{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "Microbes"}
[{"awards": "2137376 Porazinska, Dorota; 2137378 Varsani, Arvind; 2137375 Schmidt, Steven; 2137377 Bergstrom, Anna", "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": "2133684 Fierer, Noah", "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": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 07 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Not all of Antarctica is covered in ice. In fact, soils are common to many parts of Antarctica, and these soils are often unlike any others found on Earth. Antarctic soils harbor unique microorganisms able to cope with the extremely cold and dry conditions common to much of the continent. For decades, microbiologists have been drawn to the unique soils in Antarctica, yet critical knowledge gaps remain. Most notably, it is unclear what properties allow certain microbes to thrive in Antarctic soils. By using a range of methods, this project is developing comprehensive model that discovers the unique genomic features of soils diversity, distributions, and adaptations that allow Antarctic soil microbes to thrive in extreme environments. The proposed work will be relevant to researchers in many fields, including engineers seeking to develop new biotechnologies, ecologists studying the contributions of these microbial communities to the functioning of Antarctic ecosystems, microbiologists studying novel microbial adaptations to extreme environmental conditions, and even astrobiologists studying the potential for life on Mars. More generally, the proposed research presents an opportunity to advance our current understanding of the microbial life found in one of the more distinctive microbial habitats on Earth, a habitat that is inaccessible to many scientists and a habitat that is increasingly under threat from climate change.\r\n\r\nThe research project explores the microbial diversity in Antarctic soils and links specific features to different soil types and environmental conditions. The overarching questions include: What microbial taxa are found in a variety of Antarctic environments? What are the environmental preferences of specific taxa or lineages? What are the genomic and phenotypic traits of microorganisms that allow them to persist in extreme environments and determine biogeographical differneces? This project will analyze archived soils collected from across Antarctica by a network of international collaborators, with samples selected to span broad gradients in soil and site conditions. The project uses cultivation-independent, high-throughput genomic analysis methods and cultivation-dependent approaches to analyze bacterial and fungal communities in soil samples. The results will be used to predict the distributions of specific taxa and lineages, obtain genomic information for the more ubiquitous and abundant taxa, and quantify growth responses in vitro across gradients in temperature, moisture, and salinity. This integration of ecological, environmental, genomic, and trait-based information will provide a comprehensive understanding of microbial life in Antarctic soils. This project will also help facilitate new collaborations between scientists across the globe while providing undergraduate students with \u0027\u0027hands-on\u0027\u0027 research experiences that introduce the next generation of scientists to the field of Antarctic biology.\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": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "CONTINENT \u003e ANTARCTICA; FUNGI; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS", "locations": "CONTINENT \u003e ANTARCTICA", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Fierer, Noah; Quandt, Alisha A; Lemonte, Joshua", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: ANT LIA Integrating Genomic and Phenotypic Analyses to understand Microbial Life in Antarctic Soils", "uid": "p0010414", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2037963 Smith, Heidi", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 11 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Glacial ice cores serve as a museum back in time, providing detailed records of past climatic conditions. In addition to chronological records such as temperature, chemistry and gas composition, ice provides a unique environment for preserving microbes and other biological materials through time. These microbes provide invaluable insight into the physiological capabilities necessary for survival in the Earths cryosphere and other icy planetary bodies, yet little is known about them. This award supports fundamental research into the activity of microbes in ice, and directly supports major research priorities regarding Antarctic biota identified in the 2015 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research. The broader impacts of this work are that it will be relevant to researchers across paleoclimate and biological fields. It will support two early career researchers, a graduate and an undergraduate student who will conduct laboratory analyses, participate in outreach activities, publish papers in scientific journals and present at conferences. \r\n\r\nThis work will use previously collected ice cores to investigate englacial microbial activity from the Holocene back to the Last Glacial Maximum from the blue ice area of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. The proposal identified making significant contributions to 1) investing how Antarctic organisms evolve and adapt to changing environment, 2) understanding how microbes alter the preservation of paleorecord-relevant gas and trace element information in ice cores, and 3) identifying microbial life in cores and their activity in relation to dust depositional events. Two recently developed complementary techniques (bio-orthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging and deuterium isotope probing) in combination with Raman Confocal Microspectroscopy will be used to assess and quantify microbial activity in ice. During phase one of the project, these methods will be optimized using deaccessioned ice cores available at the National Science Foundations Ice Core Facility. In phase two, ice cores in a time series from the Taylor Glacier will be analyzed for geochemistry and microbial activity. Research results will provide a comprehensive view of englacial microbial communities, including their metabolic diversity and activity, and the effect of geochemical parameters on microbial assemblages from different climate periods. Given the dearth of information available on englacial microbial communities, the results of this research will be of particular significance.\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": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Alaska; paleoclimate; CAMP; Taylor Glacier; Microbiology; ICE CORE RECORDS; Microbial activity", "locations": "CAMP; Alaska; Taylor Glacier", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Smith, Heidi; Foreman, Christine; Dieser, Markus", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Life in Ice: Probing Microbial Englacial Activity through Time", "uid": "p0010385", "west": null}, {"awards": "2147045 Learman, Deric", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-168 -60,-156 -60,-144 -60,-132 -60,-120 -60,-108 -60,-96 -60,-84 -60,-72 -60,-60 -60,-60 -62,-60 -64,-60 -66,-60 -68,-60 -70,-60 -72,-60 -74,-60 -76,-60 -78,-60 -80,-72 -80,-84 -80,-96 -80,-108 -80,-120 -80,-132 -80,-144 -80,-156 -80,-168 -80,180 -80,171 -80,162 -80,153 -80,144 -80,135 -80,126 -80,117 -80,108 -80,99 -80,90 -80,90 -78,90 -76,90 -74,90 -72,90 -70,90 -68,90 -66,90 -64,90 -62,90 -60,99 -60,108 -60,117 -60,126 -60,135 -60,144 -60,153 -60,162 -60,171 -60,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 30 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Microbes in Antarctic surface marine sediments have an important role in degrading organic matter and releasing nutrients to the ocean. Organic matter degradation is at the center of the carbon cycle in the ocean, providing valuable information on nutrient recycling, food availability to animals and carbon dioxide release to the atmosphere. The functionality of these microbes has been inferred by their genomics, however these methods only address the possible function, not their actual rates. In this project the PIs plan to combine genomics methods with cellular estimates of enzyme abundance and activity as a way to determine the rates of carbon degradation. This project aims to sample in several regions of Antarctica to provide a large-scale picture of the processes under study and understand the importance of microbial community composition and environmental factors, such as primary productivity, have on microbial activity. The proposed work will combine research tools such as metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, and metabolomics coupled with chemical data and enzyme assays to establish degradation of organic matter in Antarctic sediments. This project benefits NSFs goals of understanding the adaptation of Antarctic organisms to the cold and isolated environment, critical to predict effects of climate change to polar organisms, as well as contribute to our knowledge of how Antarctic organisms have adapted to this environment. Society will benefit from this project by education of 2 graduate students, undergraduates and K-12 students as well as increase public literacy through short videos production shared in YouTube.\r\n\r\nThe PIs propose to advance understanding of polar microbial community function, by measuring enzyme and gene function of complex organic matter degradation in several ocean regions, providing a circum-Antarctic description of sediment processes. Two hypotheses are proposed. The first hypothesis states that many genes for the degradation of complex organic matter will be shared in sediments throughout a sampling transect and that where variations in gene content occur, it will reflect differences in the quantity and quality of organic matter, not regional variability. The second hypothesis states that a fraction of gene transcripts for organic matter degradation will not result in measurable enzyme activity due to post-translational modification or rapid degradation of the enzymes. The PIs will analyze sediment cores already collected in a 2020 cruise to the western Antarctic Peninsula with the additional request of participating in a cruise in 2023 to East Antarctica. The PIs will analyze sediments for metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, and metabolomics coupled with geochemical data and enzyme assays to establish microbial degradation of complex organic matter in Antarctic sediments. Organic carbon concentrations and content in sediments will be measured with \u03b413C, \u03b415N, TOC porewater fluorescence in bulk organic carbon. Combined with determination of geographical variability as well as dependence on carbon sources, results from this study could provide the basis for new hypotheses on how climate variability, with increased water temperature, affects geochemistry in the Southern Ocean.", "east": 90.0, "geometry": "POINT(-165 -70)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY; BENTHIC; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; R/V NBP; Weddell Sea; Antarctic Peninsula", "locations": "Antarctic Peninsula; Weddell Sea", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Learman, Deric", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -80.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: ANT LIA: Connecting Metagenome Potential to Microbial Function: Investigating Microbial Degradation of Complex Organic Matter Antarctic Benthic Sediments", "uid": "p0010373", "west": -60.0}, {"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; LAKE/POND; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; Antarctica; 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": "2055455 Duhaime, Melissa", "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": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 03 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part 1: Non-technical description:\r\nIt is well known that the Southern Ocean plays an important role in global carbon cycling and also receives a disproportionately large influence of climate change. The role of marine viruses on ocean productivity is largely understudied, especially in this global region. This team proposes to use combination of genomics, flow cytometry, and network modeling to test the hypothesis that viral biogeography, infection networks, and viral impacts on microbial metabolism can explain variations in net community production (NCP) and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. The project includes the training of a postdoctoral scholar, graduate students and undergraduate students. It also includes the development of a new Polar Sci ReachOut program in partnership with the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History especially targeted to middle-school students and teachers and the general public. The team will also produce a Science for Tomorrow (SFT) program for use in middle schools in metro-Detroit communities and lead a summer Research Experience for Teachers (RET) fellows. \r\n\r\nPart 2: Technical description: \r\nThe study will leverage hundreds of existing samples collected for microbes and viruses from the Antarctic Circumpolar Expedition (ACE). These samples provide the first contiguous survey of viral diversity and microbial communities around Antarctica. Viral networks are being studied in the context of biogeochemical data to model community networks and predict net community production (NCP), which will provide a way to evaluate the role of viruses in Southern Ocean carbon cycling. Using cutting edge molecular and flow cytometry approaches, this project addresses the following questions: 1) How/why are Southern Ocean viral populations distributed across environmental gradients? 2a) Do viruses interfere with \"keystone\" metabolic pathways and biogeochemical processes of microbial communities in the Southern Ocean? 2b) Does nutrient availability or other environmental variables drive changes in virus-microbe infection networks in the Southern Ocean? Results will be used to develop and evaluate generative models of NCP predictions that incorporate the importance of viral traits and virus-host interactions.\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": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Southern Ocean; AMD/US; USA/NSF; AQUATIC SCIENCES; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; VIRUSES; USAP-DC; AMD; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": "Southern Ocean", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Duhaime, Melissa; Zaman, Luis", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "ANT LIA - Viral Ecogenomics of the Southern Ocean: Unifying Omics and Ecological Networks to Advance our Understanding of Antarctic Microbial Ecosystem Function", "uid": "p0010333", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1643871 van Gestel, Natasja; 1947562 van Gestel, Natasja", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-65 -64.5,-64.8 -64.5,-64.6 -64.5,-64.4 -64.5,-64.2 -64.5,-64 -64.5,-63.8 -64.5,-63.6 -64.5,-63.4 -64.5,-63.2 -64.5,-63 -64.5,-63 -64.55,-63 -64.6,-63 -64.65,-63 -64.7,-63 -64.75,-63 -64.8,-63 -64.85,-63 -64.9,-63 -64.95,-63 -65,-63.2 -65,-63.4 -65,-63.6 -65,-63.8 -65,-64 -65,-64.2 -65,-64.4 -65,-64.6 -65,-64.8 -65,-65 -65,-65 -64.95,-65 -64.9,-65 -64.85,-65 -64.8,-65 -64.75,-65 -64.7,-65 -64.65,-65 -64.6,-65 -64.55,-65 -64.5))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Sat, 21 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Responses of the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems to warming will feed back to the pace of climate change, but the size and direction of this feedback are poorly constrained. Least known are the effects of warming on carbon losses from soil, and clarifying the major microbial controls is an important research frontier. This study uses a series of experiments and observations to investigate microbial, including autotrophic taxa, and plant controls of net ecosystem productivity in response to warming in intact ecosystems. Field warming is achieved using open-top chambers paired with control plots, arrayed along a productivity gradient. Along this gradient incoming and outgoing carbon fluxes will be measured at the ecosystem-level. The goal is to tie warming-induced shifts in net ecosystem carbon balance to warming effects on soil microbes and plants. The field study will be supplemented with lab temperature incubations. Because soil microbes dominate biogeochemical cycles in Antarctica, a major focus of this study is to determine warming responses of bacteria, fungi and archaea. This is achieved using a cutting-edge stable isotope technique, quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP) developed by the proposing research team, that can identify the taxa that are active and involved in processing new carbon. This technique can identify individual microbial taxa that are actively participating in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients (through combined use of 18O-water and 13C-bicarbonate) and thus can be distinguished from those that are simply present (cold-preserved). The study further assesses photosynthetic uptake of carbon by the vegetation and their sensitivity to warming. Results will advance research in climate change, plant and soil microbial ecology, and ecosystem modeling.", "east": -63.0, "geometry": "POINT(-64 -64.75)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Palmer Station; USA/NSF; AMD; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS; USAP-DC; FIELD SURVEYS; AMD/US", "locations": "Palmer Station", "north": -64.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "van Gestel, Natasja", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -65.0, "title": "Antarctica as a Model System for Responses of Terrestrial Carbon Balance to Warming", "uid": "p0010251", "west": -65.0}, {"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; Cryosphere; 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": "Vestfold Hills; AMD/US; LABORATORY; AMD; FIELD SURVEYS; USAP-DC; VIRUSES; 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": "1445205 Putkonen, Jaakko", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((157.6 -83.2,157.62 -83.2,157.64 -83.2,157.66 -83.2,157.68 -83.2,157.7 -83.2,157.72 -83.2,157.74 -83.2,157.76 -83.2,157.78 -83.2,157.8 -83.2,157.8 -83.21,157.8 -83.22,157.8 -83.23,157.8 -83.24,157.8 -83.25,157.8 -83.26,157.8 -83.27,157.8 -83.28,157.8 -83.29,157.8 -83.3,157.78 -83.3,157.76 -83.3,157.74 -83.3,157.72 -83.3,157.7 -83.3,157.68 -83.3,157.66 -83.3,157.64 -83.3,157.62 -83.3,157.6 -83.3,157.6 -83.29,157.6 -83.28,157.6 -83.27,157.6 -83.26,157.6 -83.25,157.6 -83.24,157.6 -83.23,157.6 -83.22,157.6 -83.21,157.6 -83.2))", "dataset_titles": "Cosmogenic-Nuclide data at ICE-D; Old Ice, Ong Valley, Transantarctic Mountains", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200295", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ICE-D", "science_program": null, "title": "Cosmogenic-Nuclide data at ICE-D", "url": "https://version2.ice-d.org/antarctica/nsf/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601665", "doi": "10.15784/601665", "keywords": "Antarctica; Buried Ice; Cosmogenic Isotopes; Cryosphere; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Old Ice; Ong Valley", "people": "Putkonen, Jaakko; Bergelin, Marie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Old Ice, Ong Valley, Transantarctic Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601665"}], "date_created": "Fri, 16 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Finding the oldest ice on Earth can tell us about the climate and life forms in the distant past\r\n\r\nRecently we discovered a mile wide and hundreds of feet thick ice body in Antarctica that is buried under just a few feet of dirt. Thus far our analyses of the dirt suggest that the ice is over million years old. Generally, glacial ice contains tiny bubbles and dirt that was deposited and locked in the ice by the ancient snowfall and today still holds small samples of the atmospheric gases and everything else that was carried by the winds in the past. Such samples may include the amount of greenhouse gases, plant pollen, microbes, and mineral dust. Therefore the glaciers are like archives where we can access and study the Earth\u2019s history with samples that are unavailable anywhere else. Ice survives poorly on Earth\u2019s surface and therefore currently only few ice samples are known that are approximately million years old. Our site has a high potential to harbor perhaps the oldest ice on Earth. However, first we need to sample and date the ice. Our research will also help us understand how these pockets of buried ice can survive such unusually long periods of time. Such understanding will help us study the landforms and history of not only Antarctica but also the Mars where similar dirt covered glaciers are found today.\r\n\r\nWe propose to collect regolith samples through the approximately 1 m thick cover and to core the buried ice in Ong Valley down to 10 m depth to determine the cosmogenic nuclide concentrations both in the regolith and in the embedded mineral matter suspended in the ice. The systematics of the target cosmogenic nuclides (10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne) such as half-lives, isotope production rates, production pathways, and related attenuation lengths allow us to uniquely determine the age of the ice and the rate the ice is sublimating. Our existing samples and analyses reveal accumulation of mineral matter at the base of surficial debris layer and the surface erosion of this debris by eolian processes. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity: Our main objective is to unequivocally determine the age and sublimation rate of two buried massive ice bodies in time scale of thousands to millions of years. The slow sublimation is a fundamentally Antarctic process, and may have altered most of the currently ice-free areas throughout the continent. Similar large, debris covered ice bodies have been recently discovered in Mars as well. Our results may transform the understanding of the longevity of the buried ice bodies and potentially reveal the oldest ice ever found in the interior of the Antarctica. If proven old and slowly sublimating, this buried ice can potentially yield direct information about the atmospheric chemistry, ancient life forms, and geology of greater antiquity than the currently available and sampled ice bodies. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity: The results will be relevant to researchers in glaciology, paleoclimatology, planetary geology, and biology. Several students will participate in the project and do field work in Antarctica, work in lab, attend meetings, attend outreach activities, and produce videos. A graduate student will prepare his/her thesis on a topic closely related to the objectives of the proposed research. The results of the research will be published in scientific meetings and publications.