentoo penguins (the predators) and their primary food source, Antarctic krill (prey). While it has long been known that penguins feed on krill, details about how they search for food and target individual prey items is less well understood. Krill aggregate in large swarms, and the size or the depth of these swarms may influence the feeding behavior of penguins. Similarly, penguin feeding behaviors may differ based on characteristics of the environment, krill swarms, and the presence of other prey and predator species. This project will use specialized smart AUVs to simultaneously collect high-resolution observations of penguins, their prey, and environmental conditions. Data will shed light on strategies used by penguins prove foraging success during the critical summer chick-rearing period. This will improve predictions of how penguin populations may respond to changing environmental conditions in the rapidly warming Western Antarctic Peninsula region. Greater understanding of how individual behaviors shape food web structure can also inform conservation and management efforts in other marine ecosystems. This project has a robust public education and outreach plan linked with the Birch and Monterey Bay Aquariums.<br/><br/>Previous studies have shown that sub-mesoscale variability (1-10 km) in Antarctic krill densities and structure impact the foraging behavior of air-breathing predators. However, there is little understanding of how krill aggregation characteristics are linked to abundance on fine spatial scales, how these patterns are influenced by the habitat, or how prey characteristics influences the foraging behavior of predators. These data gaps remain because it is extremely challenging to collect detailed data on predators and prey simultaneously at the scale of an individual krill patch and single foraging event. Building on previously successful efforts, this project will integrate echosounders into autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), so that oceanographic variables and multi-frequency acoustic scattering from both prey and penguins can be collected simultaneously. This will allow for quantification of the environment at the scale of individual foraging events made by penguins during the critical 50+ day chick-rearing period. Work will be centered near Palmer Station, where long-term studies have provided significant insight into predator and prey population trends. The new data to be collected by this project will test hypotheses about how penguin prey selection and foraging behaviors are influenced by physical and biological features of their ocean habitat at extremely fine scale. By addressing the dynamic relationship between individual penguins, their prey, and habitat at the scale of individual foraging events, this study will begin to reveal the important processes regulating resource availability and identify what makes this region a profitable foraging habitat and breeding location.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. | POLYGON((-64.643 -64.703149,-64.5388975 -64.703149,-64.43479500000001 -64.703149,-64.3306925 -64.703149,-64.22659 -64.703149,-64.1224875 -64.703149,-64.018385 -64.703149,-63.9142825 -64.703149,-63.81018 -64.703149,-63.706077500000006 -64.703149,-63.601975 -64.703149,-63.601975 -64.7258003,-63.601975 -64.7484516,-63.601975 -64.77110289999999,-63.601975 -64.7937542,-63.601975 -64.8164055,-63.601975 -64.8390568,-63.601975 -64.86170809999999,-63.601975 -64.8843594,-63.601975 -64.9070107,-63.601975 -64.929662,-63.706077500000006 -64.929662,-63.81018 -64.929662,-63.9142825 -64.929662,-64.018385 -64.929662,-64.1224875 -64.929662,-64.22659 -64.929662,-64.3306925 -64.929662,-64.43479500000001 -64.929662,-64.5388975 -64.929662,-64.643 -64.929662,-64.643 -64.9070107,-64.643 -64.8843594,-64.643 -64.86170809999999,-64.643 -64.8390568,-64.643 -64.8164055,-64.643 -64.7937542,-64.643 -64.77110289999999,-64.643 -64.7484516,-64.643 -64.7258003,-64.643 -64.703149)) | POINT(-64.1224875 -64.8164055) | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Biogeography, Population Genetics, and Ecology of two Common Species of Fleshy Red Algae in McMurdo Sound
|
2037598 2037670 |
2022-05-23 | Heine, John; Goldberg, Nisse; Alberto, Filipe | No dataset link provided | Collaborative Research: Biogeography, population genetics, and ecology of two common species of fleshy red algae in McMurdo Sound Climate change is predicted to increase the period of fast ice-free conditions in polar habitats. As early colonizers, macroalgae may take advantage of increased light availability to outcompete invertebrates (e.g., sponges, bryozoans, tunicates, and polychaetes) for space in shallow subtidal hardbottom habitats. The project will compare patterns in vegetative and reproductive characteristics of two macroalgal species Phyllophora antarctica and Iridaea cordata collected from the 1980s to present-day. Populations will be collected from coastal and offshore sites in shallow (3–4 m) and greater (approx.12 m) depths at Cape Royds, Cape Evans, Little Razorback Islands, Turtle Rock, Arrival Heights, Granite Harbor, and Dellbridge Seamount. Genetic diversity of the two algal species will be measured and is expected to be relatively low due to limited dispersal in McMurdo Sound. No previous research has investigated the potential effects of climate, in particular reductions in annual sea ice cover and resulting increase in light intensity and duration, on macroalgal communities in McMurdo Sound. For the first time, photogrammetry will be used to collect community-level data on the newly discovered offshore Dellbridge Seamount and 3D visualization from the video footage will be shared with web-based interactive applications to engage and educate the public in subtidal polar ecology and the importance of Antarctic science to their lives. | POLYGON((162 -76,162.8 -76,163.6 -76,164.4 -76,165.2 -76,166 -76,166.8 -76,167.6 -76,168.4 -76,169.2 -76,170 -76,170 -76.3,170 -76.6,170 -76.9,170 -77.2,170 -77.5,170 -77.8,170 -78.1,170 -78.4,170 -78.7,170 -79,169.2 -79,168.4 -79,167.6 -79,166.8 -79,166 -79,165.2 -79,164.4 -79,163.6 -79,162.8 -79,162 -79,162 -78.7,162 -78.4,162 -78.1,162 -77.8,162 -77.5,162 -77.2,162 -76.9,162 -76.6,162 -76.3,162 -76)) | POINT(166 -77.5) | false | false | |||||||||
Viral control of microbial communities in Antarctic lakes
|
1644155 |
2021-08-06 | Twining, Benjamin; Martinez-Martinez, Joaquin |
|
Viruses are prevalent in aquatic environments where they reach up to five hundred million virus particles in a teaspoon of water. Ongoing discovery of viruses seems to confirm current understanding that all forms of life can host and be infected by viruses and that viruses are one of the largest reservoirs of unexplored genetic diversity on Earth. This study aims to better understand interactions between specific viruses and phytoplankton hosts and determine how these viruses may affect different algal groups present within lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. These lakes (Ace, Organic and Deep)were originally derived from the ocean and contain a broad range of saline conditions with a similarly broad range of physicochemical characteristics resulting from isolation and low external influence for thousands of years. These natural laboratories allow examination of microbial processes and interactions that would be difficult to characterize elsewhere on earth. The project will generate extensive genomic information that will be made freely available. The project will also leverage the study of viruses and the genomic approaches employed to advance the training of undergraduate students and to engage and foster an understanding of Antarctic science and studies of microbes during a structured informal education program in Maine for the benefit of high school students. By establishing the dynamics and interactions of (primarily) specific dsDNA virus groups in different habitats with different redox conditions throughout seasonal and inter annual cycles the project will learn about the biotic and abiotic factors that influence microbial community dynamics. This project does not require fieldwork in Antarctica. Instead, the investigators will leverage already collected and archived samples from three lakes that have concurrent measures of physicochemical information. Approximately 2 terabyte of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) (including metagenomes, SSU rRNA amplicons and single virus genomes) will be generated from selected available samples through a Community Science Program (CSP) funded by the Joint Genome Institute. The investigators will employ bioinformatics to interrogate those sequence databases. In particular, they will focus on investigating the presence, phylogeny and co-occurrence of polintons, polinton-like viruses, virophages and large dsDNA phytoplankton viruses as well as of their putative eukaryotic microbial hosts. Bioinformatic analyses will be complemented with quantitative digital PCR and microbial association network analysis to detect specific virus-host interactions from co-occurrence spatial and temporal patterns. Multivariate analysis and network analyses will also be performed to investigate which abiotic factors most closely correlate with phytoplankton and virus abundances, temporal dynamics, and observed virus-phytoplankton associations within the three lakes. The results of this project will improve understanding of phytoplankton and their viruses as vital components of the carbon cycle in Antarctic, marine-derived aquatic environments, and likely in any other aquatic environment. Overall, this work will advance understanding of the genetic underpinnings of adaptations in unique Antarctic environments. | POLYGON((78 -68.4,78.05 -68.4,78.1 -68.4,78.15 -68.4,78.2 -68.4,78.25 -68.4,78.3 -68.4,78.35 -68.4,78.4 -68.4,78.45 -68.4,78.5 -68.4,78.5 -68.419,78.5 -68.438,78.5 -68.457,78.5 -68.476,78.5 -68.495,78.5 -68.514,78.5 -68.533,78.5 -68.552,78.5 -68.571,78.5 -68.59,78.45 -68.59,78.4 -68.59,78.35 -68.59,78.3 -68.59,78.25 -68.59,78.2 -68.59,78.15 -68.59,78.1 -68.59,78.05 -68.59,78 -68.59,78 -68.571,78 -68.552,78 -68.533,78 -68.514,78 -68.495,78 -68.476,78 -68.457,78 -68.438,78 -68.419,78 -68.4)) | POINT(78.25 -68.495) | false | false | |||||||||
A Multi-scale Approach to Understanding Spatial and Population Variability in Emperor Penguins
|
1744794 1744989 |
2021-07-14 | LaRue, Michelle; Ito, Emi; Jenouvrier, Stephanie | This project on emperor penguin populations will quantify penguin presence/absence, and colony size and trajectory, across the entire Antarctic continent using high-resolution satellite imagery. For a subset of the colonies, population estimates derived from high-resolution satellite images will be compared with those determined by aerial surveys - these results have been uploaded to MAPPPD (penguinmap.com) and are freely available for use. This validated information will be used to determine population estimates for all emperor penguin colonies through iterations of supervised classification and maximum likelihood calculations on the high-resolution imagery. The effect of spatial, geophysical, and environmental variables on population size and decadal-scale trends will be assessed using generalized linear models. This research will result in a first ever empirical result for emperor penguin population trends and habitat suitability, and will leverage currently-funded NSF infrastructure and hosting sites to publish results in near-real time to the public. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | ||||||||||