\r\n", "east": 157.8, "geometry": "POINT(157.7 -83.25)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AMD; USA/NSF; FIELD SURVEYS; Transantarctic Mountains; AMD/US; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -83.2, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "putkonen, jaakko; Balco, Gregory; Morgan, Daniel", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "ICE-D", "repositories": "Other; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -83.3, "title": "Collaborative Research: Long Term Sublimation/Preservation of Two Separate, Buried Glacier Ice Masses, Ong Valley, Southern Transantarctic Mountains", "uid": "p0010231", "west": 157.6}, {"awards": "1937748 Sumner, Dawn", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(163.183333 -77.616667)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project focuses on understanding annual changes in microbial life that grows on the bottom of Lake Fryxell, Antarctica. Because of its polar latitude, photosynthesis can only occur during the summer. During summer, photosynthetic bacteria supply communities with energy and oxygen. However, it is unknown how the microbes behave in the dark winter, when observations are not possible. This project will perform laboratory experiments with a cyanobacterial mat grown from Lake Fryxell samples. Once fieldwork is allowed, we will install environmental monitors and light-blocking shades over small parts of the communities in Lake Fryxell. The shades will extend winter conditions into the spring to allow researchers to characterize the winter behavior of the microbial communities. Researchers will measure changes in the water chemistry due to their activities when they first receive light as the shades are removed. Results are expected to provide insights into how organisms interact with and change their environments. \r\n\r\nThe project extends these scientific results to building a better-prepared, more diverse workforce to perform scientific fieldwork. Fieldwork, including diving, will be performed in part by graduate students under the mentorship of world experts in Antarctic field science. In addition, the project will help students and early career scientists learn field skills by building an online \u201cGuide to Thrive.\u201d This web site will compile field tips ranging from basic gear use to advanced environmental protection techniques. Group leaders ranging from undergraduate teaching assistants to Antarctic expedition leaders will be able to choose appropriate components to build tailored guides for their participants to help them thrive in difficult field conditions. \r\n\r\nThe researchers will measure laboratory-based and field-based seasonal metabolic and biogeochemical changes in benthic mats using differential gene expression and geochemical gradients. They will identify seasonal phenotypic differences and ecosystem effects induced by spring oxygen production. To do so, researchers will install environmental sensors and opaque shades over mats at three depths in the lake. The following spring, they will sample shaded and unshaded mats, remove the shades, track changes in pore water O2, H2S, pH, and redox with microelectrodes, and sample mats for transcriptomic analyses at intervals guided by geochemical changes. Pore water will be sampled for nutrient analyses. Field research will be supplemented with: laboratory experiments to refine field techniques (expanded effort due to COVID field restrictions); gene expression data analysis; and integration of results into a seasonal model of productivity and nitrogen cycling in Lake Fryxell. Results will provide insights into several key priorities for NSF, including how biotic, abiotic and environmental components of the benthic mats interact to affect the regional ecosystem.\r\n", "east": 163.183333, "geometry": "POINT(163.183333 -77.616667)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctica; AMD/US; AMD; USA/NSF; Lake Fryxell; USAP-DC; FIELD SURVEYS; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; LAKE/POND", "locations": "Antarctica; Lake Fryxell", "north": -77.616667, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Sumner, Dawn; Mackey, Tyler", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -77.616667, "title": "Seasonal Primary Productivity and Nitrogen Cycling in Photosynthetic Mats, Lake Fryxell, McMurdo Dry Valleys", "uid": "p0010219", "west": 163.183333}, {"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": "BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; CYANOBACTERIA (BLUE-GREEN ALGAE); LABORATORY; Dry Valleys; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS", "locations": "Dry Valleys", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Johnson, Sarah", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "NCBI GenBank", "repositories": "Other", "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": "601645", "doi": "10.15784/601645", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; 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": "601647", "doi": "10.15784/601647", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; 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": "601646", "doi": "10.15784/601646", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon; Cryosphere; Dissolved Organic Carbon; DOC; 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": "601644", "doi": "10.15784/601644", "keywords": "3H-Leu; Antarctica; Bacteria; Biology; Cryosphere; DMSP; Heterotrophic Bacterial Production; Palmer Station", "people": "Countway, Peter; Matrai, Patricia", "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": "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": "601648", "doi": "10.15784/601648", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Cryosphere; 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": "AMD/US; USAP-DC; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES; AMD; PLANKTON; 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": "1543441 Fricker, Helen; 1543453 Lyons, W. Berry; 1543405 Leventer, Amy; 1543347 Rosenheim, Brad; 1543396 Christner, Brent; 1543537 Priscu, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-163.611 -84.33543,-162.200034 -84.33543,-160.789068 -84.33543,-159.378102 -84.33543,-157.967136 -84.33543,-156.55617 -84.33543,-155.145204 -84.33543,-153.734238 -84.33543,-152.323272 -84.33543,-150.912306 -84.33543,-149.50134 -84.33543,-149.50134 -84.3659157,-149.50134 -84.3964014,-149.50134 -84.4268871,-149.50134 -84.4573728,-149.50134 -84.4878585,-149.50134 -84.5183442,-149.50134 -84.5488299,-149.50134 -84.5793156,-149.50134 -84.6098013,-149.50134 -84.640287,-150.912306 -84.640287,-152.323272 -84.640287,-153.734238 -84.640287,-155.145204 -84.640287,-156.55617 -84.640287,-157.967136 -84.640287,-159.378102 -84.640287,-160.789068 -84.640287,-162.200034 -84.640287,-163.611 -84.640287,-163.611 -84.6098013,-163.611 -84.5793156,-163.611 -84.5488299,-163.611 -84.5183442,-163.611 -84.4878585,-163.611 -84.4573728,-163.611 -84.4268871,-163.611 -84.3964014,-163.611 -84.3659157,-163.611 -84.33543))", "dataset_titles": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - GZ01-WIS_GroundingZone_01 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset; Antarctica - PI Continuous - GZ13-WIS_GroundingZone_13 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset; Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA02-WIS_LAKES_02 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset; Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA06-WIS_LAKES_06 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset; Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA07-WIS_LAKES_07 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset; Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA09-WIS_LAKES_09 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset; Bistatic Radar Sounding of Whillans Ice Stream, Antarctica and Store Glacier, Greenland; CTD data from Mercer Subglacial Lake and access borehole; Discrete bulk sediment properties data from Mercer Subglacial Lake; Isotopic data from Whillans Ice Stream grounding zone, West Antarctica; Mercer Subglacial Lake radiocarbon and stable isotope data ; Mercer Subglacial Lake (SLM) microbial composition: 16S rRNA genes (Sequence Read Archive; BioProject: PRJNA790995); Mercer Subglacial Lake (SLM) noble gas and isotopic data; Mercer Subglacial Lake water column viral metagenomic sequencing; Salsa sediment cores; Sediment porewater properties data from Mercer Subglacial Lake; Water column biogeochemical data from Mercer Subglacial Lake", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200214", "doi": "10.7283/YW8Z-TK03", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA02-WIS_LAKES_02 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/doi/10.7283/YW8Z-TK03"}, {"dataset_uid": "200215", "doi": "10.7283/C503-KS23", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA06-WIS_LAKES_06 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/doi/10.7283/C503-KS23"}, {"dataset_uid": "601661", "doi": "10.15784/601661", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon; Cryosphere; Glacier; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Iron; Mercer Subglacial Lake; Mineralogy; Particle Size; physical properties; SALSA; Sediment Core; sulfur; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Dore, John; Skidmore, Mark; Tranter, Martyn; Venturelli, Ryan A; Science Team, SALSA; Hawkings, Jon; Michaud, Alexander; Campbell, Timothy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Discrete bulk sediment properties data from Mercer Subglacial Lake", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601661"}, {"dataset_uid": "601498", "doi": "10.15784/601498", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Mercer Subglacial Lake; Noble Gas", "people": "Lyons, W. Berry; Gardner, Christopher B.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Mercer Subglacial Lake (SLM) noble gas and isotopic data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601498"}, {"dataset_uid": "200212", "doi": "10.7283/PT0Q-JB95", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - GZ01-WIS_GroundingZone_01 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/doi/10.7283/PT0Q-JB95"}, {"dataset_uid": "601657", "doi": "10.15784/601657", "keywords": "Antarctica; Conductivity; Cryosphere; CTD; Depth; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Hot Water Drill; Mercer Subglacial Lake; physical properties; SALSA; subglacial lake; Temperature", "people": "Priscu, John; Rosenheim, Brad; Leventer, Amy; Dore, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "CTD data from Mercer Subglacial Lake and access borehole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601657"}, {"dataset_uid": "601360", "doi": "10.15784/601360", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Radiocarbon; Sediment; Whillans Ice Stream", "people": "Venturelli, Ryan A", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WISSARD", "title": "Isotopic data from Whillans Ice Stream grounding zone, West Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601360"}, {"dataset_uid": "200342", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Mercer Subglacial Lake water column viral metagenomic sequencing", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/biosample/32811410"}, {"dataset_uid": "601663", "doi": "10.15784/601663", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon; Cell Counts; Cryosphere; geochemistry; Glacier; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Mercer Subglacial Lake; Microbes; Nutrients; SALSA; Stable Isotopes; Trace Elements; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Skidmore, Mark; Science Team, SALSA; Priscu, John; Tranter, Martyn; Hawkings, Jon; Steigmeyer, August; Dore, John; Li, Wei; Barker, Joel", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Water column biogeochemical data from Mercer Subglacial Lake", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601663"}, {"dataset_uid": "601472", "doi": "10.15784/601472", "keywords": "Antarctica; Bistatic Radar; Cryosphere; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS Data; Greenland; Lake Whillans; Radar; Store Glacier; Whillans Ice Stream; WISSARD", "people": "Siegfried, Matthew; Christoffersen, Poul; Peters, Sean; MacKie, Emma; Bienert, Nicole; Schroeder, Dustin; Dawson, Eliza", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WISSARD", "title": "Bistatic Radar Sounding of Whillans Ice Stream, Antarctica and Store Glacier, Greenland", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601472"}, {"dataset_uid": "601664", "doi": "10.15784/601664", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; gases; geochemistry; Glacier; Glaciology; Mercer Subglacial Lake; Methane; SALSA; Sediment Core; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Steigmeyer, August; Dore, John; Tranter, Martyn; Science Team, SALSA; Michaud, Alexander; Skidmore, Mark", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Sediment porewater properties data from Mercer Subglacial Lake", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601664"}, {"dataset_uid": "601672", "doi": "10.15784/601672", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; isotopes; Mercer Subglacial Lake; Radiocarbon; Subglacial lakes", "people": "Venturelli, Ryan; Rosenheim, Brad", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Mercer Subglacial Lake radiocarbon and stable isotope data ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601672"}, {"dataset_uid": "200217", "doi": "10.7283/3JMY-Y504", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA09-WIS_LAKES_09 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/doi/10.7283/3JMY-Y504"}, {"dataset_uid": "200216", "doi": "10.7283/F8NH-CV04", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - LA07-WIS_LAKES_07 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/doi/10.7283/F8NH-CV04"}, {"dataset_uid": "200246", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "OSU-MGR", "science_program": null, "title": "Salsa sediment cores", "url": "https://osu-mgr.org"}, {"dataset_uid": "200282", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Mercer Subglacial Lake (SLM) microbial composition: 16S rRNA genes (Sequence Read Archive; BioProject: PRJNA790995)", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA790995"}, {"dataset_uid": "200213", "doi": "10.7283/F7BB-JH05", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica - PI Continuous - GZ13-WIS_GroundingZone_13 P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/doi/10.7283/F7BB-JH05"}], "date_created": "Thu, 16 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Antarctic subglacial environment remains one of the least explored regions on Earth. This project will examine the physical and biological characteristics of Subglacial Lake Mercer, a lake that lies 1200m beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This study will address key questions relating to the stability of the ice sheet, the subglacial hydrological system, and the deep-cold subglacial biosphere. The education and outreach component aims to widely disseminate results to the scientific community and to the general public through short films, a blog, and a website.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eSubglacial Lake Mercer is one of the larger hydrologically active lakes in the southern basin of the Whillans Ice Plain, West Antarctica. It receives about 25 percent of its water from East Antarctica with the remainder originating from West Antarctica, is influenced by drain/fill cycles in a lake immediately upstream (Subglacial Lake Conway), and lies about 100 km upstream of the present grounding line of the Ross Ice Shelf. This site will yield information on the history of the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams, and on grounding line migration. The integrated study will include direct sampling of basal ice, water, and sediment from the lake in concert with surface geophysical surveys over a three-year period to define the hydrological connectivity among lakes on the Whillans Ice Plain and their flow paths to the sea. The geophysical surveys will furnish information on subglacial hydrology, aid the site selection for hot-water drilling, and provide spatial context for interpreting findings. The hot-water-drilled boreholes will be used to collect basal ice samples, provide access for direct measurement of subglacial physical, chemical, and biological conditions in the water column and sediments, and to explore the subglacial water cavities using a remotely operated vehicle equipped with sensors, cameras, and sampling equipment. Data collected from this study will address the overarching hypothesis \\\"Contemporary biodiversity and carbon cycling in hydrologically-active subglacial environments associated with the Mercer and Whillans ice streams are regulated by the mineralization and cycling of relict marine organic matter and through interactions among ice, rock, water, and sediments\\\". The project will be undertaken by a collaborative team of scientists, with expertise in microbiology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, geophysics, glaciology, marine geology, paleoceanography, and science communication.", "east": -149.50134, "geometry": "POINT(-156.55617 -84.4878585)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SALSA; SEDIMENTS; Antarctica; ISOTOPES; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; RADIOCARBON; FIELD INVESTIGATION; AMD/US; USAP-DC; VIRUSES; ICE MOTION; subglacial lake; PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTIONS; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; LABORATORY; Radiocarbon; Mercer Ice Stream; USA/NSF; Whillans Ice Stream; AMD; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Antarctica; Mercer Ice Stream; Whillans Ice Stream", "north": -84.33543, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Instrumentation and Support; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Rosenheim, Brad; Fricker, Helen; Priscu, John; Leventer, Amy; Dore, John; Lyons, W. Berry; Christner, Brent", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "UNAVCO", "repositories": "GenBank; Other; UNAVCO; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.640287, "title": "Collaborative Research: Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA): Integrated Study of Carbon Cycling in Hydrologically-active Subglacial Environments", "uid": "p0010119", "west": -163.611}, {"awards": "9978236 Bell, Robin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((101 -75.5,101.9 -75.5,102.8 -75.5,103.7 -75.5,104.6 -75.5,105.5 -75.5,106.4 -75.5,107.3 -75.5,108.2 -75.5,109.1 -75.5,110 -75.5,110 -75.85,110 -76.2,110 -76.55,110 -76.9,110 -77.25,110 -77.6,110 -77.95,110 -78.3,110 -78.65,110 -79,109.1 -79,108.2 -79,107.3 -79,106.4 -79,105.5 -79,104.6 -79,103.7 -79,102.8 -79,101.9 -79,101 -79,101 -78.65,101 -78.3,101 -77.95,101 -77.6,101 -77.25,101 -76.9,101 -76.55,101 -76.2,101 -75.85,101 -75.5))", "dataset_titles": "SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey airborne radar data; SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey bed elevation data; SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey Gravity data; SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey ice thickness data; SOAR-Lake Vostok survey magnetic anomaly data; SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey surface elevation data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601300", "doi": "10.1594/IEDA/306568", "keywords": "Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Lake Vostok; Navigation; Radar; SOAR; Subglacial Lakes", "people": "Studinger, Michael S.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey airborne radar data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601300"}, {"dataset_uid": "601295", "doi": "10.1594/IEDA/306563", "keywords": "Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Lake Vostok; Potential Field; Solid Earth", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey Gravity data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601295"}, {"dataset_uid": "601296", "doi": " 10.1594/IEDA/306564", "keywords": "Airborne Magnetic; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Lake Vostok; Magnetic; Magnetic Anomaly; Magnetometer; Potential Field; SOAR; Solid Earth", "people": "Studinger, Michael S.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-Lake Vostok survey magnetic anomaly data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601296"}, {"dataset_uid": "601297", "doi": "10.1594/IEDA/306567", "keywords": "Airborne Laser Altimeters; Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Sheet; Ice Stratigraphy; Ice Thickness; Ice Thickness Distribution; Lake Vostok; Radar; Radar Altimetry; Radar Echo Sounder; SOAR; Subglacial lakes", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey ice thickness data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601297"}, {"dataset_uid": "601298", "doi": "10.1594/IEDA/306566", "keywords": "Airborne Altimetry; Airborne Laser Altimeters; Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Ice Sheet Elevation; Ice Surface; Lake Vostok; Radar Echo Sounder; SOAR; Surface Elevation", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey surface elevation data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601298"}, {"dataset_uid": "601299", "doi": "10.1594/IEDA/306565", "keywords": "Airborne Laser Altimeters; Airborne Laser Altimetry; Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; Bed Elevation; Bedrock Elevation; Cryosphere; Digital Elevation Model (DEM); East Antarctica; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Lake Vostok; Radar; Radar Echo Sounder; SOAR", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-Lake Vostok Survey bed elevation data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601299"}], "date_created": "Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Office of Polar Programs under the Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) Program, supports a geophysical study of Lake Vostok, a large lake beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eSubglacial ecosystems, in particular subglacial lake ecosystems are extreme oligotrophic environments. These environments, and the ecosystems which may exist within them, should provide key insights into a range of fundamental questions about the development of Earth and other bodies in the Solar System including: 1) the processes associated with rapid evolutionary radiation after the extensive Neoproterozoic glaciations; 2) the overall carbon cycle through glacial and interglacial periods; and 3) the possible adaptations organisms may require to thrive in environments such as on Europa, the ice covered moon of Jupiter. Over 70 subglacial lakes have been identified beneath the 3-4 kilometer thick ice of Antarctica. One lake, Lake Vostok, is sufficiently large to be clearly identified from space with satellite altimetry. Lake Vostok is similar to Lake Ontario in area but with a much larger volume including measured water depths of 600 meters. The overlying ice sheet is acting as a conveyer belt continually delivering new water, nutrients, gas hydrates, sediments and microbes as the ice sheet flows across the lake. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe goal of this program is to determine the fundamental boundary conditions for this subglacial lake as an essential first step toward understanding the physical processes within the lake. An aerogeophysical survey over the lake and into the surrounding regions will be acquired to meet this goal. This data set includes gravity, magnetic, laser altimetry and ice penetrating radar data and will be used to compile a basic set of ice surface elevation, subglacial topography, gravity and magnetic anomaly maps. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003ePotential field methods widely used in the oil industry will be modified to estimate the subglacial topography from gravity data where the ice penetrating radar will be unable to recover the depth of the lake. A similar method can be modified to estimate the thickness of the sediments beneath the lake from magnetic data. These methods will be tested and applied to subglacial lakes near South Pole prior to the Lake Vostok field campaign and will provide valuable comparisons to the planned survey. Once the methods have been adjusted for the Lake Vostok application, maps of the water cavity and sediment thickness beneath the lake will be produced.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThese maps will become tools to explore the geologic origin of the lake. The two endmember models are, first, that the lake is an active tectonic rift such as Lake Baikal and, second, the lake is the result of glacial scouring. The distinct characteristics of an extensional rift can be easily identified with our aerogeophysical survey. The geological interpretation of the airborne geophysical survey will provide the first geological constraints of the interior of the East Antarctic continent based on modern data. In addition, the underlying geology will influence the ecosystem within the lake. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eOne of the critical issues for the ecosystem within the lake will be the flux of nutrients. A preliminary estimation of the regions of freezing and melting based on the distance between distinctive internal layers observed on the radar data will be made. These basic boundary conditions will provide guidance for a potential international effort aimed at in situ exploration of the lake and improve the understanding of East Antarctic geologic structures.", "east": 110.0, "geometry": "POINT(105.5 -77.25)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR ECHO SOUNDERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e MAGNETIC FIELD/ELECTRIC FIELD INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETOMETERS \u003e MGF; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e AIRGRAV", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Gravity; Subglacial lakes; Airborne Radar; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; East Antarctica; MAGNETIC FIELD; USAP-DC; GRAVITY; Lake Vostok", "locations": "East Antarctica; Lake Vostok", "north": -75.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -79.0, "title": "Understanding the Boundary Conditions of the Lake Vostok Environment: A Site Survey for Future Work\r\n", "uid": "p0010097", "west": 101.0}, {"awards": "1744760 Hopkinson, Brian; 1745036 Marchetti, Adrian", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-77 -61,-75.2 -61,-73.4 -61,-71.6 -61,-69.8 -61,-68 -61,-66.2 -61,-64.4 -61,-62.6 -61,-60.8 -61,-59 -61,-59 -62.1,-59 -63.2,-59 -64.3,-59 -65.4,-59 -66.5,-59 -67.6,-59 -68.7,-59 -69.8,-59 -70.9,-59 -72,-60.8 -72,-62.6 -72,-64.4 -72,-66.2 -72,-68 -72,-69.8 -72,-71.6 -72,-73.4 -72,-75.2 -72,-77 -72,-77 -70.9,-77 -69.8,-77 -68.7,-77 -67.6,-77 -66.5,-77 -65.4,-77 -64.3,-77 -63.2,-77 -62.1,-77 -61))", "dataset_titles": "Photosynthetic physiological data of Proteorhodopsin containing diatoms under differing iron availabilities", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601530", "doi": "10.15784/601530", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Diatom", "people": "Marchetti, Adrian; Plumb, Kaylie; Hopkinson, Brian; Andrew, Sarah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Photosynthetic physiological data of Proteorhodopsin containing diatoms under differing iron availabilities", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601530"}], "date_created": "Sun, 16 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Proteorhodopsins (PR) are retinal-binding membrane proteins that can act as light-driven proton pumps to generate energy that can be used for metabolism and growth. The discovery of PRs in many diverse marine prokaryotic microbes has initiated extensive investigations into their distributions and functional roles. Recently, a rhodopsin-like gene of the proton-pumping variety was identified in diatoms thus revealing their presence within obligate marine eukaryotic photoautotrophs. Since this time, PRs have been identified in a number of diatom isolates although there appears to be a much higher frequency of\r\nPR in diatoms residing in cold, iron-limited regions of the ocean, particularly in the Southern Ocean (SO). PR is especially suited for use in SO phytoplankton since unlike conventional photosynthesis, it uses no iron and its reaction rate is insensitive to temperature. The overall objective of our proposed project is to characterize Antarctic diatom-PR and determine its role in the adaptation of SO diatoms to the prevailing conditions of low iron concentrations and extremely low temperatures. Our research objectives will be achieved through a combination of molecular, biochemical and physiological measurements in diatom isolates recently obtained from the Western Antarctic Peninsula region. We will determine the proton-pumping characteristics and pumping rates of PR as a function of light intensity and wavelength, the resultant PR-linked intracellular ATP production rates, and the cellular localization of the protein. We will examine under which environmental conditions Antarctic diatom-PR is most highly expressed and construct a cellular energy budget that includes diatom-PR when grown under these different growth conditions. Estimates of the energy flux generated by PR in PR-containing diatoms will be compared to total energy generation by the photosynthetic light reactions and metabolically coupled respiration rates. Finally, we will compare the characteristics and gene expression of diatom-PR in Antarctic diatoms to PR-containing diatoms isolated from temperate regions in order to investigate if there is a preferential dependence on energy production through diatom-PR in diatoms residing in cold, iron-limited regions of the ocean.", "east": -59.0, "geometry": "POINT(-68 -66.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION; NSF/USA; Southern Ocean; AMD; LABORATORY; AMD/US; USAP-DC; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES", "locations": "Southern Ocean", "north": -61.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Marchetti, Adrian; Septer, Alecia; Hopkinson, Brian", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -72.0, "title": "Collaborative research: Antarctic diatom proteorhodopsins: Characterization and a potential role in the iron-limitation response", "uid": "p0010033", "west": -77.0}, {"awards": "1642570 Thurber, Andrew", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(166.666 -77.8)", "dataset_titles": "Microbial community composition of the Cinder Cones Cold Seep", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200035", "doi": "DOI:10.1575/1912/bco-dmo.756997.1", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "BCO-DMO", "science_program": null, "title": "Microbial community composition of the Cinder Cones Cold Seep", "url": "https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/756997"}], "date_created": "Fri, 24 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is naturally emitted into the oceans by geologic seeps and microbial production. Based on studies of persistent deep-sea seeps at mid- and northern latitudes, researchers have learned that bacteria and archaea can create a \"sediment filter\" that oxidizes methane prior to its release. Antarctica is thought to contain large reservoirs of organic carbon buried beneath its ice which could a quantity of methane equivalent to all of the permafrost in the Arctic and yet we know almost nothing about the methane oxidizing microbes in this region. How these microbial communities develop and potentially respond to fluctuations in methane levels is an under-explored avenue of research. A bacterial mat was recently discovered at 78 degrees south, suggesting the possible presence of a methane seep, and associated microbial communities. This project will explore this environment in detail to assess the levels and origin of methane, and the nature of the microbial ecosystem present. \u003cbr/\u003e \u003cbr/\u003eAn expansive bacterial mat appeared and/or was discovered at 78 degrees south in 2011. This site, near McMurdo Station Antarctica, has been visited since the mid-1960s, but this mat was not observed until 2011. The finding of this site provides an unusual opportunity to study an Antarctic marine benthic habitat with active methane cycling and to examine the dynamics of recruitment and community succession of seep fauna including bacteria, archaea, protists and metazoans. This project will collect the necessary baseline data to facilitate further studies of Antarctic methane cycling. The concentration and source of methane will be determined at this site and at potentially analogous sites in McMurdo Sound. In addition to biogeochemical characterization of the sites, molecular analysis of the microbial community will quantify the time scales on which bacteria and archaea respond to methane input and provide information on rates of community development and succession in the Southern Ocean. Project activities will facilitate the training of at least one graduate student and results will be shared at both local and international levels. A female graduate student will be mentored as part of this project and data collected will form part of her dissertation. Lectures will be given in K-12 classrooms in Oregon to excite students about polar science. National and international audiences will be reached through blogs and presentations at a scientific conference. The PI\u0027s previous blogs have been used by K-12 classrooms as part of their lesson plans and followed in over 65 countries.\u003cbr/\u003e", "east": 166.666, "geometry": "POINT(166.666 -77.8)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Sea Floor; USAP-DC; Ross Sea; NOT APPLICABLE; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA", "locations": "Ross Sea; Sea Floor", "north": -77.8, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Thurber, Andrew", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "BCO-DMO", "repositories": "BCO-DMO", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.8, "title": "EAGER: Elucidating the Antarctic Methane Cycle at the Cinder Cones Reducing Habitat.", "uid": "p0010030", "west": 166.666}, {"awards": "1246292 Cary, Stephen", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((161.36062 -77.20215,161.610171 -77.20215,161.859722 -77.20215,162.109273 -77.20215,162.358824 -77.20215,162.608375 -77.20215,162.857926 -77.20215,163.107477 -77.20215,163.357028 -77.20215,163.606579 -77.20215,163.85613 -77.20215,163.85613 -77.291278,163.85613 -77.380406,163.85613 -77.469534,163.85613 -77.558662,163.85613 -77.64779,163.85613 -77.736918,163.85613 -77.826046,163.85613 -77.915174,163.85613 -78.004302,163.85613 -78.09343,163.606579 -78.09343,163.357028 -78.09343,163.107477 -78.09343,162.857926 -78.09343,162.608375 -78.09343,162.358824 -78.09343,162.109273 -78.09343,161.859722 -78.09343,161.610171 -78.09343,161.36062 -78.09343,161.36062 -78.004302,161.36062 -77.915174,161.36062 -77.826046,161.36062 -77.736918,161.36062 -77.64779,161.36062 -77.558662,161.36062 -77.469534,161.36062 -77.380406,161.36062 -77.291278,161.36062 -77.20215))", "dataset_titles": "Carbon-fixation rates and associated microbial communities; Carbon-fixation rates and associated microbial communities residing in arid and ephemerally wet Antarctic Dry Valley soils; Importance of Heterotrophic and Phototrophic N2 Fixation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys ; Microbial community composition of transiently wetted Antarctic Dry Valley soils.; Microbial population dynamics along a terrestrial Antarctic moisture gradient; Microbial population dynamics along a terrestrial wetted gradient", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002736", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "EMBL", "science_program": null, "title": "Microbial population dynamics along a terrestrial Antarctic moisture gradient", "url": "https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/data/view/PRJEB27415"}, {"dataset_uid": "200013", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Importance of Heterotrophic and Phototrophic N2 Fixation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys ", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA505820"}, {"dataset_uid": "200015", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Microbial community composition of transiently wetted Antarctic Dry Valley soils.", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/popset/?term=KP836071%20to%20KP836108"}, {"dataset_uid": "200014", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "EMBL", "science_program": null, "title": "Microbial population dynamics along a terrestrial wetted gradient", "url": "https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/data/view/PRJEB7939"}, {"dataset_uid": "002737", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "KNB", "science_program": null, "title": "Carbon-fixation rates and associated microbial communities residing in arid and ephemerally wet Antarctic Dry Valley soils", "url": "https://knb.ecoinformatics.org/view/knb.756.1"}, {"dataset_uid": "002738", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Carbon-fixation rates and associated microbial communities", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/protein/?term=craig%20cary"}], "date_created": "Wed, 14 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are recognized as being the driest, coldest and probably one of the harshest environments on Earth. In addition to the lack of water, the biota in the valleys face a very limited supply of nutrients such as nitrogen compounds - necessary for protein synthesis. The glacial streams of the Dry Valleys have extensive cyanobacterial (blue green algae) mats that are a major source of carbon and nitrogen compounds to biota in this region. While cyanobacteria in streams are important as a source of these compounds, other non-photosynthetic bacteria also contribute a significant fraction (~50%) of fixed nitrogen compounds to valley biota. This research effort will involve an examination of exactly which non-phototrophic bacteria are involved in nitrogen fixation and what environmental factors are responsible for controlling nitrogen fixation by these microbes. This work will resolve the environmental factors that control the activity, abundance and diversity of nitrogen-fixing microbes across four of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. This will allow for comparisons among sites of differing latitude, temperature, elevation and exposure to water. These results will be integrated into a landscape wetness model that will help determine the impact of both cyanobacterial and non-photosynthetic nitrogen fixing microorganisms in this very harsh environment.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe Dry Valleys in many ways resemble the Martian environment, and understanding the primitive life and very simple nutrient cycling in the Dry Valleys has relevance for understanding how life might have once existed on other planets. Furthermore, the study of microbes from extreme environments has resulted in numerous biotechnological applications such as the polymerase chain reaction for amplifying DNA and mechanisms for freeze resistance in agricultural crops. Thus, this research should yield insights into how biota survive in extreme environments, and these insights could lead to other commercial applications.", "east": 163.85613, "geometry": "POINT(162.608375 -77.64779)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE; Antarctica; USAP-DC; RIVERS/STREAM", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -77.20215, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cary, Stephen", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "EMBL", "repositories": "Other", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.09343, "title": "Collaborative Research: Importance of Heterotrophic and Phototrophic N2 Fixation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys on Local, Regional and Landscape Scales", "uid": "p0000235", "west": 161.36062}, {"awards": "1141978 Foreman, Christine", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((160 -76,160.1 -76,160.2 -76,160.3 -76,160.4 -76,160.5 -76,160.6 -76,160.7 -76,160.8 -76,160.9 -76,161 -76,161 -76.1,161 -76.2,161 -76.3,161 -76.4,161 -76.5,161 -76.6,161 -76.7,161 -76.8,161 -76.9,161 -77,160.9 -77,160.8 -77,160.7 -77,160.6 -77,160.5 -77,160.4 -77,160.3 -77,160.2 -77,160.1 -77,160 -77,160 -76.9,160 -76.8,160 -76.7,160 -76.6,160 -76.5,160 -76.4,160 -76.3,160 -76.2,160 -76.1,160 -76))", "dataset_titles": "FT-ICR MS Metadata; Respiration Metadata; UPLC-Q-TOF data of Cotton Glacier exometabolites", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601089", "doi": "10.15784/601089", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Exometabolites; Mass Spectrometry; Microbes; Microbiology", "people": "Foreman, Christine; Tigges, Michelle; Bothner, Brian", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "UPLC-Q-TOF data of Cotton Glacier exometabolites", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601089"}, {"dataset_uid": "601077", "doi": "10.15784/601077", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Chemistry:Fluid; Cryosphere; Fluorescence spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry", "people": "Foreman, Christine; D\u0027Andrilli, Juliana", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "FT-ICR MS Metadata", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601077"}, {"dataset_uid": "601076", "doi": "10.15784/601076", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Chemistry:Fluid; Cryosphere; Fluorescence spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry", "people": "Foreman, Christine; Smith, Heidi", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Respiration Metadata", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601076"}], "date_created": "Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Uncovering the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is central to an understanding of the global carbon cycle, as organic material from lakes, streams, oceans and soils passes through this pool. DOM acts as a key energy source for microbes in many ecosystems and therefore can affect regional nutrient cycling patterns. For example, preliminary results suggest that organisms isolated from a supraglacial stream on Cotton Glacier, Antarctica, may be important in DOM cycling in this relatively simple, low temperature system. However, little is known about the functional attributes of the microbes that interact with DOM in the environment. This project will use state-of-the-art genomics, proteomics and metabolomics approaches to understand the mechanisms by which two microbial isolates, CG3 and CG9_1, affect DOM cycling. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry will also be used to better characterize the microbially-derived DOM from this ecosystem. This project will support the research and training of one undergraduate and two graduate students. Results will be widely disseminated through publications as well as through presentations at national and international meetings. In addition, raw data will be made available through open-access databases. Understanding the relationship between cold-adapted microbial metabolisms and DOM pools is important as more than 90% of the Earth?s oceans are below 5 degrees Celsius.", "east": 161.0, "geometry": "POINT(160.5 -76.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Foreman, Christine; Bothner, Brian", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.0, "title": "Multidimensional \"omics\" characterization of microbial metabolism and dissolved organic matter in Antarctica", "uid": "p0000408", "west": 160.0}, {"awards": "1340905 Doran, Peter", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((161 -77,161.3 -77,161.6 -77,161.9 -77,162.2 -77,162.5 -77,162.8 -77,163.1 -77,163.4 -77,163.7 -77,164 -77,164 -77.05,164 -77.1,164 -77.15,164 -77.2,164 -77.25,164 -77.3,164 -77.35,164 -77.4,164 -77.45,164 -77.5,163.7 -77.5,163.4 -77.5,163.1 -77.5,162.8 -77.5,162.5 -77.5,162.2 -77.5,161.9 -77.5,161.6 -77.5,161.3 -77.5,161 -77.5,161 -77.45,161 -77.4,161 -77.35,161 -77.3,161 -77.25,161 -77.2,161 -77.15,161 -77.1,161 -77.05,161 -77))", "dataset_titles": "Lake Bonney Autonomous Lake Profiler and Samplers (ALPS): Particulate Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Concentrations. doi:10.6073/pasta/0043c1728b4e51879970d59f2d0ce575", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002521", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "LTER", "science_program": null, "title": "Lake Bonney Autonomous Lake Profiler and Samplers (ALPS): Particulate Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Concentrations. doi:10.6073/pasta/0043c1728b4e51879970d59f2d0ce575", "url": "http://www.mcmlter.org/node/3957"}], "date_created": "Fri, 13 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "EAGER: Collaborative Research: Habitability of Antarctic lakes and detectability of microbial life in icy environments by autonomous year-round instrumentation, is supported by the Antarctic Integrated System Science (AISS) and the Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems (AOE) programs within the Antarctic Sciences section in the Division of Polar Programs within the Geosciences Directorate of the National Sciences Foundation (NSF). The funds will allow the measurement of year-round properties of the microbes and the surrounding water in Lake Bonney, a lake with four meters of permanent ice cover over forty meters of liquid water in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. NSF funds will be used to support the deployment, and the science enabled by the deployment, and NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) funds will be used to purchase the equipment.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eIntellectual Merit: This research will be the first to make year-round measurements of the microbial community, and several associated environmental variables, in the continuously liquid portions of Lake Bonney, Antarctica. Three different types of equipment will be deployed in each of the lobes of Lake Bonney. The first instrument is an ITP (an ice-tethered profiler) that will measure physical parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll throughout the full depth of the liquid water portion of the lake, making measurements at least once each week. The second and third instruments will be used to collect discrete water samples at least every two weeks to determine A) the biological community (assessing metabolic and phylogenetic diversity) and B) the geochemistry (e.g., dissolved organic carbon, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen species). Such samplers have never been used to measure these properties year-round in the Antarctic. Cold temperatures, bottom lake water salinities that are four times greater than the ocean, the thick permanent ice cover, and the lack of sunlight to recharge batteries all present significant challenges for the project, thus classifying the work as an early, high-risk, high-reward activity (the acronym EAGER stands for Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research).