CAREER: Understanding microbial heterotrophic processes in coastal Antarctic waters
|
1846837 |
2021-06-25 | Bowman, Jeff; Connors, Elizabeth | No dataset link provided | The coastal Antarctic is undergoing great environmental change. Physical changes in the environment, such as altered sea ice duration and extent, have a direct impact on the phytoplankton and bacteria species which form the base of the marine foodweb. Photosynthetic phytoplankton are the ocean's primary producers, transforming (fixing) CO2 into organic carbon molecules and providing a source of food for zooplankton and larger predators. When phytoplankton are consumed by zooplankton, or killed by viral attack, they release large amounts of organic carbon and nutrients into the environment. Heterotrophic bacteria must eat other things, and function as "master recyclers", consuming these materials and converting them to bacterial biomass which can feed larger organisms such as protists. Some protists are heterotrophs, but others are mixotrophs, able to grow by photosynthesis or heterotrophy. Previous work suggests that by killing and eating bacteria, protists and viruses may regulate bacterial populations, but how these processes are regulated in Antarctic waters is poorly understood. This project will use experiments to determine the rate at which Antarctic protists consume bacteria, and field studies to identify the major bacterial taxa involved in carbon uptake and recycling. In addition, this project will use new sequencing technology to obtain completed genomes for many Antarctic marine bacteria. To place this work in an ecosystem context this project will use microbial diversity data to inform rates associated with key microbial processes within the PALMER ecosystem model. This project addresses critical unknowns regarding the ecological role of heterotrophic marine bacteria in the coastal Antarctic and the top-down controls on bacterial populations. Previous work suggests that at certain times of the year grazing by heterotrophic and mixotrophic protists may meet or exceed bacterial production rates. Similarly, in more temperate waters bacteriophages (viruses) are thought to contribute significantly to bacterial mortality during the spring and summer. These different top-down controls have implications for carbon flow through the marine foodweb, because protists are grazed more efficiently by higher trophic levels than are bacteria. This project uses a combination of grazing experiments and field observations to assess the temporal dynamics of mortality due to temperate bacteriophage and protists. Although many heterotrophic bacterial strains observed in the coastal Antarctic are taxonomically similar to strains from other regions, recent work suggest that they are phylogenetically and genetically distinct. To better understand the ecological function and evolutionary trajectories of key Antarctic marine bacteria, their genomes will be isolated and sequenced. Then, these genomes will be used to improve the predictions of the paprica metabolic inference pipeline, and our understanding of the relationship between heterotrophic bacteria and their major predators in the Antarctic marine environment. Finally, the research team will modify the Regional Test-Bed Model model to enable microbial diversity data to be used to optimize the starting conditions of key parameters, and to constrain the model's data assimilation methods. | None | None | false | false | |||||||||
EAGER: Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing of Antarctic Paleolakes
|
1620976 |
2020-09-01 | Johnson, Sarah |
|
Despite recent advances, we still know little about how life and its traces persist in extremely harsh conditions. What survival strategies do cells employ when pushed to their limit? Using a new technique, this project will investigate whether Antarctic paleolakes harbor "microbial seed banks," or caches of viable microbes adapted to past paleoenvironments that could help transform our understanding of how cells survive over ancient timescales. Findings from this investigation could also illuminate novel DNA repair pathways with possible biomedical and biotechnology applications and help to refine life detection strategies for Mars. The project will bring Antarctic research to Georgetown University''s campus for the first time, providing training opportunities in cutting edge analytical techniques for multiple students and a postdoctoral fellow. The field site will be the McMurdo Dry Valleys, which provide an unrivaled opportunity to investigate fundamental questions about the persistence of microbial life. Multiple lines of evidence, from interbedded and overlying ashfall deposits to parameterized models, suggest that the large-scale landforms there have remained essentially fixed as far back as the middle of the Miocene Epoch (i.e., ~8 million years ago). This geologic stability, coupled with geographic isolation and a steady polar climate, mean that biological activity has probably undergone few qualitative changes over the last one to two million years. The team will sample paleolake facies using sterile techniques from multiple Dry Valleys sites and extract DNA from entombed organic material. Genetic material will then be sequenced using Pacific Biosciences'' Single Molecule, Real-Time DNA sequencing technology, which sequences native DNA as opposed to amplified DNA, thereby eliminating PCR primer bias, and enables read lengths that have never before been possible. The data will be analyzed with a range of bioinformatic techniques, with results that stand to impact our understanding of cell biology, Antarctic paleobiology, microbiology and biogeography, biotechnology, and planetary science. | POLYGON((160 -77,160.3 -77,160.6 -77,160.9 -77,161.2 -77,161.5 -77,161.8 -77,162.1 -77,162.4 -77,162.7 -77,163 -77,163 -77.1,163 -77.2,163 -77.3,163 -77.4,163 -77.5,163 -77.6,163 -77.7,163 -77.8,163 -77.9,163 -78,162.7 -78,162.4 -78,162.1 -78,161.8 -78,161.5 -78,161.2 -78,160.9 -78,160.6 -78,160.3 -78,160 -78,160 -77.9,160 -77.8,160 -77.7,160 -77.6,160 -77.5,160 -77.4,160 -77.3,160 -77.2,160 -77.1,160 -77)) | POINT(161.5 -77.5) | false | false | |||||||||
Microbial Community Structure and Expression of Functional Genes Involved in the Seasonal Cycling of DMSP in the Southern Ocean
|
1543450 |
2020-08-01 | Countway, Peter | The Southern Ocean in the vicinity of Antarctica is a region characterized by seasonally-driven marine phytoplankton blooms that are often dominated by microalgal species which produce large amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). DMSP can be converted to the compound dimethylsulfide (DMS) which is a molecule that can escape into the atmosphere where it is known to have strong condensation properties that are involved in regional cloud formation. Production of DMSP can influence the diversity and composition of microbial assemblages in seawater and the types and activities of microbes in the seawater will likely affect the magnitude of DMSP\DMS production. The project examined the role of DMSP in structuring the microbial communities in Antarctic waters and how this structuring may influence DMSP cycling. The project interacted with elementary students in Maine and brought undergraduate students to Bigelow Laboratory. The project also engaged with a science writer and illustrator who joined the team in Palmer Station in 2018. Many posts are available at xxx The project is examining (1) the extent to which the cycling of DMSP in southern ocean waters influenced the composition and diversity of bacterial and protistan assemblages; (2) conversely, whether the composition and diversity of southern ocean protistan and bacterial assemblages influenced the magnitude and rates of DMSP cycling; we are awaiting results on (3) the expression of DMSP degradation genes by marine bacteria seasonally and in response to field experimental additions of DMSP; and, this year (2020-21), we will synthesize these results by quantifying (4) the microbial networks resulting from the presence of DMSP-producers and DMSP-consumers along with their predators, all involved in the cycling of DMSP in southern ocean waters. The work was accomplished by conducting continuous growth experiments with DMSP-amended natural samples of different microbial communities present in summer (2016-17) and fall (2018) at Palmer Station, WAP. Data from the molecular (such as 16S/ 18S tag sequences, DMSP-cycle gene transcripts) and biogeochemical (such as biogenic sulfur cycling, bacterial production, microbial biomass) investigations will be integrated via network analysis in the coming year (2020-21). | POLYGON((-66 -63,-65.7 -63,-65.4 -63,-65.1 -63,-64.8 -63,-64.5 -63,-64.2 -63,-63.9 -63,-63.6 -63,-63.3 -63,-63 -63,-63 -63.3,-63 -63.6,-63 -63.9,-63 -64.2,-63 -64.5,-63 -64.8,-63 -65.1,-63 -65.4,-63 -65.7,-63 -66,-63.3 -66,-63.6 -66,-63.9 -66,-64.2 -66,-64.5 -66,-64.8 -66,-65.1 -66,-65.4 -66,-65.7 -66,-66 -66,-66 -65.7,-66 -65.4,-66 -65.1,-66 -64.8,-66 -64.5,-66 -64.2,-66 -63.9,-66 -63.6,-66 -63.3,-66 -63)) | POINT(-64.5 -64.5) | false | false | ||||||||||
Collaborative Research: Cobalamin and Iron Co-Limitation Of Phytoplankton Species in Terra Nova Bay
|
1643684 1644073 |
2019-08-08 | DiTullio, Giacomo; Lee, Peter |
|
Phytoplankton blooms in the coastal waters of the Ross Sea, Antarctica are typically dominated by either diatoms or Phaeocystis Antarctica (a flagellated algae that often can form large colonies in a gelatinous matrix). The project seeks to determine if an association of bacterial populations with Phaeocystis antarctica colonies can directly supply Phaeocystis with Vitamin B12, which can be an important co-limiting micronutrient in the Ross Sea. The supply of an essential vitamin coupled with the ability to grow at lower iron concentrations may put Phaeocystis at a competitive advantage over diatoms. Because Phaeocystis cells can fix more carbon than diatoms and Phaeocystis are not grazed as efficiently as diatoms, the project will help in refining understanding of carbon dynamics in the region as well as the basis of the food web webs. Such understanding also has the potential to help refine predictive ecological models for the region. The project will conduct public outreach activities and will contribute to undergraduate and graduate research. Engagement of underrepresented students will occur during summer student internships. A collaboration with Italian Antarctic researchers, who have been studying the Terra Nova Bay ecosystem since the 1980s, aims to enhance the project and promote international scientific collaborations. <br/><br/>The study will test whether a mutualistic symbioses between attached bacteria and Phaeocystis provides colonial cells a mechanism for alleviating chronic Vitamin B12 co-limitation effects thereby conferring them with a competitive advantage over diatom communities. The use of drifters in a time series study will provide the opportunity to track in both space and time a developing algal bloom in Terra Nova Bay and to determine community structure and the physiological nutrient status of microbial populations. A combination of flow cytometry, proteomics, metatranscriptomics, radioisotopic and stable isotopic labeling experiments will determine carbon and nutrient uptake rates and the role of