\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader Impacts: There is much interest in understanding the ecosystems of the Polar regions in an era of climate change. Logistical limitations dictate much of this work only take place in the summer, until new autonomous technologies can open the door for year-round measurements. This award will be the first to attempt year-round microbial sampling in Antarctica. The McMurdo Dry Valleys region is also the site of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program, and the research conducted on this project with benefit from, and contribute to, the larger LTER project. The instruments used in the project will be purchased by NASA, so two separate agencies have agreed to explore the feasibility of an early stage project. There will be at least three graduate student trained during the project, and the team will also participate in outreach activities at several venues including the Crow Reservation in Montana.", "east": 164.0, "geometry": "POINT(162.5 -77.25)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Doran, Peter; Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Priscu, John", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "LTER", "repositories": "LTER", "science_programs": "LTER", "south": -77.5, "title": "EAGER: Collaborative Research: Habitability of Antarctic Lakes and Detectability of Microbial Life in Icy Environments by Aautonomous Year-round Instrumentation", "uid": "p0000326", "west": 161.0}, {"awards": "1142096 Schwartz, Egbert; 1142102 Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((161 -77,161.3 -77,161.6 -77,161.9 -77,162.2 -77,162.5 -77,162.8 -77,163.1 -77,163.4 -77,163.7 -77,164 -77,164 -77.05,164 -77.1,164 -77.15,164 -77.2,164 -77.25,164 -77.3,164 -77.35,164 -77.4,164 -77.45,164 -77.5,163.7 -77.5,163.4 -77.5,163.1 -77.5,162.8 -77.5,162.5 -77.5,162.2 -77.5,161.9 -77.5,161.6 -77.5,161.3 -77.5,161 -77.5,161 -77.45,161 -77.4,161 -77.35,161 -77.3,161 -77.25,161 -77.2,161 -77.15,161 -77.1,161 -77.05,161 -77))", "dataset_titles": "GenBank. Accession # PRJNA232062,PRJNA228947,PRJNA228945; McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Genetic/Genomic Data Resource; NCBI GenBank RNA sequences", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000177", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA356879"}, {"dataset_uid": "000180", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "LTER", "science_program": null, "title": "McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Genetic/Genomic Data Resource", "url": "http://www.mcmlter.org/genetic"}, {"dataset_uid": "000178", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "GenBank. Accession # PRJNA232062,PRJNA228947,PRJNA228945", "url": "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/"}], "date_created": "Wed, 04 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are among the coldest, driest habitats on the planet. Previous research has documented the presence of surprisingly diverse microbial communities in the soils of the Dry Valleys despite these extreme conditions. However, the degree to which these organisms are active is unknown; it is possible that much of this diversity reflects microbes that have blown into this environment that are subsequently preserved in these cold, dry conditions. This research will use modern molecular techniques to answer a fundamental question regarding these communities: which organisms are active and how do they live in such extreme conditions? The research will include manipulations to explore how changes in water, salt and carbon affect the microbial community, to address the role that these organisms play in nutrient cycling in this environment. The results of this work will provide a broader understanding of how life adapts to such extreme conditions as well as the role of dormancy in the life history of microorganisms. Results will be widely disseminated through publications as well as through presentations at national and international meetings; raw data will be made available through a high-profile web-based portal. The research will support two graduate students, two undergraduate research assistants and a postdoctoral fellow. The results will be incorporated into a webinar targeted to secondary and post-secondary educators and a complimentary hands-on class activity kit will be developed and made available to various teacher and outreach organizations.", "east": 164.0, "geometry": "POINT(162.5 -77.25)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Schwartz, Egbert; Van Horn, David", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "NCBI GenBank", "repositories": "LTER; Other", "science_programs": "LTER", "south": -77.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: An Integrated Ecological Investigation of McMurdo Dry Valley\u0027s Active Soil Microbial Communities", "uid": "p0000334", "west": 161.0}, {"awards": "1141936 Foreman, Christine", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112.085 -79.467)", "dataset_titles": "Molecular Level Characterization of Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Diversity in the WAIS Divide Replicate Core", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600133", "doi": "10.15784/600133", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Cryosphere; Genetic Sequences; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; WAIS divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Foreman, Christine", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Molecular Level Characterization of Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Diversity in the WAIS Divide Replicate Core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600133"}], "date_created": "Thu, 05 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a detailed, molecular level characterization of dissolved organic carbon and microbes in Antarctic ice cores. Using the most modern biological (genomic), geochemical techniques, and advanced chemical instrumentation researchers will 1) optimize protocols for collecting, extracting and amplifying DNA from deep ice cores suitable for use in next generation pyrosequencing; 2) determine the microbial diversity within the ice core; and 3) obtain and analyze detailed molecular characterizations of the carbon in the ice by ultrahigh resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). With this pilot study investigators will be able to quantify the amount of material (microbial biomass and carbon) required to perform these characterizations, which is needed to inform future ice coring projects. The ultimate goal will be to develop protocols that maximize the yield, while minimizing the amount of ice required. The broader impacts include education and outreach at both the local and national levels. As a faculty mentor with the American Indian Research Opportunities and BRIDGES programs at Montana State University, Foreman will serve as a mentor to a Native American student in the lab during the summer months. Susan Kelly is an Education and Outreach Coordinator with a MS degree in Geology and over 10 years of experience in science outreach. She will coordinate efforts for comprehensive educational collaboration with the Hardin School District on the Crow Indian Reservation in South-central Montana.", "east": 112.085, "geometry": "POINT(112.085 -79.467)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e ADS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Dissolved Organic Carbon; WAIS divide; FIELD SURVEYS; Microbes; Ice Core; Not provided; molecular; Antarctic; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Microbial Diversity; pyrosequencing; DNA", "locations": "Antarctic; WAIS divide", "north": -79.467, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Foreman, Christine", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": -79.467, "title": "Molecular Level Characterization of Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Diversity in the WAIS Divide Replicate Core", "uid": "p0000342", "west": 112.085}, {"awards": "0838970 Foreman, Christine", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(161.667 -77.117)", "dataset_titles": "The Biogeochemical Evolution of Dissolved Organic Matter in a Fluvial System on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600104", "doi": "10.15784/600104", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Cryosphere; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Microbiology", "people": "Foreman, Christine", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Biogeochemical Evolution of Dissolved Organic Matter in a Fluvial System on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600104"}], "date_created": "Fri, 10 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises a significant pool of Earth\u0027s organic carbon that dwarfs the amount present in living aquatic organisms. The properties and reactivity of DOM are not well defined, and the evolution of autochthonous DOM from its precursor materials in freshwater has not been observed. Recent sampling of a supraglacial stream formed on the Cotton Glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains revealed DOM that more closely resembles an assemblage of recognizable precursor organic compounds, based upon its UV-VIS and fluorescence spectra. It is suggested that the DOM from this water evolved over time to resemble materials present in marine and many inland surface waters. The transient nature of the system i.e., it reforms seasonally, also prevents any accumulation of the refractory DOM present in most surface waters. Thus, the Cotton Glacier provides us with a unique environment to study the formation of DOM from precursor materials. An interdisciplinary team will study the biogeochemistry of this progenitor DOM and how microbes modify it. By focusing on the chemical composition of the DOM as it shifts from precursor material to the more humified fractions, the investigators will relate this transition to bioavailability, enzymatic activity, community composition and microbial growth efficiency. This project will support education at all levels, K-12, high school, undergraduate, graduate and post-doc and will increase participation by under-represented groups in science. Towards these goals, the investigators have established relationships with girls\u0027 schools and Native American programs. Additional outreach will be carried out in coordination with PolarTREC, PolarPalooza, and if possible, an Antarctic Artist and Writer.", "east": 161.667, "geometry": "POINT(161.667 -77.117)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -77.117, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Foreman, Christine", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.117, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Biogeochemical Evolution of Dissolved Organic Matter in a Fluvial System on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica", "uid": "p0000458", "west": 161.667}, {"awards": "1043265 Deming, Jody", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((162.1397 -77.14085,162.828507 -77.14085,163.517314 -77.14085,164.206121 -77.14085,164.894928 -77.14085,165.583735 -77.14085,166.272542 -77.14085,166.961349 -77.14085,167.650156 -77.14085,168.338963 -77.14085,169.02777 -77.14085,169.02777 -77.200745,169.02777 -77.26064,169.02777 -77.320535,169.02777 -77.38043,169.02777 -77.440325,169.02777 -77.50022,169.02777 -77.560115,169.02777 -77.62001,169.02777 -77.679905,169.02777 -77.7398,168.338963 -77.7398,167.650156 -77.7398,166.961349 -77.7398,166.272542 -77.7398,165.583735 -77.7398,164.894928 -77.7398,164.206121 -77.7398,163.517314 -77.7398,162.828507 -77.7398,162.1397 -77.7398,162.1397 -77.679905,162.1397 -77.62001,162.1397 -77.560115,162.1397 -77.50022,162.1397 -77.440325,162.1397 -77.38043,162.1397 -77.320535,162.1397 -77.26064,162.1397 -77.200745,162.1397 -77.14085))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 31 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The relatively pristine Antarctic continent with its extensive maritime zone represents a unique location on the planet to investigate the long distance aerial transport and deposition of marine microorganisms. The vast extent of new sea ice that forms each winter around the continent results in large numbers of frost flowers, delicate ice-crystal structures of high salt content that form on the surface of the ice and are readily dispersed by wind. The proposed research builds on earlier work in the Arctic and tests the new hypothesis that wind-borne frost flowers provide an effective mechanism for the transport of marine bacteria over long distances, one that can be uniquely sourced and tracked by the frost flower salt signature in the Antarctic realm. A highly resolved genomic snapshot of the microbial community will be acquired at each stage in the transport path, which will track decreasing fractions of the marine microbial community as it freezes into sea ice, incorporates into frost flowers, converts to aerosols, and ultimately deposits within continental snowpack. En route from sea ice to snowpack, marine bacteria will be exposed to an array of environmental stresses, including high salinity, low temperatures, UV light and potential desiccation. A parallel proteomic analysis will enable an evaluation of the microbial response to these extreme conditions and potential survival mechanisms that allow persistence or eventual colonization of deposition sites across Antarctica. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eCurrent understanding of microbes in the Antarctic atmosphere is based on a limited number of microscopic and culture-based assays and a single report of low-resolution 16S RNA gene sequence analysis. The research will broadly impact understanding of atmospheric microbiology, from source to deposition, and various issues of microbial survival, colonization, endemism, and diversity under extreme conditions. In addition to venues that reach the scientific community, the research team will develop a permanent multi-media and artifact-based exhibit on Antarctic Microbial Transport that will be showcased at Seattle\u0027s Pacific Science Center (PSC), which educates nearly a million visitors annually.", "east": 169.02777, "geometry": "POINT(165.583735 -77.440325)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -77.14085, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Deming, Jody", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -77.7398, "title": "High Resolution Genomic and Proteomic Analyses of a Microbial Transport Mechanism from Antarctic Marine Waters to Permanent Snowpack", "uid": "p0000356", "west": 162.1397}, {"awards": "0838830 Cottrell, Matthew", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-64.079666 -64.77966,-64.07576590000001 -64.77966,-64.0718658 -64.77966,-64.0679657 -64.77966,-64.0640656 -64.77966,-64.06016550000001 -64.77966,-64.0562654 -64.77966,-64.0523653 -64.77966,-64.04846520000001 -64.77966,-64.0445651 -64.77966,-64.040665 -64.77966,-64.040665 -64.78326100000001,-64.040665 -64.786862,-64.040665 -64.790463,-64.040665 -64.794064,-64.040665 -64.797665,-64.040665 -64.801266,-64.040665 -64.804867,-64.040665 -64.808468,-64.040665 -64.812069,-64.040665 -64.81567,-64.0445651 -64.81567,-64.04846520000001 -64.81567,-64.0523653 -64.81567,-64.0562654 -64.81567,-64.06016550000001 -64.81567,-64.0640656 -64.81567,-64.0679657 -64.81567,-64.0718658 -64.81567,-64.07576590000001 -64.81567,-64.079666 -64.81567,-64.079666 -64.812069,-64.079666 -64.808468,-64.079666 -64.804867,-64.079666 -64.801266,-64.079666 -64.797665,-64.079666 -64.794064,-64.079666 -64.790463,-64.079666 -64.786862,-64.079666 -64.78326100000001,-64.079666 -64.77966))", "dataset_titles": "Photoheterotrophic Microbes in the West Antarctic Peninsula Marine Ecosystem", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600097", "doi": "10.15784/600097", "keywords": "Antarctic Peninsula; Biology; Biosphere; LTER Palmer Station; Microbiology; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Kirchman, David; Cottrell, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Photoheterotrophic Microbes in the West Antarctic Peninsula Marine Ecosystem", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600097"}], "date_created": "Mon, 16 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eLight quality and availability are likely to change in polar ecosystems as ice coverage and thickness decrease. How microbes adjust to these and other changes will have huge impacts on the polar marine ecosystems. Little is known about photoheterotrophic prokaryotes, which are hypothesized to gain a metabolic advantage by harvesting light energy in addition to utilizing dissolved organic matter (DOM). Photoheterotrophy is not included in current models of carbon cycling and energy flow. This research will examine three questions: 1. Are photoheterotrophic microbes present and active in Antarctic waters in winter and summer? 2. Does community structure of photoheterotrophs shift between summer and winter? 3. Which microbial groups assimilate more DOM in light than in the dark? The research will test hypotheses about activity of photoheterotrophs in winter and in summer, shifts in community structure between light and dark seasons and the potentially unique impacts of photoheterotrophs on biogeochemical processes in the Antarctic. The project will directly support a graduate student, will positively impact the NSF REU program at the College of Marine and Earth Studies, and will include students from the nation?s oldest historical minority college. The results will be featured during weekly tours of Lewes facilities (about 1000 visitors per year) and during Coast Day, an annual open-house that attracts about 10,000 visitors.", "east": -64.040665, "geometry": "POINT(-64.0601655 -64.797665)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -64.77966, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cottrell, Matthew; David, Kirchman", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -64.81567, "title": "Photoheterotrophic Microbes in the West Antarctic Peninsula Marine Ecosystem", "uid": "p0000473", "west": -64.079666}, {"awards": "0739648 Cary, Stephen", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(163 -77.5)", "dataset_titles": "Biogeochemistry of Cyanobactrial Mats and Hyporheic Zone Microbes in McMurdo Dry Valley Glacial Meltwater Streams", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600079", "doi": "10.15784/600079", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Cell Counts; Cryosphere; Dry Valleys; Microbiology", "people": "Cary, S. Craig", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Biogeochemistry of Cyanobactrial Mats and Hyporheic Zone Microbes in McMurdo Dry Valley Glacial Meltwater Streams", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600079"}], "date_created": "Tue, 10 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The glacial streams of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have extensive cyanobacterial mats that are a probable source of fixed C and N to the Valleys. The research will examine the interplay between the microbial mats in the ephemeral glacial streams and the microbiota of the hyporheic soils (wetted soil zone) underlying and adjacent to those mats. It is hypothesized that the mats are important sources of organic carbon and fixed nitrogen for the soil communities of the hyporheic zone, and release dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) that serves the entire Dry Valley ecosystem. Field efforts will entail both observational and experimental components. Direct comparisons will be made between the mats and microbial populations underlying naturally rehydrated and desiccated mat areas, and between mat areas in the melt streams of the Adams and Miers Glaciers in Miers Valley. Both physiological and phylogenetic indices of the soil microbiota will be examined. Observations will include estimates of rates of mat carbon and nitrogen fixation, soil respiration and leucine and thymidine uptake (as measures of protein \u0026 DNA synthesis, respectively) by soil bacteria, bacterial densities and their molecular ecology. Experimental manipulations will include experimental re-wetting of soils and observations of the time course of response of the microbial community. The research will integrate modern molecular genetic approaches (ARISA-DNA fingerprinting and ultra deep 16S rDNA microbial phylogenetic analysis) with geochemistry to study the diversity, ecology, and function of microbial communities that thrive in these extreme environments. The broader impacts of the project include research and educational opportunities for graduate students and a postdoctoral associate. The P.I.s will involve undergraduates as work-study students and in REU programs, and will participate in educational and outreach programs.", "east": 163.0, "geometry": "POINT(163 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -77.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cary, Stephen", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: Biogeochemistry of Cyanobactrial Mats and Hyporheic Zone Microbes in McMurdo Dry Valley Glacial Meltwater Streams", "uid": "p0000476", "west": 163.0}, {"awards": "0838850 Gooseff, Michael", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((162.32 -77.62,162.418 -77.62,162.516 -77.62,162.614 -77.62,162.712 -77.62,162.81 -77.62,162.90800000000002 -77.62,163.006 -77.62,163.104 -77.62,163.202 -77.62,163.3 -77.62,163.3 -77.631,163.3 -77.64200000000001,163.3 -77.653,163.3 -77.664,163.3 -77.67500000000001,163.3 -77.686,163.3 -77.697,163.3 -77.708,163.3 -77.71900000000001,163.3 -77.73,163.202 -77.73,163.104 -77.73,163.006 -77.73,162.90800000000002 -77.73,162.81 -77.73,162.712 -77.73,162.614 -77.73,162.516 -77.73,162.418 -77.73,162.32 -77.73,162.32 -77.71900000000001,162.32 -77.708,162.32 -77.697,162.32 -77.686,162.32 -77.67500000000001,162.32 -77.664,162.32 -77.653,162.32 -77.64200000000001,162.32 -77.631,162.32 -77.62))", "dataset_titles": "The Role of Snow Patches on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Microbial Communities and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Antarctic Dry Valleys", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600100", "doi": "10.15784/600100", "keywords": "Antarctica; Critical Zone; Cryosphere; MPS-1 Water Potential Sensor; Physical Properties; Soil Moisture; Soil Temperature", "people": "Gooseff, Michael N.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Role of Snow Patches on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Microbial Communities and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Antarctic Dry Valleys", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600100"}], "date_created": "Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eTwo models have been proposed to describe controls over microbial biogeography. One model proposes that microbes are ubiquitously distributed across the global environment, and that environmental conditions select for taxa physiologically adapted to local physical conditions. An alternative model predicts that dispersal is the important limitation to the distribution of microorganisms and that spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities is a result of both dispersal and local environmental limitations. According to both models, spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities may be especially pronounced in extreme ecosystems where the environmental selection for organisms with suitable physiology is most strongly manifest. We propose that Antarctic terrestrial environments are ideal places to examine microbial biogeography for 3 reasons: 1) the pristine nature and remoteness of Antarctica minimizes the prevalence of exotic species dispersed through human vectors; 2) the extreme conditions of Antarctic environments provide a strong environmental filter which limits the establishment of non-indigenous taxa; and 3) extreme heterogeneity in the terrestrial environment provides natural gradients of soil conditions (temperature, water and nutrient availability). In the proposed research we will investigate the influence of snow on the composition and spatial distribution of soil microbial communities and linked biogeochemical cycling in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. We will conduct fieldwork at the landscape scale (repeated remote sensing to characterize snow distribution), at the valley and patch scales (quantify snow patch ablation, microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling in subnivian soils). We hypothesize that snow patches play an important role in structuring the spatial distribution of soil microbial communities and their associated ecosystem functioning because of the physical and hydrological influences that snow patches have on the soil environment. The research will contribute to greater public awareness of the importance of polar research to fundamental questions of biology, ecology and hydrology through direct linkages with International Antarctic Institute public outreach activities, including dissemination of web-based learning units on environmental science and microbiology, targeted as resources for secondary and post-secondary educators. Three graduate students, one postdoctoral scholar and multiple undergraduates will participate in the research activities.", "east": 163.3, "geometry": "POINT(162.81 -77.675)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -77.62, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Gooseff, Michael N.