bacteria in mitigating potential vitamin B12 and iron limitation. Membrane inlet and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry will also be used to estimate net community production and release of volatile organic carbon compounds that are climatically active. Understanding how environmental parameters can influence microbial community dynamics in Antarctic coastal waters will advance an understanding of how changes in ocean stratification and chemistry could impact the biogeochemistry and food web dynamics of Southern Ocean ecosystems. | POLYGON((-180 -72,-173.6 -72,-167.2 -72,-160.8 -72,-154.4 -72,-148 -72,-141.6 -72,-135.2 -72,-128.8 -72,-122.4 -72,-116 -72,-116 -72.7,-116 -73.4,-116 -74.1,-116 -74.8,-116 -75.5,-116 -76.2,-116 -76.9,-116 -77.6,-116 -78.3,-116 -79,-122.4 -79,-128.8 -79,-135.2 -79,-141.6 -79,-148 -79,-154.4 -79,-160.8 -79,-167.2 -79,-173.6 -79,180 -79,178 -79,176 -79,174 -79,172 -79,170 -79,168 -79,166 -79,164 -79,162 -79,160 -79,160 -78.3,160 -77.6,160 -76.9,160 -76.2,160 -75.5,160 -74.8,160 -74.1,160 -73.4,160 -72.7,160 -72,162 -72,164 -72,166 -72,168 -72,170 -72,172 -72,174 -72,176 -72,178 -72,-180 -72)) | POINT(-158 -75.5) | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Determining Factors Affecting Distribution and Population Variability of the Ice-obligate Weddell Seal
|
1543311 1543230 1543003 1542791 |
2019-08-02 | LaRue, Michelle; Stamatiou, Kostas |
|
The Weddell seal is the southern-most mammal in the world, having a circumpolar distribution around Antarctica; the McMurdo Sound population in Antarctica is one of the best-studied mammal populations on earth. However, despite this, an understanding of how populations around the continent will fare under climate change is poorly understood. A complicating matter is the potential effects of a commercial enterprise in the Antarctic: a fishery targeting toothfish, which are important prey for Weddell seals. Although the species is easily detected and counted during the breeding season, no reliable estimates of continent-wide Weddell seal numbers exist, due to the logistic difficulties of surveying vast regions of Antarctica. Large-scale estimates are needed to understand how seal populations are responding to the fishery and climate change, because these drivers of change operate at scales larger than any single population, and may affect seals differently in different regions of the continent. We will take advantage of the ease of detectability of darkly colored seals when they the on ice to develop estimates of abundance from satellite images. This project will generate baseline data on the global distribution and abundance of Weddell seals around the Antarctic and will link environmental variables to population changes to better understand how the species will fare as their sea ice habitat continues to change. These results will help disentangle the effects of climate change and fishery operations, results that are necessary for appropriate international policy regarding fishery catch limits, impacts on the environment, and the value of marine protected areas. The project will also further the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists and of making scientific discoveries available to the general public. It will engage "arm-chair" scientists of all ages through connections with several non-governmental organizations and the general public. Anyone with access to the internet, including people who are physically unable to participate in field research directly, can participate in this project while simultaneously learning about multiple aspects of polar ecology through the project's interactive website. <br/><br/>Specifically, this research project will: 1) Quantify the distribution of Weddell seals around Antarctica and 2) Determine the impact of environmental variables (such as fast ice extent, ocean productivity, bathymetry) on habitat suitability and occupancy. To do this, the project will crowd-source counting of seals on high-resolution satellite images via a commercial citizen science platform. Variation in seal around the continent will then be related to habitat variables through generalized linear models. Specific variables, such as fast ice extent will be tested to determine their influence on population variability through both space and time. The project includes a rigorous plan for ensuring quality control in the dataset including ground truth data from other, localized projects concurrently funded by the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Science Program. | POLYGON((-180 -64,-144 -64,-108 -64,-72 -64,-36 -64,0 -64,36 -64,72 -64,108 -64,144 -64,180 -64,180 -65.4,180 -66.8,180 -68.2,180 -69.6,180 -71,180 -72.4,180 -73.8,180 -75.2,180 -76.6,180 -78,144 -78,108 -78,72 -78,36 -78,0 -78,-36 -78,-72 -78,-108 -78,-144 -78,-180 -78,-180 -76.6,-180 -75.2,-180 -73.8,-180 -72.4,-180 -71,-180 -69.6,-180 -68.2,-180 -66.8,-180 -65.4,-180 -64)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Fjord Ecosystem Structure and Function on the West Antarctic Peninsula - Hotspots of Productivity and Biodiversity? (FjordEco)
|
1443733 1443680 1443705 |
2019-02-13 | Winsor, Peter; Truffer, Martin; Smith, Craig; Powell, Brian; Merrifield, Mark; Vernet, Maria; Kohut, Josh | Marine communities along the western Antarctic Peninsula are highly productive ecosystems which support a diverse assemblage of charismatic animals such as penguins, seals, and whales as well as commercial fisheries such as that on Antarctic krill. Fjords (long, narrow, deep inlets of the sea between high cliffs) along the central coast of the Peninsula appear to be intense, potentially climate sensitive, hotspots of biological production and biodiversity, yet the structure and dynamics of these fjord ecosystems are very poorly understood. Because of this intense biological activity and the charismatic fauna it supports, these fjords are also major destinations for a large Antarctic tourism industry. This project is an integrated field and modeling program to evaluate physical oceanographic processes, glacial inputs, water column community dynamics, and seafloor bottom community structure and function in these important yet little understood fjord systems. These Antarctic fjords have characteristics that are substantially different from well-studied Arctic fjords, likely yielding much different responses to climate warming. This project will provide major new insights into the dynamics and climate sensitivity of Antarctic fjord ecosystems, highlighting contrasts with Arctic sub-polar fjords, and potentially transforming our understanding of the ecological role of fjords in the rapidly warming west Antarctic coastal marine landscape. The project will also further the NSF goal of training new generations of scientists, providing scientific training for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. This includes the unique educational opportunity for undergraduates to participate in research cruises in Antarctica and the development of a novel summer graduate course on fjord ecosystems. Internet based outreach activities will be enhanced and extended by the participation of a professional photographer who will produce magazine articles, websites, radio broadcasts, and other forms of public outreach on the fascinating Antarctic ecosystem. <br/><br/>This project will involve a 15-month field program to test mechanistic hypotheses concerning oceanographic and glaciological forcing, and phytoplankton and benthic community response in the Antarctic fjords. Those efforts will be followed by a coupled physical/biological modeling effort to evaluate the drivers of biogeochemical cycles in the fjords and to explore their potential sensitivity to enhanced meltwater and sediment inputs. Fieldwork over two oceanographic cruises will utilize moorings, weather stations, and glacial, sea-ice and seafloor time-lapse cameras to obtain an integrated view of fjord ecosystem processes. The field team will also make multiple shipboard measurements and will use towed and autonomous underwater vehicles to intensively evaluate fjord ecosystem structure and function during spring/summer and autumn seasons. These integrated field and modeling studies are expected to elucidate fundamental properties of water column and sea bottom ecosystem structure and function in the fjords, and to identify key physical-chemical-glaciological forcing in these rapidly warming ecosystems. | POLYGON((-66 -64,-65.6 -64,-65.2 -64,-64.8 -64,-64.4 -64,-64 -64,-63.6 -64,-63.2 -64,-62.8 -64,-62.4 -64,-62 -64,-62 -64.1,-62 -64.2,-62 -64.3,-62 -64.4,-62 -64.5,-62 -64.6,-62 -64.7,-62 -64.8,-62 -64.9,-62 -65,-62.4 -65,-62.8 -65,-63.2 -65,-63.6 -65,-64 -65,-64.4 -65,-64.8 -65,-65.2 -65,-65.6 -65,-66 -65,-66 -64.9,-66 -64.8,-66 -64.7,-66 -64.6,-66 -64.5,-66 -64.4,-66 -64.3,-66 -64.2,-66 -64.1,-66 -64)) | POINT(-64 -64.5) | false | false | ||||||||||
The effects of ocean acidification and rising sea surface temperatures on shallow-water benthic organisms in Antarctica
|
1041022 |
2015-05-22 | Angus, Robert; Amsler, Charles; McClintock, James | The research will investigate the individual and combined effects of rising ocean acidification and sea surface temperatures on shallow-water calcified benthic organisms in western Antarctic Peninsular (WAP) marine communities. The Southern Ocean is predicted to become undersaturated in terms of both aragonite and calcite within 50 and 100 years, respectively, challenging calcification processes. Adding to the problem, antarctic calcified benthic marine organisms are more vulnerable to ocean acidification than temperate and tropical species because they are generally weakly calcified. Many antarctic organisms are essentially stenothermal, and those in the West Antarctic Peninsula are being subjected to rising seawater temperatures. The project employs both single-species and multi-species level approaches to evaluating the impacts of rising ocean acidification and seawater temperature on representative calcified and non-calcified macroalgae, on calcified and non-calcified mesograzers, and on a calcified macro-grazer, all of which are important ecological players in the rich benthic communities. Multi-species analysis will focus on the diverse assemblage of amphipods and mesogastropods that are associated with dominant macroalgae that collectively play a key role in community dynamics along the WAP. The project will support undergraduate research, both through NSF programs, as well as home university-based programs, some designed to enhance the representation of minorities in the sciences. The principal investigators also will support and foster graduate education through mentoring of graduate students. Through their highly successful UAB IN ANTARCTICA interactive web program, they will continue to involve large numbers of teachers, K-12 students, and other members of the community at large in their scientific endeavors in Antarctica. | POLYGON((-79 -60,-76.4 -60,-73.8 -60,-71.2 -60,-68.6 -60,-66 -60,-63.4 -60,-60.8 -60,-58.2 -60,-55.6 -60,-53 -60,-53 -61,-53 -62,-53 -63,-53 -64,-53 -65,-53 -66,-53 -67,-53 -68,-53 -69,-53 -70,-55.6 -70,-58.2 -70,-60.8 -70,-63.4 -70,-66 -70,-68.6 -70,-71.2 -70,-73.8 -70,-76.4 -70,-79 -70,-79 -69,-79 -68,-79 -67,-79 -66,-79 -65,-79 -64,-79 -63,-79 -62,-79 -61,-79 -60)) | POINT(-66 -65) | false | false | ||||||||||
Free Drifting Icebergs: Influence of Floating Islands on Pelagic Ecosystems in the Weddell Sea.