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.73, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Role of Snow Patches on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Microbial Communities and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Antarctic Dry Valleys", "uid": "p0000489", "west": 162.32}, {"awards": "0738658 Price, P. Buford", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112.1125 -79.4638)", "dataset_titles": "Access to data; data from one of three optical logs we made at WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Laser Dust Logger Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609540", "doi": "10.7265/N5C53HSG", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; Chemistry:Ice; Cryosphere; Dust; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Laser Dust Logger ; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Bay, Ryan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Laser Dust Logger Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609540"}, {"dataset_uid": "000188", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "data from one of three optical logs we made at WAIS Divide", "url": "http://icecube.berkeley.edu/~bay/wdc/"}, {"dataset_uid": "001349", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to data", "url": "http://icecube.berkeley.edu/~bay/wdc/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to use two new scanning fluorimeters to map microbial concentrations vs depth in the WAIS Divide ice core as portions of it become available at NICL, and selected portions of the GISP2 ice core for inter-hemispheric comparison. Ground-truth calibrations with microbes in ice show that the instruments are sensitive to a single cell and can scan the full length of a 1-meter core at 300-micron intervals in two minutes. The goals of these studies will be to exploit the discovery that microbes are transported onto ice, in clumps, several times per year and that at rare intervals (not periodically) of ~104 years, a much higher flux, sometimes lasting \u003e1 decade, reaches the ice. From variations ranging from seasonal to millennial to glacial scale in the arrival time distribution of phototrophs, methanogens, and total microbes in the Antarctic and Arctic ice, the investigators will attempt to determine oceanic and terrestrial sources of these microbes and will look for correlations of microbial bursts with dust concentration and temperature proxies. In addition the project will follow up on the discovery that the rare instances of very high microbial flux account for some of the\"gas artifacts\" in ice cores - isolated spikes of excess CH4 and N2O that have been discarded by others in previous climate studies. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will exploit scanning fluorimetry of microbes as a powerful new tool for studies ranging from meteorology to climatology to biology, especially when combined with mapping of dust, gases, and major element chemistry in ice cores. In 2010-11 the WAIS Divide borehole will be logged with the latest version of the dust logger. The log will provide mm-scale depth resolution of dust concentration and of volcanic ash layers down the entire depth of the borehole. The locations of ash layers in the ice will be determined and chemical analyses of the ash will be analyzed in order to determine provenance. By comparing data from the WAIS Divide borehole with data from other boreholes and with chemical data (obtained by others) on volcanic layers, the researchers will examine the relationship between the timing of volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change. Results from this project with the scanning fluorimeters and the dust logger could have applications to planetary missions, borehole oceanography, limnology, meteorology, climate, volcanology, and ancient life in ice. A deeper understanding of the causes of abrupt climate change, including a causal relationship with volcanic explosivity, would enable a better understanding of the adverse effects on climate. The broader impact of the project is that it will provide training to students and post-docs from the U. S. and other countries.", "east": 112.1125, "geometry": "POINT(112.1125 -79.4638)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e OPTICAL DUST LOGGERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e OPTICAL DUST LOGGERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "West Antarctic Ice Sheet; LABORATORY; Microbial; Dust Loggers; Climatology; Fluorimetry; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Meteorology; dust concentration; Ice; Ice Core", "locations": "West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -79.4638, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bay, Ryan; Price, Buford; Souney, Joseph Jr.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Other; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": -79.4638, "title": "Climatology, Meteorology, and Microbial Metabolism in Ice with Dust Loggers and Fluorimetry", "uid": "p0000009", "west": 112.1125}, {"awards": "0836061 Dennett, Mark; 0836112 Smith, Walker; 0836144 Yager, Patricia", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((100 -69,107 -69,114 -69,121 -69,128 -69,135 -69,142 -69,149 -69,156 -69,163 -69,170 -69,170 -70,170 -71,170 -72,170 -73,170 -74,170 -75,170 -76,170 -77,170 -78,170 -79,163 -79,156 -79,149 -79,142 -79,135 -79,128 -79,121 -79,114 -79,107 -79,100 -79,100 -78,100 -77,100 -76,100 -75,100 -74,100 -73,100 -72,100 -71,100 -70,100 -69))", "dataset_titles": "Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) data; Controls on Climate-Active Gases by Amundsen Sea Ice Biota", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600092", "doi": "10.15784/600092", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Chemistry:Fluid; Cryosphere; CTD Data; Oceans; Oden; Oden2008; Sea Ice; Sea Surface; Southern Ocean", "people": "Smith, Walker", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Controls on Climate-Active Gases by Amundsen Sea Ice Biota", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600092"}, {"dataset_uid": "000146", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "BCO-DMO", "science_program": null, "title": "Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) data", "url": "https://www.bco-dmo.org/project/2132"}, {"dataset_uid": "600091", "doi": "10.15784/600091", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Cryosphere; Oceans; Oden; Oden2008; Plankton; Sea Ice; Southern Ocean", "people": "Dennett, Mark", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Controls on Climate-Active Gases by Amundsen Sea Ice Biota", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600091"}], "date_created": "Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Convincing evidence now confirms that polar regions are changing rapidly in response to human activities. Changes in sea ice extent and thickness will have profound implications for productivity, food webs and carbon fluxes at high latitudes, since sea ice biota are a significant source of biogenic matter for the ecosystem. While sea ice is often thought to be a barrier to gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, it more likely functions as a source or sink for climate-active gases such as carbon dioxide and ozone-depleting organohalogens, due in part to activities of microbes embedded in the sea ice matrix. This project brings together experienced US and Swedish investigators to examine the controls by sea-ice biota on the production and degradation of key climate-active gases in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. We hypothesize that 1) the physical properties of the sea-ice environment will determine the community structure and activities of the sea ice biota; 2) the productivity, biomass, physiological state and species composition of ice algae will determine the production of specific classes of organic carbon, including organohalogens; 3) heterotrophic co-metabolism within the ice will break down these compounds to some extent, depending on the microbial community structure and productivity, and 4) the sea ice to atmosphere fluxes of CO2 and organohalogens will be inversely related. This project will build close scientific collaborations between US and Swedish researchers and also train young scientists, including members of underrepresented groups. Dissemination of results will include the scientific literature, and public outreach venues including interactions with a PolarTrec teacher.", "east": 170.0, "geometry": "POINT(135 -74)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -69.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Smith, Walker; Yager, Patricia; Dennett, Mark", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "BCO-DMO; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -79.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Controls on climate-active gases by Amundsen Sea ice biota", "uid": "p0000137", "west": 100.0}, {"awards": "0636440 Long, David; 0636319 Shaw, Timothy; 0636723 Helly, John; 0636543 Murray, Alison", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-55 -52,-53.5 -52,-52 -52,-50.5 -52,-49 -52,-47.5 -52,-46 -52,-44.5 -52,-43 -52,-41.5 -52,-40 -52,-40 -53.3,-40 -54.6,-40 -55.9,-40 -57.2,-40 -58.5,-40 -59.8,-40 -61.1,-40 -62.4,-40 -63.7,-40 -65,-41.5 -65,-43 -65,-44.5 -65,-46 -65,-47.5 -65,-49 -65,-50.5 -65,-52 -65,-53.5 -65,-55 -65,-55 -63.7,-55 -62.4,-55 -61.1,-55 -59.8,-55 -58.5,-55 -57.2,-55 -55.9,-55 -54.6,-55 -53.3,-55 -52))", "dataset_titles": "Antarctic Iceberg Tracking Database; Free-Drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean; Free Drifting Icebergs as Proliferation Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600067", "doi": "10.15784/600067", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; NBP0902; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea", "people": "Helly, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Free-Drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600067"}, {"dataset_uid": "600064", "doi": "10.15784/600064", "keywords": "Biosphere; Chemistry:Fluid; Cryosphere; Geochemistry; Oceans; Sea Ice; Sea Surface; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea", "people": "Shaw, Tim; Twining, Benjamin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Free Drifting Icebergs as Proliferation Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600064"}, {"dataset_uid": "600065", "doi": "10.15784/600065", "keywords": "Biology; Biosphere; Cryosphere; Geochemistry; NBP0902; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Sea Ice; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea", "people": "Murray, Alison", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Free-Drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600065"}, {"dataset_uid": "000134", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctic Iceberg Tracking Database", "url": "http://www.scp.byu.edu/data/iceberg/database1.html"}], "date_created": "Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers, disintegrating ice shelves, and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. Our preliminary study of two icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea, an area of high iceberg concentration, showed significant delivery of terrestrial material accompanied by significant enhancement of phytoplankton and zooplankton/micronekton abundance, and primary production surrounding the icebergs. We hypothesize that nutrient enrichment by free-drifting icebergs will increase primary production and sedimentation of organic carbon, thus increasing the draw-down and sequestration of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and impacting the global carbon cycle. Our research addresses the following questions:1) What is the relationship between the physical dynamics of free-drifting icebergs and the Fe and nutrient distributions of the surrounding water column? 2) What is the relationship between Fe and nutrient distributions associated with free-drifting icebergs and the organic carbon dynamics of the ice-attached and surrounding pelagic communities (microbes, zooplankton, micronekton)? 3) What is impact on the export flux of particulate organic carbon from the mixed layer? An interdisciplinary approach is proposed to examine iceberg structure and dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and carbon cycling that includes measurement of trace element, nutrient and radionuclide distributions; organic carbon dynamics mediated by microbial, ice-attached and zooplankton communities; and particulate organic carbon export fluxes. Results from this project will further our understanding of the relationship between climate change and carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Our findings will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC) as part of the SIOExplorer: Digital Library Project. The OEC allows users to access content, which is classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers, and volunteers are important participants in the proposed field and laboratory work. For the K-12 level, a professional writer of children\u0027s books will participate in cruises to produce an account of the expedition and a daily interactive website.", "east": -40.0, "geometry": "POINT(-47.5 -58.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -52.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Twining, Benjamin; Shaw, Tim; Long, David; Murray, Alison; Helly, John", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Other; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Free Drifting Icebergs as Proliferation Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "uid": "p0000511", "west": -55.0}, {"awards": "0636730 Vernet, Maria", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-55 -52,-53.5 -52,-52 -52,-50.5 -52,-49 -52,-47.5 -52,-46 -52,-44.5 -52,-43 -52,-41.5 -52,-40 -52,-40 -53.3,-40 -54.6,-40 -55.9,-40 -57.2,-40 -58.5,-40 -59.8,-40 -61.1,-40 -62.4,-40 -63.7,-40 -65,-41.5 -65,-43 -65,-44.5 -65,-46 -65,-47.5 -65,-49 -65,-50.5 -65,-52 -65,-53.5 -65,-55 -65,-55 -63.7,-55 -62.4,-55 -61.1,-55 -59.8,-55 -58.5,-55 -57.2,-55 -55.9,-55 -54.6,-55 -53.3,-55 -52))", "dataset_titles": "Free-drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600068", "doi": "10.15784/600068", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Chemistry:Fluid; Cryosphere; Geochemistry; NBP0902; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Sea Surface; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea", "people": "Vernet, Maria", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Free-drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600068"}], "date_created": "Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers, disintegrating ice shelves, and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. Our preliminary study of two icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea, an area of high iceberg concentration, showed significant delivery of terrestrial material accompanied by significant enhancement of phytoplankton and zooplankton/micronekton abundance, and primary production surrounding the icebergs. We hypothesize that nutrient enrichment by free-drifting icebergs will increase primary production and sedimentation of organic carbon, thus increasing the draw-down and sequestration of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and impacting the global carbon cycle. Our research addresses the following questions:1) What is the relationship between the physical dynamics of free-drifting icebergs and the Fe and nutrient distributions of the surrounding water column? 2) What is the relationship between Fe and nutrient distributions associated with free-drifting icebergs and the organic carbon dynamics of the ice-attached and surrounding pelagic communities (microbes, zooplankton, micronekton)? 3) What is impact on the export flux of particulate organic carbon from the mixed layer? An interdisciplinary approach is proposed to examine iceberg structure and dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and carbon cycling that includes measurement of trace element, nutrient and radionuclide distributions; organic carbon dynamics mediated by microbial, ice-attached and zooplankton communities; and particulate organic carbon export fluxes. Results from this project will further our understanding of the relationship between climate change and carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Our findings will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC) as part of the SIOExplorer: Digital Library Project. The OEC allows users to access content, which is classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers, and volunteers are important participants in the proposed field and laboratory work. For the K-12 level, a professional writer of children\u0027s books will participate in cruises to produce an account of the expedition and a daily interactive website.", "east": -40.0, "geometry": "POINT(-47.5 -58.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -52.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Vernet, Maria", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.0, "title": "Collaborative Reseach: Free-drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean.", "uid": "p0000532", "west": -55.0}, {"awards": "0537143 Blanchette, Robert", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-69 -60,-68.3 -60,-67.6 -60,-66.9 -60,-66.2 -60,-65.5 -60,-64.8 -60,-64.1 -60,-63.4 -60,-62.7 -60,-62 -60,-62 -61,-62 -62,-62 -63,-62 -64,-62 -65,-62 -66,-62 -67,-62 -68,-62 -69,-62 -70,-62.7 -70,-63.4 -70,-64.1 -70,-64.8 -70,-65.5 -70,-66.2 -70,-66.9 -70,-67.6 -70,-68.3 -70,-69 -70,-69 -69,-69 -68,-69 -67,-69 -66,-69 -65,-69 -64,-69 -63,-69 -62,-69 -61,-69 -60))", "dataset_titles": "(Arenz et al. 2006) DQ317323, DQ317324, DQ317325, DQ317326, DQ317327, DQ317328, DQ317329, DQ317330, DQ317331, DQ317332, DQ317333, DQ317334, DQ317335, DQ317336, DQ317337, DQ317338, DQ317339, DQ317340, DQ317341, DQ317342, DQ317343, DQ317344, DQ317345, DQ317346, DQ317347, DQ317348, DQ317349, DQ317350, DQ317351, DQ317352, DQ317353, DQ317354, DQ317355, DQ317356, DQ317357, DQ317358, DQ317359, DQ317360, DQ317361, DQ317362, DQ317363, DQ317364, DQ317365, DQ317366, DQ317367, DQ317368, DQ317369, DQ317370, DQ317371, DQ317372, DQ317373, DQ317374, DQ317375, DQ317376, DQ317377, DQ317378, DQ317379, DQ317380, DQ317381, DQ317382, DQ317383, DQ317384, DQ317385, DQ317386, DQ317387, DQ317388, DQ317389 (Arenz and Blanchette 2009) FJ235934, FJ235935, FJ235936, FJ235937, FJ235938, FJ235939, FJ235940, FJ235941, FJ235942, FJ235943, FJ235944, FJ235945, FJ235946, FJ235947, FJ235948, FJ235949, FJ235950, FJ235951, FJ235952, FJ235953, FJ235954, FJ235955, FJ235956, FJ235957, FJ235958, FJ235959, FJ235960, FJ235961, FJ235962, FJ235963, FJ235964, FJ235965, FJ235966, FJ235967, FJ235968, FJ235969, FJ235970, FJ235971, FJ235972, FJ235973, FJ235974, FJ235975, FJ235976, FJ235977, FJ235978, FJ235979, FJ235980, FJ235981, FJ235982, FJ235983, FJ235984, FJ235985, FJ235986, FJ235987, FJ235988, FJ235989, FJ235990, FJ235991, FJ235992, FJ235993, FJ235994, FJ235995, FJ235996, FJ235997, FJ235998, FJ235999, FJ236000, FJ236001, FJ236002, FJ236003, FJ236004, FJ236005, FJ236006, FJ236007, FJ236008, FJ236009, FJ236010, FJ236011, FJ236012, FJ236013, FJ236014 (Blanchette et al. 2010) GU212367, GU212368, GU212369, GU212370, GU212371, GU212372, GU212373, GU212374, GU212375, GU212376, GU212377, GU212378, GU212379, GU212380, GU212381, GU212382, GU212383, GU212384, GU212385, GU212386, GU212387, GU212388, GU212389, GU212390, GU212391, GU212392, GU212393, GU212394, GU212395, GU212396, GU212397, GU212398, GU212399, GU212400, GU212401, GU212402, GU212403, GU212404, GU212405, GU212406, GU212407, GU212408, GU212409, GU212410, GU212411, GU212412, GU212413, GU212414, GU212415, GU212416, GU212417, GU212418, GU212419, GU212420, GU212421, GU212422, GU212423, GU212424, GU212425, GU212426, GU212427, GU212428, GU212429, GU212430, GU212431, GU212432, GU212433, GU212434", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000121", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "(Arenz et al. 2006) DQ317323, DQ317324, DQ317325, DQ317326, DQ317327, DQ317328, DQ317329, DQ317330, DQ317331, DQ317332, DQ317333, DQ317334, DQ317335, DQ317336, DQ317337, DQ317338, DQ317339, DQ317340, DQ317341, DQ317342, DQ317343, DQ317344, DQ317345, DQ317346, DQ317347, DQ317348, DQ317349, DQ317350, DQ317351, DQ317352, DQ317353, DQ317354, DQ317355, DQ317356, DQ317357, DQ317358, DQ317359, DQ317360, DQ317361, DQ317362, DQ317363, DQ317364, DQ317365, DQ317366, DQ317367, DQ317368, DQ317369, DQ317370, DQ317371, DQ317372, DQ317373, DQ317374, DQ317375, DQ317376, DQ317377, DQ317378, DQ317379, DQ317380, DQ317381, DQ317382, DQ317383, DQ317384, DQ317385, DQ317386, DQ317387, DQ317388, DQ317389 (Arenz and Blanchette 2009) FJ235934, FJ235935, FJ235936, FJ235937, FJ235938, FJ235939, FJ235940, FJ235941, FJ235942, FJ235943, FJ235944, FJ235945, FJ235946, FJ235947, FJ235948, FJ235949, FJ235950, FJ235951, FJ235952, FJ235953, FJ235954, FJ235955, FJ235956, FJ235957, FJ235958, FJ235959, FJ235960, FJ235961, FJ235962, FJ235963, FJ235964, FJ235965, FJ235966, FJ235967, FJ235968, FJ235969, FJ235970, FJ235971, FJ235972, FJ235973, FJ235974, FJ235975, FJ235976, FJ235977, FJ235978, FJ235979, FJ235980, FJ235981, FJ235982, FJ235983, FJ235984, FJ235985, FJ235986, FJ235987, FJ235988, FJ235989, FJ235990, FJ235991, FJ235992, FJ235993, FJ235994, FJ235995, FJ235996, FJ235997, FJ235998, FJ235999, FJ236000, FJ236001, FJ236002, FJ236003, FJ236004, FJ236005, FJ236006, FJ236007, FJ236008, FJ236009, FJ236010, FJ236011, FJ236012, FJ236013, FJ236014 (Blanchette et al. 2010) GU212367, GU212368, GU212369, GU212370, GU212371, GU212372, GU212373, GU212374, GU212375, GU212376, GU212377, GU212378, GU212379, GU212380, GU212381, GU212382, GU212383, GU212384, GU212385, GU212386, GU212387, GU212388, GU212389, GU212390, GU212391, GU212392, GU212393, GU212394, GU212395, GU212396, GU212397, GU212398, GU212399, GU212400, GU212401, GU212402, GU212403, GU212404, GU212405, GU212406, GU212407, GU212408, GU212409, GU212410, GU212411, GU212412, GU212413, GU212414, GU212415, GU212416, GU212417, GU212418, GU212419, GU212420, GU212421, GU212422, GU212423, GU212424, GU212425, GU212426, GU212427, GU212428, GU212429, GU212430, GU212431, GU212432, GU212433, GU212434", "url": "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/"}], "date_created": "Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Fungi in Antarctic ecosystems are major contributors to biodiversity and have great influence on many processes such as biodegradation and nutrient cycling. It is essential for biological surveys as well as genomic and proteomic studies to be completed so a better understanding of these organisms is obtained. Previous research has identified unique fungi associated with historic wooden structures brought to Antarctica by Robert F. Scott and Ernest Shackleton during the Heroic Era of exploration. Many of the fungi found are previously undescribed species that belong to the little known genus Cadophora. The research team will obtain important new information on the fungi present in the Ross Sea and Peninsula Regions of Antarctica, particularly their role in decomposition and nutrient recycling and their mechanisms and strategies for survival in the polar environment. New tools and methods include denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), real-time PCR, and proteomic profiling. These analyses will reveal key details of the physiological adaptations these fungi have evolved to carry out processes such as biodegradation and nutrient cycling under conditions that would inhibit other fungi. This work, coupled with the training and learning opportunities it provides, will be of value to many fields of study including microbial ecology, polar biology, wood microbiology, environmental science, soil science, geobiochemistry, and mycology as well as fungal phylogenetics, proteomics and genomics. Results obtained will have immediate applied use to help preserve and protect Antarctica\u0027s historic monuments. The investigations proposed are a continuation of research to identify the microbes attacking these historic structures and artifacts and to elucidate their biology and ecology in the polar environment. New research will also be done at the historic Cape Adare huts, the first wooden structures to be built in Antarctica and also at East Base, an American historic site on Stonington Island from the Admiral Byrd and Ronne Expeditions of 1939-1948. The research team will conduct vital studies needed to successfully conserve the wooden structures and artifacts at these sites and protect them for future generations", "east": -62.0, "geometry": "POINT(-65.5 -65)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Blanchette, Robert", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "NCBI GenBank", "repositories": "Other", "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "Studies of Antarctic Fungi: Adaptive Stratigies for Survival and Protecting Antarctica\u0027s Historic Structures", "uid": "p0000187", "west": -69.0}, {"awards": "0632250 Cary, Stephen", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-38.5 -72.6,-23.963 -72.6,-9.426 -72.6,5.111 -72.6,19.648 -72.6,34.185 -72.6,48.722 -72.6,63.259 -72.6,77.796 -72.6,92.333 -72.6,106.87 -72.6,106.87 -73.185,106.87 -73.77,106.87 -74.355,106.87 -74.94,106.87 -75.525,106.87 -76.11,106.87 -76.695,106.87 -77.28,106.87 -77.865,106.87 -78.45,92.333 -78.45,77.796 -78.45,63.259 -78.45,48.722 -78.45,34.185 -78.45,19.648 -78.45,5.111 -78.45,-9.426 -78.45,-23.963 -78.45,-38.5 -78.45,-38.5 -77.865,-38.5 -77.28,-38.5 -76.695,-38.5 -76.11,-38.5 -75.525,-38.5 -74.94,-38.5 -74.355,-38.5 -73.77,-38.5 -73.185,-38.5 -72.6))", "dataset_titles": "Metagenomic Data Lake Vostok Microbial Community", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000136", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Metagenomic Data Lake Vostok Microbial Community", "url": "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/"}], "date_created": "Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project brings together researchers with expertise in molecular microbial ecology, Antarctic and deep sea environments, and metagenomics to address the overarching question: how do ecosystems dominated by microorganisms adapt to conditions of continuous cold and dark over evolutionarily and geologically relevant time scales? Lake Vostok, buried for at least 15 million years beneath approximately 4 km of ice that has prevented any communication with the external environment for as much as 1.5 million years, is an ideal system to study this question. Water from the lake that has frozen on to the bottom of the ice sheet (accretion ice) is available for study. Several studies have indicated the presence of low abundance, but detectable microbial communities in the accretion ice. Our central hypothesis maintains that Lake Vostok microbes are specifically adapted to life in conditions of extreme cold, dark, and oligotrophy and that signatures of those adaptations can be observed in their genome sequences at the gene, organism, and community levels. To address this hypothesis, we propose to characterize the metagenome (i.e. the genomes of all members of the community) of the accretion ice. using whole genome amplification (WGA), which can provide micrograms of unbiased metagenomic DNA from only a few cells. The results of this project have relevance to evolutionary biology and ecology, subglacial Antarctic lake exploration, biotechnology, and astrobiology. The project directly addresses priorities and themes in the International Polar Year at the national and international levels. A legacy of DNA sequence data and the metagenomic library will be created and maintained. Press releases and a publicly available web page will facilitate communication with the public. K-12 outreach will be the focus of a new, two-tiered program targeting the 7th grade classroom and on site visits to the Joint Genome Institute Production Sequencing Facility by high school juniors and seniors and community college level students. Minority undergraduate researchers will be recruited for research on this project, and support and training are provided to two graduate students, a postdoctoral scholar, and a technician.", "east": 106.87, "geometry": "POINT(34.185 -75.525)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -72.6, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cary, Stephen", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "NCBI GenBank", "repositories": "Other", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.45, "title": "IPY: Collaborative Research: A Metagenomic Investigation of Adaptation to Prolonged Cold and Dark Conditions of the Lake Vostok Microbial Community", "uid": "p0000201", "west": -38.5}, {"awards": "0125794 Price, P. Buford", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Optical Logging for Dust and Microbes in Boreholes in Glacial Ice", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609403", "doi": "10.7265/N59P2ZKB", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Dust; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Microbiology; Optical Backscatter", "people": "Bay, Ryan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Optical Logging for Dust and Microbes in Boreholes in Glacial Ice", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609403"}], "date_created": "Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "0125794\u003cbr/\u003ePrice\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports research in climatology, geosciences, and life in extreme environments to be carried out with a newly developed optical borehole logger. The logger fits into a fluid-filled borehole in glacial ice. It emits light at 370 nm in a horizontal plane in order to probe optical properties of particles embedded in the ice out to several meters from the borehole. After leaving the borehole, the light is partially absorbed and scattered by dust, biomolecules, or microbes. A fraction of the light is scattered back into the borehole and is detected by a system of seven phototubes, each of which collects light with high efficiency in a separate wavelength band. One of them collects light that scatters off of dust and air bubbles without wavelength shift, and serves as a dust logger. The other six are covered with notch filters that measure six different wavelength bands and measure the shape of the fluorescence spectrum of microbes and biomolecules. Thus, the same instrument serves as both a dust logger and a microbe logger. Applications include: 1) Precise chronologies and long-period solar variability. With a resolution of 1 to 2 cm for both GISP2 and Siple Dome, the logger will record annual dust maxima and evaluate claims of modulations of dust concentration with periods ranging from 11 yrs (the solar cycle) to 2300 yrs; 2) Volcanism and age-depth markers. Dozens of volcanic ash bands will be detectable and will serve as primary age-depth markers for other boreholes; 3) Microorganisms and biomolecules. The vertical distribution of living, dormant, and dead microbes can be logged, and searches for archaea and aeolian polyaromatic hydrocarbons can be made. The logging experiments will be carried out at Siple Dome and Dome C in Antarctica and at GISP2 and GRIP in Greenland.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e OPTICAL DUST LOGGERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Ice Core Data; Paleoclimate; Not provided; Ice Core; Climate Research; Climate; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Volcanic; Climate Change; ice cores; FIELD SURVEYS", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Arctic Natural Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bay, Ryan", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Optical Logging for Dust and Microbes in Boreholes in Glacial Ice", "uid": "p0000156", "west": null}, {"awards": "0536870 Rogers, Scott", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-106.8 -72.4667)", "dataset_titles": "Comprehensive Biological Study of Vostok Accretion Ice", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600052", "doi": "10.15784/600052", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biology; Biosphere; Cryosphere; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Hydrothermal Vent; Lake Vostok; Microbes; Subglacial lakes", "people": "Rogers, Scott O.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Comprehensive Biological Study of Vostok Accretion Ice", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600052"}], "date_created": "Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The large subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica is unique ecological site with a novel microbial biota. The temperatures, pressures and lack of light all select for organisms that may not exist anywhere else on Earth. The accretion ice (lake water frozen to the bottom of the lower surface of the glacier) has preserved microbial samples from each region of Lake Vostok as the glacier passes over and into the lake. Thus, without contaminating the lake with microorganisms from the surface, microbes originating from the lake can be collected, transported to the laboratory and studied. Two of the deepest ice cores sections in this project are part of the international allocation. The will be shared between four researchers (Sergey Bulat from Russia, Jean-Robert Petit and Daniel Prieur from France, Scott Rogers from USA). The United States team will study, isolate, and characterize bacteria, fungi, and viruses that have been sampled from the lake through the process of ice accretion to the lower surface of 3500+m thick glacier overriding the lake. The project will involve a suite of methods, including molecular, morphological, and cultural. This includes observation and description by fluorescence, light, and electron microscopy, isolation on thirteen separate cultural media, polymerase chain reaction amplification, DNA sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. Eleven accretion ice core sections, as well as two glacial ice core sections. As well as two glacial ice core sections will be studied. The accretion ice core sections, as well as two glacial ice core sections will be studied. The accretion ice core sections represent all of the major regions of the lake that have been sampled by the accretion process in the vicinity of the Vostok 5G ice core. The broader impacts of the work relate to the impact the results will have on the filed. These long=isolated lakes, deep below the Antarctic ice sheet may contain novel uniquely adapted organisms. Glacial ice contains an enormous diversity of entrapped microbes, some of which may be metabolically active in the ice. The microbes from Lake Vostok are of special interest, since they are adapted to cold, dark, and high pressure. Thus, their enzyme systems and biochemical pathways may be significantly different from those in the microbes that are the subject of current studies. As such, these organisms may form compounds that may have useful applications. Also, study of the accretion ice, and eventually the water, from Lake Vostok will provide a basis for the study of other subglacial lakes. Additionally, study of the microbes in the accretion ice will be useful to those planning to study analogous systems on ice-covered planets and moons.", "east": -106.8, "geometry": "POINT(-106.8 -72.4667)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -72.4667, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Rogers, Scott O.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -72.4667, "title": "Comprehensive Biological Study of Vostok Accretion Ice", "uid": "p0000566", "west": -106.8}, {"awards": "0440609 Price, P. Buford", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-112.06556 -79.469444)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to use three downhole instruments - an optical logger; a\u003cbr/\u003eminiaturized biospectral logger at 420 nm (miniBSL-420); and an Acoustic TeleViewer (ATV) - to log a 350-m borehole at the WAIS Divide drill site. In addition, miniBSL-224 (at 224 nm) and miniBSL-420 will scan ice core sections at NICL to look for abrupt climate changes, volcanic ash, microbial concentrations, and correlations among them. Using the optical logger and ATV to log bubble number densities vs depth in a WAIS Divide borehole, we will detect annual layers, from which we can establish the age vs depth relation to the bottom of the borehole that will be available during the three-year grant period. With the same instruments we will search for long-period modulation of bubble and dust concentrations in order to provide definitive evidence for or against an effect of long-period variability of the sun or solar wind on climate. We will detect and accurately date ash layers in a WAIS Divide borehole. We will match them with ash layers that we previously detected in the Siple Dome borehole, and also match them with sulfate and ash layers found by others at Vostok, Dome Fuji, Dome C, and GISP2. The expected new data will allow us to extend our recent study which showed that the Antarctic record of volcanism correlates with abrupt climate change at a 95% to \u003e99.8% significance level and that the volcanic signatures at bipolar locations match at better than 3 sigma during the interval 2 to 45 kiloyears. The results to be obtained during this grant period will position us to extend an accurate age vs depth relation and volcano-climate correlations to earlier than 150 kiloyears ago in the future WAIS Divide borehole to be drilled to bedrock. Using the miniBSLs to identify biomolecules via their fluorescence, we will log a 350-m borehole at WAIS Divide, and we will scan selected lengths of ice core at NICL. Among the biomolecules the miniBSLs can identify will be chlorophyll, which will provide the first map of aerobic microbes in ice, and F420, which will provide the first map of methanogens in ice. We will collaborate with others in relating results from WAIS Divide and NICL ice cores to broader topics in climatology, volcanology, and microbial ecology. We will continue to give broad training to undergraduate and graduate students, to attract underrepresented minorities to science, engineering, and math, and to educate the press and college teachers. A deeper understanding of the causes of abrupt climate change, including a causal relationship with strong volcanic eruptions, can enable us to understand and mitigate adverse effects on climate.", "east": -112.06556, "geometry": "POINT(-112.06556 -79.469444)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e OPTICAL DUST LOGGERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "biospectral logger; protein fluorescence; Climate; gas artifacts; Not provided; optical logger; Antarctica; microbial metabolism; FIELD INVESTIGATION; liquid veins in ice; Borehole; WAIS divide; dust concentrations; volcanic ash; FIELD SURVEYS; ash layers; Ice Core; volcanism; aerosol fluorescence", "locations": "WAIS divide; Antarctica", "north": -79.469444, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bay, Ryan; Price, Buford", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; Not provided; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -79.469444, "title": "Climatology, Volcanism, and Microbial Life in Ice with Downhole Loggers", "uid": "p0000746", "west": -112.06556}]
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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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Collaborative Research: Role of Nutrient Limitation and Viral Interactions on Antarctic Microbial Community Assembly: A Cryoconite Microcosm Study
|
2137376 2137378 2137375 2137377 |
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: ANT LIA Integrating Genomic and Phenotypic Analyses to understand Microbial Life in Antarctic Soils
|
2133684 |
2023-04-07 | Fierer, Noah; Quandt, Alisha A; Lemonte, Joshua | No dataset link provided | Not all of Antarctica is covered in ice. In fact, soils are common to many parts of Antarctica, and these soils are often unlike any others found on Earth. Antarctic soils harbor unique microorganisms able to cope with the extremely cold and dry conditions common to much of the continent. For decades, microbiologists have been drawn to the unique soils in Antarctica, yet critical knowledge gaps remain. Most notably, it is unclear what properties allow certain microbes to thrive in Antarctic soils. By using a range of methods, this project is developing comprehensive model that discovers the unique genomic features of soils diversity, distributions, and adaptations that allow Antarctic soil microbes to thrive in extreme environments. The proposed work will be relevant to researchers in many fields, including engineers seeking to develop new biotechnologies, ecologists studying the contributions of these microbial communities to the functioning of Antarctic ecosystems, microbiologists studying novel microbial adaptations to extreme environmental conditions, and even astrobiologists studying the potential for life on Mars. More generally, the proposed research presents an opportunity to advance our current understanding of the microbial life found in one of the more distinctive microbial habitats on Earth, a habitat that is inaccessible to many scientists and a habitat that is increasingly under threat from climate change. The research project explores the microbial diversity in Antarctic soils and links specific features to different soil types and environmental conditions. The overarching questions include: What microbial taxa are found in a variety of Antarctic environments? What are the environmental preferences of specific taxa or lineages? What are the genomic and phenotypic traits of microorganisms that allow them to persist in extreme environments and determine biogeographical differneces? This project will analyze archived soils collected from across Antarctica by a network of international collaborators, with samples selected to span broad gradients in soil and site conditions. The project uses cultivation-independent, high-throughput genomic analysis methods and cultivation-dependent approaches to analyze bacterial and fungal communities in soil samples. The results will be used to predict the distributions of specific taxa and lineages, obtain genomic information for the more ubiquitous and abundant taxa, and quantify growth responses in vitro across gradients in temperature, moisture, and salinity. This integration of ecological, environmental, genomic, and trait-based information will provide a comprehensive understanding of microbial life in Antarctic soils. This project will also help facilitate new collaborations between scientists across the globe while providing undergraduate students with ''hands-on'' research experiences that introduce the next generation of scientists to the field of Antarctic biology. 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((-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 | |||||||
Life in Ice: Probing Microbial Englacial Activity through Time
|
2037963 |
2022-10-11 | Smith, Heidi; Foreman, Christine; Dieser, Markus | No dataset link provided | Glacial ice cores serve as a museum back in time, providing detailed records of past climatic conditions. In addition to chronological records such as temperature, chemistry and gas composition, ice provides a unique environment for preserving microbes and other biological materials through time. These microbes provide invaluable insight into the physiological capabilities necessary for survival in the Earths cryosphere and other icy planetary bodies, yet little is known about them. This award supports fundamental research into the activity of microbes in ice, and directly supports major research priorities regarding Antarctic biota identified in the 2015 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research. The broader impacts of this work are that it will be relevant to researchers across paleoclimate and biological fields. It will support two early career researchers, a graduate and an undergraduate student who will conduct laboratory analyses, participate in outreach activities, publish papers in scientific journals and present at conferences. This work will use previously collected ice cores to investigate englacial microbial activity from the Holocene back to the Last Glacial Maximum from the blue ice area of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. The proposal identified making significant contributions to 1) investing how Antarctic organisms evolve and adapt to changing environment, 2) understanding how microbes alter the preservation of paleorecord-relevant gas and trace element information in ice cores, and 3) identifying microbial life in cores and their activity in relation to dust depositional events. Two recently developed complementary techniques (bio-orthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging and deuterium isotope probing) in combination with Raman Confocal Microspectroscopy will be used to assess and quantify microbial activity in ice. During phase one of the project, these methods will be optimized using deaccessioned ice cores available at the National Science Foundations Ice Core Facility. In phase two, ice cores in a time series from the Taylor Glacier will be analyzed for geochemistry and microbial activity. Research results will provide a comprehensive view of englacial microbial communities, including their metabolic diversity and activity, and the effect of geochemical parameters on microbial assemblages from different climate periods. Given the dearth of information available on englacial microbial communities, the results of this research will be of particular significance. 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: ANT LIA: Connecting Metagenome Potential to Microbial Function: Investigating Microbial Degradation of Complex Organic Matter Antarctic Benthic Sediments
|
2147045 |
2022-08-30 | Learman, Deric | No dataset link provided | Microbes in Antarctic surface marine sediments have an important role in degrading organic matter and releasing nutrients to the ocean. Organic matter degradation is at the center of the carbon cycle in the ocean, providing valuable information on nutrient recycling, food availability to animals and carbon dioxide release to the atmosphere. The functionality of these microbes has been inferred by their genomics, however these methods only address the possible function, not their actual rates. In this project the PIs plan to combine genomics methods with cellular estimates of enzyme abundance and activity as a way to determine the rates of carbon degradation. This project aims to sample in several regions of Antarctica to provide a large-scale picture of the processes under study and understand the importance of microbial community composition and environmental factors, such as primary productivity, have on microbial activity. The proposed work will combine research tools such as metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, and metabolomics coupled with chemical data and enzyme assays to establish degradation of organic matter in Antarctic sediments. This project benefits NSFs goals of understanding the adaptation of Antarctic organisms to the cold and isolated environment, critical to predict effects of climate change to polar organisms, as well as contribute to our knowledge of how Antarctic organisms have adapted to this environment. Society will benefit from this project by education of 2 graduate students, undergraduates and K-12 students as well as increase public literacy through short videos production shared in YouTube. The PIs propose to advance understanding of polar microbial community function, by measuring enzyme and gene function of complex organic matter degradation in several ocean regions, providing a circum-Antarctic description of sediment processes. Two hypotheses are proposed. The first hypothesis states that many genes for the degradation of complex organic matter will be shared in sediments throughout a sampling transect and that where variations in gene content occur, it will reflect differences in the quantity and quality of organic matter, not regional variability. The second hypothesis states that a fraction of gene transcripts for organic matter degradation will not result in measurable enzyme activity due to post-translational modification or rapid degradation of the enzymes. The PIs will analyze sediment cores already collected in a 2020 cruise to the western Antarctic Peninsula with the additional request of participating in a cruise in 2023 to East Antarctica. The PIs will analyze sediments for metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, and metabolomics coupled with geochemical data and enzyme assays to establish microbial degradation of complex organic matter in Antarctic sediments. Organic carbon concentrations and content in sediments will be measured with δ13C, δ15N, TOC porewater fluorescence in bulk organic carbon. Combined with determination of geographical variability as well as dependence on carbon sources, results from this study could provide the basis for new hypotheses on how climate variability, with increased water temperature, affects geochemistry in the Southern Ocean. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-168 -60,-156 -60,-144 -60,-132 -60,-120 -60,-108 -60,-96 -60,-84 -60,-72 -60,-60 -60,-60 -62,-60 -64,-60 -66,-60 -68,-60 -70,-60 -72,-60 -74,-60 -76,-60 -78,-60 -80,-72 -80,-84 -80,-96 -80,-108 -80,-120 -80,-132 -80,-144 -80,-156 -80,-168 -80,180 -80,171 -80,162 -80,153 -80,144 -80,135 -80,126 -80,117 -80,108 -80,99 -80,90 -80,90 -78,90 -76,90 -74,90 -72,90 -70,90 -68,90 -66,90 -64,90 -62,90 -60,99 -60,108 -60,117 -60,126 -60,135 -60,144 -60,153 -60,162 -60,171 -60,-180 -60)) | POINT(-165 -70) | 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 | |||||||