|
0529815 |
2010-05-04 | Smith, Ken |
|
This project seeks to examine the importance of icebergs to the pelagic ecosystem of the North-West Weddell Sea. Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. The highest concentration of icebergs occurs in the NW Weddell Sea, where they drift in a clockwise pattern to the northeast, following the contours of the Antarctic Peninsula through an area dubbed "Iceberg Alley". Little is known about the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the pelagic ecosystem of the Weddell Sea or on the Southern Ocean as a whole. It is hypothesized that as drifting islands, icebergs of small to intermediate size (< 10 km in largest dimension) impart unique physical, chemical and biological characteristics to the surrounding water. Three general questions will be asked to address this hypothesis: 1) What are the dynamics (approximate size, abundance and spatial distribution) of free-drifting icebergs on temporal scales of days to months, based on correlation of field measurements with imagery derived from satellite sensors? 2) What is the relationship between the size of free-drifting icebergs and the structure of the associated pelagic communities? 3) What is the estimated combined impact of free-drifting icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea on the biological characteristics of the pelagic zone? This interdisciplinary study will use standard oceanographic sampling coupled with unique methodology for staging shipboard data from all types of sensors and survey methods to determine the sphere of influence for a diverse set of biological factors as a function of iceberg size. The exploratory research proposed here will provide critical data on the effects of atmospheric warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The recent prevalence of free drifting icebergs in the Southern Ocean should have a pronounced enrichment effect on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem, altering community dynamics. Enhanced primary production associated with these icebergs could influence the global carbon cycle since the Southern Ocean is considered a major sink for excess CO2 from the atmosphere. <br/>The proposed research will include an innovative education component through the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC), whose focus is to provide a comprehensive view of the oceans, intelligible to non-scientists and researchers alike, with direct access to state-of-the-art databases and selected websites. The OEC will allow users to access content which has been classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. The results from this iceberg project will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the OEC, providing databases documenting the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem. These data then will be extrapolated to evaluate the impact of icebergs on the ecosystem of the Weddell Sea. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers and volunteers are an important part of the proposed field and laboratory work. | POLYGON((-68.12004 -52.65918,-65.348168 -52.65918,-62.576296 -52.65918,-59.804424 -52.65918,-57.032552 -52.65918,-54.26068 -52.65918,-51.488808 -52.65918,-48.716936 -52.65918,-45.945064 -52.65918,-43.173192 -52.65918,-40.40132 -52.65918,-40.40132 -53.972709,-40.40132 -55.286238,-40.40132 -56.599767,-40.40132 -57.913296,-40.40132 -59.226825,-40.40132 -60.540354,-40.40132 -61.853883,-40.40132 -63.167412,-40.40132 -64.480941,-40.40132 -65.79447,-43.173192 -65.79447,-45.945064 -65.79447,-48.716936 -65.79447,-51.488808 -65.79447,-54.26068 -65.79447,-57.032552 -65.79447,-59.804424 -65.79447,-62.576296 -65.79447,-65.348168 -65.79447,-68.12004 -65.79447,-68.12004 -64.480941,-68.12004 -63.167412,-68.12004 -61.853883,-68.12004 -60.540354,-68.12004 -59.226825,-68.12004 -57.913296,-68.12004 -56.599767,-68.12004 -55.286238,-68.12004 -53.972709,-68.12004 -52.65918)) | POINT(-54.26068 -59.226825) | false | false | |||||||||
Free Drifting Icebergs: Influence of Floating Islands on Pelagic Ecosystems in the Weddell Sea.
|
0650034 |
2010-05-04 | Smith, Ken |
|
This project seeks to examine the importance of icebergs to the pelagic ecosystem of the North-West Weddell Sea. Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. The highest concentration of icebergs occurs in the NW Weddell Sea, where they drift in a clockwise pattern to the northeast, following the contours of the Antarctic Peninsula through an area dubbed "Iceberg Alley". Little is known about the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the pelagic ecosystem of the Weddell Sea or on the Southern Ocean as a whole. It is hypothesized that as drifting islands, icebergs of small to intermediate size (< 10 km in largest dimension) impart unique physical, chemical and biological characteristics to the surrounding water. Three general questions will be asked to address this hypothesis: 1) What are the dynamics (approximate size, abundance and spatial distribution) of free-drifting icebergs on temporal scales of days to months, based on correlation of field measurements with imagery derived from satellite sensors? 2) What is the relationship between the size of free-drifting icebergs and the structure of the associated pelagic communities? 3) What is the estimated combined impact of free-drifting icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea on the biological characteristics of the pelagic zone? This interdisciplinary study will use standard oceanographic sampling coupled with unique methodology for staging shipboard data from all types of sensors and survey methods to determine the sphere of influence for a diverse set of biological factors as a function of iceberg size. The exploratory research proposed here will provide critical data on the effects of atmospheric warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The recent prevalence of free drifting icebergs in the Southern Ocean should have a pronounced enrichment effect on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem, altering community dynamics. Enhanced primary production associated with these icebergs could influence the global carbon cycle since the Southern Ocean is considered a major sink for excess CO2 from the atmosphere. <br/>The proposed research will include an innovative education component through the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC), whose focus is to provide a comprehensive view of the oceans, intelligible to non-scientists and researchers alike, with direct access to state-of-the-art databases and selected websites. The OEC will allow users to access content which has been classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. The results from this iceberg project will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the OEC, providing databases documenting the impact of free-drifting icebergs on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem. These data then will be extrapolated to evaluate the impact of icebergs on the ecosystem of the Weddell Sea. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers and volunteers are an important part of the proposed field and laboratory work. | None | None | false | false | |||||||||
Collaborative Research: Interactive Effects of Iron, Light and Carbon Dioxide on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Ross Sea
|
0127037 0338350 0741411 0338097 0338157 |
2010-05-04 | Ditullio, Giacomo; Smith, Walker; Dryer, Jennifer; Neale, Patrick | The objectives of this proposal are to investigate the controls on the large-scale distribution and production of the two major bloom-forming phytoplankton taxa in the Southern Ocean, diatoms and Phaeocystis Antarctica. These two groups, through their involvement in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements, may have played important roles in the climate variations of the late Quaternary, and they also may be key players in future environmental change. A current paradigm is that irradiance and iron availability drive phytoplankton dynamics in the Southern Ocean. Recent work, however, suggests that carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations may also be important in structuring algal assemblages, due to species-specific differences in the physiology. This proposal examines the interactive effects of iron, light and CO2 on the physiology, ecology and relative dominance of Phaeocystis and diatoms in the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea is an ideal system in which to investigate the environmental factors that regulate the distribution and production of these two algal groups, since it is characterized by seasonal blooms of both P. Antarctica and diatoms that are typically separated in both space and time. This study will take the form of an interdisciplinary investigation that includes a field survey and statistical analysis of algal assemblage composition, iron, mixed layer depth, and CO2 levels in the southern Ross Sea, coupled with shipboard experiments to examine the response of diatom and P. Antarctica assemblages to high and low levels of iron, light and CO2 during spring and summer. <br/>This project will provide information on some of the major factors controlling the production and distribution of the two major bloom forming phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and the related biogeochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements. The results may ultimately advance the ability to predict how the Southern Ocean will be affected by and possibly modulate future climate change. This project will also make significant educational contributions at several levels, including the planned research involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates, a student teacher, and community outreach and educational activities. A number of activities are planned to interface the project with K-12 education. Presentations will be made at local schools to discuss the research and events of the research cruise. During the cruise there will be daily interactive email contact with elementary classrooms. Established websites will be used to allow students to learn about the ongoing research, and to allow researchers to communicate with students through text and downloaded images. | POLYGON((173.31833 -46.5719,173.757539 -46.5719,174.196748 -46.5719,174.635957 -46.5719,175.075166 -46.5719,175.514375 -46.5719,175.953584 -46.5719,176.392793 -46.5719,176.832002 -46.5719,177.271211 -46.5719,177.71042 -46.5719,177.71042 -48.759516,177.71042 -50.947132,177.71042 -53.134748,177.71042 -55.322364,177.71042 -57.50998,177.71042 -59.697596,177.71042 -61.885212,177.71042 -64.072828,177.71042 -66.260444,177.71042 -68.44806,177.271211 -68.44806,176.832002 -68.44806,176.392793 -68.44806,175.953584 -68.44806,175.514375 -68.44806,175.075166 -68.44806,174.635957 -68.44806,174.196748 -68.44806,173.757539 -68.44806,173.31833 -68.44806,173.31833 -66.260444,173.31833 -64.072828,173.31833 -61.885212,173.31833 -59.697596,173.31833 -57.50998,173.31833 -55.322364,173.31833 -53.134748,173.31833 -50.947132,173.31833 -48.759516,173.31833 -46.5719)) | POINT(175.514375 -57.50998) | false | false | ||||||||||
Collaborative Research: Interactive Effects of Iron, Light and CO2 on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Ross Sea
|
0338164 |
2010-05-04 | Ditullio, Giacomo |
|
The objectives of this proposal are to investigate the controls on the large-scale distribution and production of the two major bloom-forming phytoplankton taxa in the Southern Ocean, diatoms and Phaeocystis Antarctica. These two groups, through their involvement in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements, may have played important roles in the climate variations of the late Quaternary, and they also may be key players in future environmental change. A current paradigm is that irradiance and iron availability drive phytoplankton dynamics in the Southern Ocean. Recent work, however, suggests that carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations may also be important in structuring algal assemblages, due to species-specific differences in the physiology. This proposal examines the interactive effects of iron, light and CO2 on the physiology, ecology and relative dominance of Phaeocystis and diatoms in the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea is an ideal system in which to investigate the environmental factors that regulate the distribution and production of these two algal groups, since it is characterized by seasonal blooms of both P. Antarctica and diatoms that are typically separated in both space and time. This study will take the form of an interdisciplinary investigation that includes a field survey and statistical analysis of algal assemblage composition, iron, mixed layer depth, and CO2 levels in the southern Ross Sea, coupled with shipboard experiments to examine the response of diatom and P. Antarctica assemblages to high and low levels of iron, light and CO2 during spring and summer. <br/>This project will provide information on some of the major factors controlling the production and distribution of the two major bloom forming phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and the related biogeochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur and nutrient elements. The results may ultimately advance the ability to predict how the Southern Ocean will be affected by and possibly modulate future climate change. This project will also make significant educational contributions at several levels, including the planned research involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates, a student teacher, and community outreach and educational activities. A number of activities are planned to interface the project with K-12 education. Presentations will be made at local schools to discuss the research and events of the research cruise. During the cruise there will be daily interactive email contact with elementary classrooms. Established websites will be used to allow students to learn about the ongoing research, and to allow researchers to communicate with students through text and downloaded images. | None | None | false | false |