ANT LIA - Viral Ecogenomics of the Southern Ocean: Unifying Omics and Ecological Networks to Advance our Understanding of Antarctic Microbial Ecosystem Function
|
2055455 |
2022-06-03 | Duhaime, Melissa; Zaman, Luis | No dataset link provided | Part 1: Non-technical description: It is well known that the Southern Ocean plays an important role in global carbon cycling and also receives a disproportionately large influence of climate change. The role of marine viruses on ocean productivity is largely understudied, especially in this global region. This team proposes to use combination of genomics, flow cytometry, and network modeling to test the hypothesis that viral biogeography, infection networks, and viral impacts on microbial metabolism can explain variations in net community production (NCP) and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. The project includes the training of a postdoctoral scholar, graduate students and undergraduate students. It also includes the development of a new Polar Sci ReachOut program in partnership with the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History especially targeted to middle-school students and teachers and the general public. The team will also produce a Science for Tomorrow (SFT) program for use in middle schools in metro-Detroit communities and lead a summer Research Experience for Teachers (RET) fellows. Part 2: Technical description: The study will leverage hundreds of existing samples collected for microbes and viruses from the Antarctic Circumpolar Expedition (ACE). These samples provide the first contiguous survey of viral diversity and microbial communities around Antarctica. Viral networks are being studied in the context of biogeochemical data to model community networks and predict net community production (NCP), which will provide a way to evaluate the role of viruses in Southern Ocean carbon cycling. Using cutting edge molecular and flow cytometry approaches, this project addresses the following questions: 1) How/why are Southern Ocean viral populations distributed across environmental gradients? 2a) Do viruses interfere with "keystone" metabolic pathways and biogeochemical processes of microbial communities in the Southern Ocean? 2b) Does nutrient availability or other environmental variables drive changes in virus-microbe infection networks in the Southern Ocean? Results will be used to develop and evaluate generative models of NCP predictions that incorporate the importance of viral traits and virus-host interactions. 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((-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 | |||||||
Antarctica as a Model System for Responses of Terrestrial Carbon Balance to Warming
|
1643871 1947562 |
2021-08-21 | van Gestel, Natasja | No dataset link provided | Responses of the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems to warming will feed back to the pace of climate change, but the size and direction of this feedback are poorly constrained. Least known are the effects of warming on carbon losses from soil, and clarifying the major microbial controls is an important research frontier. This study uses a series of experiments and observations to investigate microbial, including autotrophic taxa, and plant controls of net ecosystem productivity in response to warming in intact ecosystems. Field warming is achieved using open-top chambers paired with control plots, arrayed along a productivity gradient. Along this gradient incoming and outgoing carbon fluxes will be measured at the ecosystem-level. The goal is to tie warming-induced shifts in net ecosystem carbon balance to warming effects on soil microbes and plants. The field study will be supplemented with lab temperature incubations. Because soil microbes dominate biogeochemical cycles in Antarctica, a major focus of this study is to determine warming responses of bacteria, fungi and archaea. This is achieved using a cutting-edge stable isotope technique, quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP) developed by the proposing research team, that can identify the taxa that are active and involved in processing new carbon. This technique can identify individual microbial taxa that are actively participating in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients (through combined use of 18O-water and 13C-bicarbonate) and thus can be distinguished from those that are simply present (cold-preserved). The study further assesses photosynthetic uptake of carbon by the vegetation and their sensitivity to warming. Results will advance research in climate change, plant and soil microbial ecology, and ecosystem modeling. | POLYGON((-65 -64.5,-64.8 -64.5,-64.6 -64.5,-64.4 -64.5,-64.2 -64.5,-64 -64.5,-63.8 -64.5,-63.6 -64.5,-63.4 -64.5,-63.2 -64.5,-63 -64.5,-63 -64.55,-63 -64.6,-63 -64.65,-63 -64.7,-63 -64.75,-63 -64.8,-63 -64.85,-63 -64.9,-63 -64.95,-63 -65,-63.2 -65,-63.4 -65,-63.6 -65,-63.8 -65,-64 -65,-64.2 -65,-64.4 -65,-64.6 -65,-64.8 -65,-65 -65,-65 -64.95,-65 -64.9,-65 -64.85,-65 -64.8,-65 -64.75,-65 -64.7,-65 -64.65,-65 -64.6,-65 -64.55,-65 -64.5)) | POINT(-64 -64.75) | 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 | |||||||
Collaborative Research: Long Term Sublimation/Preservation of Two Separate, Buried Glacier Ice Masses, Ong Valley, Southern Transantarctic Mountains
|
1445205 |
2021-07-16 | putkonen, jaakko; Balco, Gregory; Morgan, Daniel |
|
Finding the oldest ice on Earth can tell us about the climate and life forms in the distant past Recently we discovered a mile wide and hundreds of feet thick ice body in Antarctica that is buried under just a few feet of dirt. Thus far our analyses of the dirt suggest that the ice is over million years old. Generally, glacial ice contains tiny bubbles and dirt that was deposited and locked in the ice by the ancient snowfall and today still holds small samples of the atmospheric gases and everything else that was carried by the winds in the past. Such samples may include the amount of greenhouse gases, plant pollen, microbes, and mineral dust. Therefore the glaciers are like archives where we can access and study the Earth’s history with samples that are unavailable anywhere else. Ice survives poorly on Earth’s surface and therefore currently only few ice samples are known that are approximately million years old. Our site has a high potential to harbor perhaps the oldest ice on Earth. However, first we need to sample and date the ice. Our research will also help us understand how these pockets of buried ice can survive such unusually long periods of time. Such understanding will help us study the landforms and history of not only Antarctica but also the Mars where similar dirt covered glaciers are found today. We propose to collect regolith samples through the approximately 1 m thick cover and to core the buried ice in Ong Valley down to 10 m depth to determine the cosmogenic nuclide concentrations both in the regolith and in the embedded mineral matter suspended in the ice. The systematics of the target cosmogenic nuclides (10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne) such as half-lives, isotope production rates, production pathways, and related attenuation lengths allow us to uniquely determine the age of the ice and the rate the ice is sublimating. Our existing samples and analyses reveal accumulation of mineral matter at the base of surficial debris layer and the surface erosion of this debris by eolian processes. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity: Our main objective is to unequivocally determine the age and sublimation rate of two buried massive ice bodies in time scale of thousands to millions of years. The slow sublimation is a fundamentally Antarctic process, and may have altered most of the currently ice-free areas throughout the continent. Similar large, debris covered ice bodies have been recently discovered in Mars as well. Our results may transform the understanding of the longevity of the buried ice bodies and potentially reveal the oldest ice ever found in the interior of the Antarctica. If proven old and slowly sublimating, this buried ice can potentially yield direct information about the atmospheric chemistry, ancient life forms, and geology of greater antiquity than the currently available and sampled ice bodies. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity: The results will be relevant to researchers in glaciology, paleoclimatology, planetary geology, and biology. Several students will participate in the project and do field work in Antarctica, work in lab, attend meetings, attend outreach activities, and produce videos. A graduate student will prepare his/her thesis on a topic closely related to the objectives of the proposed research. The results of the research will be published in scientific meetings and publications. | POLYGON((157.6 -83.2,157.62 -83.2,157.64 -83.2,157.66 -83.2,157.68 -83.2,157.7 -83.2,157.72 -83.2,157.74 -83.2,157.76 -83.2,157.78 -83.2,157.8 -83.2,157.8 -83.21,157.8 -83.22,157.8 -83.23,157.8 -83.24,157.8 -83.25,157.8 -83.26,157.8 -83.27,157.8 -83.28,157.8 -83.29,157.8 -83.3,157.78 -83.3,157.76 -83.3,157.74 -83.3,157.72 -83.3,157.7 -83.3,157.68 -83.3,157.66 -83.3,157.64 -83.3,157.62 -83.3,157.6 -83.3,157.6 -83.29,157.6 -83.28,157.6 -83.27,157.6 -83.26,157.6 -83.25,157.6 -83.24,157.6 -83.23,157.6 -83.22,157.6 -83.21,157.6 -83.2)) | POINT(157.7 -83.25) | false | false | |||||||
Seasonal Primary Productivity and Nitrogen Cycling in Photosynthetic Mats, Lake Fryxell, McMurdo Dry Valleys
|
1937748 |
2021-06-30 | Sumner, Dawn; Mackey, Tyler | No dataset link provided | This project focuses on understanding annual changes in microbial life that grows on the bottom of Lake Fryxell, Antarctica. Because of its polar latitude, photosynthesis can only occur during the summer. During summer, photosynthetic bacteria supply communities with energy and oxygen. However, it is unknown how the microbes behave in the dark winter, when observations are not possible. This project will perform laboratory experiments with a cyanobacterial mat grown from Lake Fryxell samples. Once fieldwork is allowed, we will install environmental monitors and light-blocking shades over small parts of the communities in Lake Fryxell. The shades will extend winter conditions into the spring to allow researchers to characterize the winter behavior of the microbial communities. Researchers will measure changes in the water chemistry due to their activities when they first receive light as the shades are removed. Results are expected to provide insights into how organisms interact with and change their environments. The project extends these scientific results to building a better-prepared, more diverse workforce to perform scientific fieldwork. Fieldwork, including diving, will be performed in part by graduate students under the mentorship of world experts in Antarctic field science. In addition, the project will help students and early career scientists learn field skills by building an online “Guide to Thrive.” This web site will compile field tips ranging from basic gear use to advanced environmental protection techniques. Group leaders ranging from undergraduate teaching assistants to Antarctic expedition leaders will be able to choose appropriate components to build tailored guides for their participants to help them thrive in difficult field conditions. The researchers will measure laboratory-based and field-based seasonal metabolic and biogeochemical changes in benthic mats using differential gene expression and geochemical gradients. They will identify seasonal phenotypic differences and ecosystem effects induced by spring oxygen production. To do so, researchers will install environmental sensors and opaque shades over mats at three depths in the lake. The following spring, they will sample shaded and unshaded mats, remove the shades, track changes in pore water O2, H2S, pH, and redox with microelectrodes, and sample mats for transcriptomic analyses at intervals guided by geochemical changes. Pore water will be sampled for nutrient analyses. Field research will be supplemented with: laboratory experiments to refine field techniques (expanded effort due to COVID field restrictions); gene expression data analysis; and integration of results into a seasonal model of productivity and nitrogen cycling in Lake Fryxell. Results will provide insights into several key priorities for NSF, including how biotic, abiotic and environmental components of the benthic mats interact to affect the regional ecosystem. | POINT(163.183333 -77.616667) | POINT(163.183333 -77.616667) | 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: Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA): Integrated Study of Carbon Cycling in Hydrologically-active Subglacial Environments
|
1543441 1543453 1543405 1543347 1543396 1543537 |
2020-07-16 | Rosenheim, Brad; Fricker, Helen; Priscu, John; Leventer, Amy; Dore, John; Lyons, W. Berry; Christner, Brent | The Antarctic subglacial environment remains one of the least explored regions on Earth. This project will examine the physical and biological characteristics of Subglacial Lake Mercer, a lake that lies 1200m beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This study will address key questions relating to the stability of the ice sheet, the subglacial hydrological system, and the deep-cold subglacial biosphere. The education and outreach component aims to widely disseminate results to the scientific community and to the general public through short films, a blog, and a website.<br/><br/>Subglacial Lake Mercer is one of the larger hydrologically active lakes in the southern basin of the Whillans Ice Plain, West Antarctica. It receives about 25 percent of its water from East Antarctica with the remainder originating from West Antarctica, is influenced by drain/fill cycles in a lake immediately upstream (Subglacial Lake Conway), and lies about 100 km upstream of the present grounding line of the Ross Ice Shelf. This site will yield information on the history of the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams, and on grounding line migration. The integrated study will include direct sampling of basal ice, water, and sediment from the lake in concert with surface geophysical surveys over a three-year period to define the hydrological connectivity among lakes on the Whillans Ice Plain and their flow paths to the sea. The geophysical surveys will furnish information on subglacial hydrology, aid the site selection for hot-water drilling, and provide spatial context for interpreting findings. The hot-water-drilled boreholes will be used to collect basal ice samples, provide access for direct measurement of subglacial physical, chemical, and biological conditions in the water column and sediments, and to explore the subglacial water cavities using a remotely operated vehicle equipped with sensors, cameras, and sampling equipment. Data collected from this study will address the overarching hypothesis \"Contemporary biodiversity and carbon cycling in hydrologically-active subglacial environments associated with the Mercer and Whillans ice streams are regulated by the mineralization and cycling of relict marine organic matter and through interactions among ice, rock, water, and sediments\". The project will be undertaken by a collaborative team of scientists, with expertise in microbiology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, geophysics, glaciology, marine geology, paleoceanography, and science communication. | POLYGON((-163.611 -84.33543,-162.200034 -84.33543,-160.789068 -84.33543,-159.378102 -84.33543,-157.967136 -84.33543,-156.55617 -84.33543,-155.145204 -84.33543,-153.734238 -84.33543,-152.323272 -84.33543,-150.912306 -84.33543,-149.50134 -84.33543,-149.50134 -84.3659157,-149.50134 -84.3964014,-149.50134 -84.4268871,-149.50134 -84.4573728,-149.50134 -84.4878585,-149.50134 -84.5183442,-149.50134 -84.5488299,-149.50134 -84.5793156,-149.50134 -84.6098013,-149.50134 -84.640287,-150.912306 -84.640287,-152.323272 -84.640287,-153.734238 -84.640287,-155.145204 -84.640287,-156.55617 -84.640287,-157.967136 -84.640287,-159.378102 -84.640287,-160.789068 -84.640287,-162.200034 -84.640287,-163.611 -84.640287,-163.611 -84.6098013,-163.611 -84.5793156,-163.611 -84.5488299,-163.611 -84.5183442,-163.611 -84.4878585,-163.611 -84.4573728,-163.611 -84.4268871,-163.611 -84.3964014,-163.611 -84.3659157,-163.611 -84.33543)) | POINT(-156.55617 -84.4878585) | false | false | ||||||||
Understanding the Boundary Conditions of the Lake Vostok Environment: A Site Survey for Future Work
|
9978236 |
2020-04-24 | Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S. | This award, provided by the Office of Polar Programs under the Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) Program, supports a geophysical study of Lake Vostok, a large lake beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. <br/><br/>Subglacial ecosystems, in particular subglacial lake ecosystems are extreme oligotrophic environments. These environments, and the ecosystems which may exist within them, should provide key insights into a range of fundamental questions about the development of Earth and other bodies in the Solar System including: 1) the processes associated with rapid evolutionary radiation after the extensive Neoproterozoic glaciations; 2) the overall carbon cycle through glacial and interglacial periods; and 3) the possible adaptations organisms may require to thrive in environments such as on Europa, the ice covered moon of Jupiter. Over 70 subglacial lakes have been identified beneath the 3-4 kilometer thick ice of Antarctica. One lake, Lake Vostok, is sufficiently large to be clearly identified from space with satellite altimetry. Lake Vostok is similar to Lake Ontario in area but with a much larger volume including measured water depths of 600 meters. The overlying ice sheet is acting as a conveyer belt continually delivering new water, nutrients, gas hydrates, sediments and microbes as the ice sheet flows across the lake. <br/><br/>The goal of this program is to determine the fundamental boundary conditions for this subglacial lake as an essential first step toward understanding the physical processes within the lake. An aerogeophysical survey over the lake and into the surrounding regions will be acquired to meet this goal. This data set includes gravity, magnetic, laser altimetry and ice penetrating radar data and will be used to compile a basic set of ice surface elevation, subglacial topography, gravity and magnetic anomaly maps. <br/><br/>Potential field methods widely used in the oil industry will be modified to estimate the subglacial topography from gravity data where the ice penetrating radar will be unable to recover the depth of the lake. A similar method can be modified to estimate the thickness of the sediments beneath the lake from magnetic data. These methods will be tested and applied to subglacial lakes near South Pole prior to the Lake Vostok field campaign and will provide valuable comparisons to the planned survey. Once the methods have been adjusted for the Lake Vostok application, maps of the water cavity and sediment thickness beneath the lake will be produced.<br/><br/>These maps will become tools to explore the geologic origin of the lake. The two endmember models are, first, that the lake is an active tectonic rift such as Lake Baikal and, second, the lake is the result of glacial scouring. The distinct characteristics of an extensional rift can be easily identified with our aerogeophysical survey. The geological interpretation of the airborne geophysical survey will provide the first geological constraints of the interior of the East Antarctic continent based on modern data. In addition, the underlying geology will influence the ecosystem within the lake. <br/><br/>One of the critical issues for the ecosystem within the lake will be the flux of nutrients. A preliminary estimation of the regions of freezing and melting based on the distance between distinctive internal layers observed on the radar data will be made. These basic boundary conditions will provide guidance for a potential international effort aimed at in situ exploration of the lake and improve the understanding of East Antarctic geologic structures. | POLYGON((101 -75.5,101.9 -75.5,102.8 -75.5,103.7 -75.5,104.6 -75.5,105.5 -75.5,106.4 -75.5,107.3 -75.5,108.2 -75.5,109.1 -75.5,110 -75.5,110 -75.85,110 -76.2,110 -76.55,110 -76.9,110 -77.25,110 -77.6,110 -77.95,110 -78.3,110 -78.65,110 -79,109.1 -79,108.2 -79,107.3 -79,106.4 -79,105.5 -79,104.6 -79,103.7 -79,102.8 -79,101.9 -79,101 -79,101 -78.65,101 -78.3,101 -77.95,101 -77.6,101 -77.25,101 -76.9,101 -76.55,101 -76.2,101 -75.85,101 -75.5)) | POINT(105.5 -77.25) | false | false | ||||||||
Collaborative research: Antarctic diatom proteorhodopsins: Characterization and a potential role in the iron-limitation response
|
1744760 1745036 |
2019-06-16 | Marchetti, Adrian; Septer, Alecia; Hopkinson, Brian |
|
Proteorhodopsins (PR) are retinal-binding membrane proteins that can act as light-driven proton pumps to generate energy that can be used for metabolism and growth. The discovery of PRs in many diverse marine prokaryotic microbes has initiated extensive investigations into their distributions and functional roles. Recently, a rhodopsin-like gene of the proton-pumping variety was identified in diatoms thus revealing their presence within obligate marine eukaryotic photoautotrophs. Since this time, PRs have been identified in a number of diatom isolates although there appears to be a much higher frequency of PR in diatoms residing in cold, iron-limited regions of the ocean, particularly in the Southern Ocean (SO). PR is especially suited for use in SO phytoplankton since unlike conventional photosynthesis, it uses no iron and its reaction rate is insensitive to temperature. The overall objective of our proposed project is to characterize Antarctic diatom-PR and determine its role in the adaptation of SO diatoms to the prevailing conditions of low iron concentrations and extremely low temperatures. Our research objectives will be achieved through a combination of molecular, biochemical and physiological measurements in diatom isolates recently obtained from the Western Antarctic Peninsula region. We will determine the proton-pumping characteristics and pumping rates of PR as a function of light intensity and wavelength, the resultant PR-linked intracellular ATP production rates, and the cellular localization of the protein. We will examine under which environmental conditions Antarctic diatom-PR is most highly expressed and construct a cellular energy budget that includes diatom-PR when grown under these different growth conditions. Estimates of the energy flux generated by PR in PR-containing diatoms will be compared to total energy generation by the photosynthetic light reactions and metabolically coupled respiration rates. Finally, we will compare the characteristics and gene expression of diatom-PR in Antarctic diatoms to PR-containing diatoms isolated from temperate regions in order to investigate if there is a preferential dependence on energy production through diatom-PR in diatoms residing in cold, iron-limited regions of the ocean. | POLYGON((-77 -61,-75.2 -61,-73.4 -61,-71.6 -61,-69.8 -61,-68 -61,-66.2 -61,-64.4 -61,-62.6 -61,-60.8 -61,-59 -61,-59 -62.1,-59 -63.2,-59 -64.3,-59 -65.4,-59 -66.5,-59 -67.6,-59 -68.7,-59 -69.8,-59 -70.9,-59 -72,-60.8 -72,-62.6 -72,-64.4 -72,-66.2 -72,-68 -72,-69.8 -72,-71.6 -72,-73.4 -72,-75.2 -72,-77 -72,-77 -70.9,-77 -69.8,-77 -68.7,-77 -67.6,-77 -66.5,-77 -65.4,-77 -64.3,-77 -63.2,-77 -62.1,-77 -61)) | POINT(-68 -66.5) | false | false | |||||||
EAGER: Elucidating the Antarctic Methane Cycle at the Cinder Cones Reducing Habitat.
|
1642570 |
2019-05-24 | Thurber, Andrew |
|
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is naturally emitted into the oceans by geologic seeps and microbial production. Based on studies of persistent deep-sea seeps at mid- and northern latitudes, researchers have learned that bacteria and archaea can create a "sediment filter" that oxidizes methane prior to its release. Antarctica is thought to contain large reservoirs of organic carbon buried beneath its ice which could a quantity of methane equivalent to all of the permafrost in the Arctic and yet we know almost nothing about the methane oxidizing microbes in this region. How these microbial communities develop and potentially respond to fluctuations in methane levels is an under-explored avenue of research. A bacterial mat was recently discovered at 78 degrees south, suggesting the possible presence of a methane seep, and associated microbial communities. This project will explore this environment in detail to assess the levels and origin of methane, and the nature of the microbial ecosystem present. <br/> <br/>An expansive bacterial mat appeared and/or was discovered at 78 degrees south in 2011. This site, near McMurdo Station Antarctica, has been visited since the mid-1960s, but this mat was not observed until 2011. The finding of this site provides an unusual opportunity to study an Antarctic marine benthic habitat with active methane cycling and to examine the dynamics of recruitment and community succession of seep fauna including bacteria, archaea, protists and metazoans. This project will collect the necessary baseline data to facilitate further studies of Antarctic methane cycling. The concentration and source of methane will be determined at this site and at potentially analogous sites in McMurdo Sound. In addition to biogeochemical characterization of the sites, molecular analysis of the microbial community will quantify the time scales on which bacteria and archaea respond to methane input and provide information on rates of community development and succession in the Southern Ocean. Project activities will facilitate the training of at least one graduate student and results will be shared at both local and international levels. A female graduate student will be mentored as part of this project and data collected will form part of her dissertation. Lectures will be given in K-12 classrooms in Oregon to excite students about polar science. National and international audiences will be reached through blogs and presentations at a scientific conference. The PI's previous blogs have been used by K-12 classrooms as part of their lesson plans and followed in over 65 countries.<br/> | POINT(166.666 -77.8) | POINT(166.666 -77.8) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: Importance of Heterotrophic and Phototrophic N2 Fixation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys on Local, Regional and Landscape Scales
|
1246292 |
2018-03-14 | Cary, Stephen | The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are recognized as being the driest, coldest and probably one of the harshest environments on Earth. In addition to the lack of water, the biota in the valleys face a very limited supply of nutrients such as nitrogen compounds - necessary for protein synthesis. The glacial streams of the Dry Valleys have extensive cyanobacterial (blue green algae) mats that are a major source of carbon and nitrogen compounds to biota in this region. While cyanobacteria in streams are important as a source of these compounds, other non-photosynthetic bacteria also contribute a significant fraction (~50%) of fixed nitrogen compounds to valley biota. This research effort will involve an examination of exactly which non-phototrophic bacteria are involved in nitrogen fixation and what environmental factors are responsible for controlling nitrogen fixation by these microbes. This work will resolve the environmental factors that control the activity, abundance and diversity of nitrogen-fixing microbes across four of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. This will allow for comparisons among sites of differing latitude, temperature, elevation and exposure to water. These results will be integrated into a landscape wetness model that will help determine the impact of both cyanobacterial and non-photosynthetic nitrogen fixing microorganisms in this very harsh environment.<br/><br/>The Dry Valleys in many ways resemble the Martian environment, and understanding the primitive life and very simple nutrient cycling in the Dry Valleys has relevance for understanding how life might have once existed on other planets. Furthermore, the study of microbes from extreme environments has resulted in numerous biotechnological applications such as the polymerase chain reaction for amplifying DNA and mechanisms for freeze resistance in agricultural crops. Thus, this research should yield insights into how biota survive in extreme environments, and these insights could lead to other commercial applications. | POLYGON((161.36062 -77.20215,161.610171 -77.20215,161.859722 -77.20215,162.109273 -77.20215,162.358824 -77.20215,162.608375 -77.20215,162.857926 -77.20215,163.107477 -77.20215,163.357028 -77.20215,163.606579 -77.20215,163.85613 -77.20215,163.85613 -77.291278,163.85613 -77.380406,163.85613 -77.469534,163.85613 -77.558662,163.85613 -77.64779,163.85613 -77.736918,163.85613 -77.826046,163.85613 -77.915174,163.85613 -78.004302,163.85613 -78.09343,163.606579 -78.09343,163.357028 -78.09343,163.107477 -78.09343,162.857926 -78.09343,162.608375 -78.09343,162.358824 -78.09343,162.109273 -78.09343,161.859722 -78.09343,161.610171 -78.09343,161.36062 -78.09343,161.36062 -78.004302,161.36062 -77.915174,161.36062 -77.826046,161.36062 -77.736918,161.36062 -77.64779,161.36062 -77.558662,161.36062 -77.469534,161.36062 -77.380406,161.36062 -77.291278,161.36062 -77.20215)) | POINT(162.608375 -77.64779) | false | false | ||||||||
Multidimensional "omics" characterization of microbial metabolism and dissolved organic matter in Antarctica
|
1141978 |
2017-04-25 | Foreman, Christine; Bothner, Brian |
|
Uncovering the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is central to an understanding of the global carbon cycle, as organic material from lakes, streams, oceans and soils passes through this pool. DOM acts as a key energy source for microbes in many ecosystems and therefore can affect regional nutrient cycling patterns. For example, preliminary results suggest that organisms isolated from a supraglacial stream on Cotton Glacier, Antarctica, may be important in DOM cycling in this relatively simple, low temperature system. However, little is known about the functional attributes of the microbes that interact with DOM in the environment. This project will use state-of-the-art genomics, proteomics and metabolomics approaches to understand the mechanisms by which two microbial isolates, CG3 and CG9_1, affect DOM cycling. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry will also be used to better characterize the microbially-derived DOM from this ecosystem. This project will support the research and training of one undergraduate and two graduate students. Results will be widely disseminated through publications as well as through presentations at national and international meetings. In addition, raw data will be made available through open-access databases. Understanding the relationship between cold-adapted microbial metabolisms and DOM pools is important as more than 90% of the Earth?s oceans are below 5 degrees Celsius. | POLYGON((160 -76,160.1 -76,160.2 -76,160.3 -76,160.4 -76,160.5 -76,160.6 -76,160.7 -76,160.8 -76,160.9 -76,161 -76,161 -76.1,161 -76.2,161 -76.3,161 -76.4,161 -76.5,161 -76.6,161 -76.7,161 -76.8,161 -76.9,161 -77,160.9 -77,160.8 -77,160.7 -77,160.6 -77,160.5 -77,160.4 -77,160.3 -77,160.2 -77,160.1 -77,160 -77,160 -76.9,160 -76.8,160 -76.7,160 -76.6,160 -76.5,160 -76.4,160 -76.3,160 -76.2,160 -76.1,160 -76)) | POINT(160.5 -76.5) | false | false | |||||||
EAGER: Collaborative Research: Habitability of Antarctic Lakes and Detectability of Microbial Life in Icy Environments by Aautonomous Year-round Instrumentation
|
1340905 |
2017-01-13 | Doran, Peter; Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Priscu, John |
|
EAGER: Collaborative Research: Habitability of Antarctic lakes and detectability of microbial life in icy environments by autonomous year-round instrumentation, is supported by the Antarctic Integrated System Science (AISS) and the Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems (AOE) programs within the Antarctic Sciences section in the Division of Polar Programs within the Geosciences Directorate of the National Sciences Foundation (NSF). The funds will allow the measurement of year-round properties of the microbes and the surrounding water in Lake Bonney, a lake with four meters of permanent ice cover over forty meters of liquid water in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. NSF funds will be used to support the deployment, and the science enabled by the deployment, and NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) funds will be used to purchase the equipment.<br/><br/>Intellectual Merit: This research will be the first to make year-round measurements of the microbial community, and several associated environmental variables, in the continuously liquid portions of Lake Bonney, Antarctica. Three different types of equipment will be deployed in each of the lobes of Lake Bonney. The first instrument is an ITP (an ice-tethered profiler) that will measure physical parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll throughout the full depth of the liquid water portion of the lake, making measurements at least once each week. The second and third instruments will be used to collect discrete water samples at least every two weeks to determine A) the biological community (assessing metabolic and phylogenetic diversity) and B) the geochemistry (e.g., dissolved organic carbon, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen species). Such samplers have never been used to measure these properties year-round in the Antarctic. Cold temperatures, bottom lake water salinities that are four times greater than the ocean, the thick permanent ice cover, and the lack of sunlight to recharge batteries all present significant challenges for the project, thus classifying the work as an early, high-risk, high-reward activity (the acronym EAGER stands for Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research).<br/><br/>Broader Impacts: There is much interest in understanding the ecosystems of the Polar regions in an era of climate change. Logistical limitations dictate much of this work only take place in the summer, until new autonomous technologies can open the door for year-round measurements. This award will be the first to attempt year-round microbial sampling in Antarctica. The McMurdo Dry Valleys region is also the site of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program, and the research conducted on this project with benefit from, and contribute to, the larger LTER project. The instruments used in the project will be purchased by NASA, so two separate agencies have agreed to explore the feasibility of an early stage project. There will be at least three graduate student trained during the project, and the team will also participate in outreach activities at several venues including the Crow Reservation in Montana. | POLYGON((161 -77,161.3 -77,161.6 -77,161.9 -77,162.2 -77,162.5 -77,162.8 -77,163.1 -77,163.4 -77,163.7 -77,164 -77,164 -77.05,164 -77.1,164 -77.15,164 -77.2,164 -77.25,164 -77.3,164 -77.35,164 -77.4,164 -77.45,164 -77.5,163.7 -77.5,163.4 -77.5,163.1 -77.5,162.8 -77.5,162.5 -77.5,162.2 -77.5,161.9 -77.5,161.6 -77.5,161.3 -77.5,161 -77.5,161 -77.45,161 -77.4,161 -77.35,161 -77.3,161 -77.25,161 -77.2,161 -77.15,161 -77.1,161 -77.05,161 -77)) | POINT(162.5 -77.25) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: An Integrated Ecological Investigation of McMurdo Dry Valley's Active Soil Microbial Communities
|
1142096 1142102 |
2017-01-04 | Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Schwartz, Egbert; Van Horn, David |
|
The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are among the coldest, driest habitats on the planet. Previous research has documented the presence of surprisingly diverse microbial communities in the soils of the Dry Valleys despite these extreme conditions. However, the degree to which these organisms are active is unknown; it is possible that much of this diversity reflects microbes that have blown into this environment that are subsequently preserved in these cold, dry conditions. This research will use modern molecular techniques to answer a fundamental question regarding these communities: which organisms are active and how do they live in such extreme conditions? The research will include manipulations to explore how changes in water, salt and carbon affect the microbial community, to address the role that these organisms play in nutrient cycling in this environment. The results of this work will provide a broader understanding of how life adapts to such extreme conditions as well as the role of dormancy in the life history of microorganisms. Results will be widely disseminated through publications as well as through presentations at national and international meetings; raw data will be made available through a high-profile web-based portal. The research will support two graduate students, two undergraduate research assistants and a postdoctoral fellow. The results will be incorporated into a webinar targeted to secondary and post-secondary educators and a complimentary hands-on class activity kit will be developed and made available to various teacher and outreach organizations. | POLYGON((161 -77,161.3 -77,161.6 -77,161.9 -77,162.2 -77,162.5 -77,162.8 -77,163.1 -77,163.4 -77,163.7 -77,164 -77,164 -77.05,164 -77.1,164 -77.15,164 -77.2,164 -77.25,164 -77.3,164 -77.35,164 -77.4,164 -77.45,164 -77.5,163.7 -77.5,163.4 -77.5,163.1 -77.5,162.8 -77.5,162.5 -77.5,162.2 -77.5,161.9 -77.5,161.6 -77.5,161.3 -77.5,161 -77.5,161 -77.45,161 -77.4,161 -77.35,161 -77.3,161 -77.25,161 -77.2,161 -77.15,161 -77.1,161 -77.05,161 -77)) | POINT(162.5 -77.25) | false | false | |||||||
Molecular Level Characterization of Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Diversity in the WAIS Divide Replicate Core
|
1141936 |
2015-11-05 | Foreman, Christine |
|
This award supports a detailed, molecular level characterization of dissolved organic carbon and microbes in Antarctic ice cores. Using the most modern biological (genomic), geochemical techniques, and advanced chemical instrumentation researchers will 1) optimize protocols for collecting, extracting and amplifying DNA from deep ice cores suitable for use in next generation pyrosequencing; 2) determine the microbial diversity within the ice core; and 3) obtain and analyze detailed molecular characterizations of the carbon in the ice by ultrahigh resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). With this pilot study investigators will be able to quantify the amount of material (microbial biomass and carbon) required to perform these characterizations, which is needed to inform future ice coring projects. The ultimate goal will be to develop protocols that maximize the yield, while minimizing the amount of ice required. The broader impacts include education and outreach at both the local and national levels. As a faculty mentor with the American Indian Research Opportunities and BRIDGES programs at Montana State University, Foreman will serve as a mentor to a Native American student in the lab during the summer months. Susan Kelly is an Education and Outreach Coordinator with a MS degree in Geology and over 10 years of experience in science outreach. She will coordinate efforts for comprehensive educational collaboration with the Hardin School District on the Crow Indian Reservation in South-central Montana. | POINT(112.085 -79.467) | POINT(112.085 -79.467) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: The Biogeochemical Evolution of Dissolved Organic Matter in a Fluvial System on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica
|
0838970 |
2014-10-10 | Foreman, Christine |
|
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises a significant pool of Earth's organic carbon that dwarfs the amount present in living aquatic organisms. The properties and reactivity of DOM are not well defined, and the evolution of autochthonous DOM from its precursor materials in freshwater has not been observed. Recent sampling of a supraglacial stream formed on the Cotton Glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains revealed DOM that more closely resembles an assemblage of recognizable precursor organic compounds, based upon its UV-VIS and fluorescence spectra. It is suggested that the DOM from this water evolved over time to resemble materials present in marine and many inland surface waters. The transient nature of the system i.e., it reforms seasonally, also prevents any accumulation of the refractory DOM present in most surface waters. Thus, the Cotton Glacier provides us with a unique environment to study the formation of DOM from precursor materials. An interdisciplinary team will study the biogeochemistry of this progenitor DOM and how microbes modify it. By focusing on the chemical composition of the DOM as it shifts from precursor material to the more humified fractions, the investigators will relate this transition to bioavailability, enzymatic activity, community composition and microbial growth efficiency. This project will support education at all levels, K-12, high school, undergraduate, graduate and post-doc and will increase participation by under-represented groups in science. Towards these goals, the investigators have established relationships with girls' schools and Native American programs. Additional outreach will be carried out in coordination with PolarTREC, PolarPalooza, and if possible, an Antarctic Artist and Writer. | POINT(161.667 -77.117) | POINT(161.667 -77.117) | false | false | |||||||
High Resolution Genomic and Proteomic Analyses of a Microbial Transport Mechanism from Antarctic Marine Waters to Permanent Snowpack
|
1043265 |
2014-07-31 | Deming, Jody | No dataset link provided | The relatively pristine Antarctic continent with its extensive maritime zone represents a unique location on the planet to investigate the long distance aerial transport and deposition of marine microorganisms. The vast extent of new sea ice that forms each winter around the continent results in large numbers of frost flowers, delicate ice-crystal structures of high salt content that form on the surface of the ice and are readily dispersed by wind. The proposed research builds on earlier work in the Arctic and tests the new hypothesis that wind-borne frost flowers provide an effective mechanism for the transport of marine bacteria over long distances, one that can be uniquely sourced and tracked by the frost flower salt signature in the Antarctic realm. A highly resolved genomic snapshot of the microbial community will be acquired at each stage in the transport path, which will track decreasing fractions of the marine microbial community as it freezes into sea ice, incorporates into frost flowers, converts to aerosols, and ultimately deposits within continental snowpack. En route from sea ice to snowpack, marine bacteria will be exposed to an array of environmental stresses, including high salinity, low temperatures, UV light and potential desiccation. A parallel proteomic analysis will enable an evaluation of the microbial response to these extreme conditions and potential survival mechanisms that allow persistence or eventual colonization of deposition sites across Antarctica. <br/><br/>Current understanding of microbes in the Antarctic atmosphere is based on a limited number of microscopic and culture-based assays and a single report of low-resolution 16S RNA gene sequence analysis. The research will broadly impact understanding of atmospheric microbiology, from source to deposition, and various issues of microbial survival, colonization, endemism, and diversity under extreme conditions. In addition to venues that reach the scientific community, the research team will develop a permanent multi-media and artifact-based exhibit on Antarctic Microbial Transport that will be showcased at Seattle's Pacific Science Center (PSC), which educates nearly a million visitors annually. | POLYGON((162.1397 -77.14085,162.828507 -77.14085,163.517314 -77.14085,164.206121 -77.14085,164.894928 -77.14085,165.583735 -77.14085,166.272542 -77.14085,166.961349 -77.14085,167.650156 -77.14085,168.338963 -77.14085,169.02777 -77.14085,169.02777 -77.200745,169.02777 -77.26064,169.02777 -77.320535,169.02777 -77.38043,169.02777 -77.440325,169.02777 -77.50022,169.02777 -77.560115,169.02777 -77.62001,169.02777 -77.679905,169.02777 -77.7398,168.338963 -77.7398,167.650156 -77.7398,166.961349 -77.7398,166.272542 -77.7398,165.583735 -77.7398,164.894928 -77.7398,164.206121 -77.7398,163.517314 -77.7398,162.828507 -77.7398,162.1397 -77.7398,162.1397 -77.679905,162.1397 -77.62001,162.1397 -77.560115,162.1397 -77.50022,162.1397 -77.440325,162.1397 -77.38043,162.1397 -77.320535,162.1397 -77.26064,162.1397 -77.200745,162.1397 -77.14085)) | POINT(165.583735 -77.440325) | false | false | |||||||
Photoheterotrophic Microbes in the West Antarctic Peninsula Marine Ecosystem
|
0838830 |
2013-12-16 | Cottrell, Matthew; David, Kirchman |
|
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).<br/><br/>Light quality and availability are likely to change in polar ecosystems as ice coverage and thickness decrease. How microbes adjust to these and other changes will have huge impacts on the polar marine ecosystems. Little is known about photoheterotrophic prokaryotes, which are hypothesized to gain a metabolic advantage by harvesting light energy in addition to utilizing dissolved organic matter (DOM). Photoheterotrophy is not included in current models of carbon cycling and energy flow. This research will examine three questions: 1. Are photoheterotrophic microbes present and active in Antarctic waters in winter and summer? 2. Does community structure of photoheterotrophs shift between summer and winter? 3. Which microbial groups assimilate more DOM in light than in the dark? The research will test hypotheses about activity of photoheterotrophs in winter and in summer, shifts in community structure between light and dark seasons and the potentially unique impacts of photoheterotrophs on biogeochemical processes in the Antarctic. The project will directly support a graduate student, will positively impact the NSF REU program at the College of Marine and Earth Studies, and will include students from the nation?s oldest historical minority college. The results will be featured during weekly tours of Lewes facilities (about 1000 visitors per year) and during Coast Day, an annual open-house that attracts about 10,000 visitors. | POLYGON((-64.079666 -64.77966,-64.07576590000001 -64.77966,-64.0718658 -64.77966,-64.0679657 -64.77966,-64.0640656 -64.77966,-64.06016550000001 -64.77966,-64.0562654 -64.77966,-64.0523653 -64.77966,-64.04846520000001 -64.77966,-64.0445651 -64.77966,-64.040665 -64.77966,-64.040665 -64.78326100000001,-64.040665 -64.786862,-64.040665 -64.790463,-64.040665 -64.794064,-64.040665 -64.797665,-64.040665 -64.801266,-64.040665 -64.804867,-64.040665 -64.808468,-64.040665 -64.812069,-64.040665 -64.81567,-64.0445651 -64.81567,-64.04846520000001 -64.81567,-64.0523653 -64.81567,-64.0562654 -64.81567,-64.06016550000001 -64.81567,-64.0640656 -64.81567,-64.0679657 -64.81567,-64.0718658 -64.81567,-64.07576590000001 -64.81567,-64.079666 -64.81567,-64.079666 -64.812069,-64.079666 -64.808468,-64.079666 -64.804867,-64.079666 -64.801266,-64.079666 -64.797665,-64.079666 -64.794064,-64.079666 -64.790463,-64.079666 -64.786862,-64.079666 -64.78326100000001,-64.079666 -64.77966)) | POINT(-64.0601655 -64.797665) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: Biogeochemistry of Cyanobactrial Mats and Hyporheic Zone Microbes in McMurdo Dry Valley Glacial Meltwater Streams
|
0739648 |
2013-12-10 | Cary, Stephen |
|
The glacial streams of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have extensive cyanobacterial mats that are a probable source of fixed C and N to the Valleys. The research will examine the interplay between the microbial mats in the ephemeral glacial streams and the microbiota of the hyporheic soils (wetted soil zone) underlying and adjacent to those mats. It is hypothesized that the mats are important sources of organic carbon and fixed nitrogen for the soil communities of the hyporheic zone, and release dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) that serves the entire Dry Valley ecosystem. Field efforts will entail both observational and experimental components. Direct comparisons will be made between the mats and microbial populations underlying naturally rehydrated and desiccated mat areas, and between mat areas in the melt streams of the Adams and Miers Glaciers in Miers Valley. Both physiological and phylogenetic indices of the soil microbiota will be examined. Observations will include estimates of rates of mat carbon and nitrogen fixation, soil respiration and leucine and thymidine uptake (as measures of protein & DNA synthesis, respectively) by soil bacteria, bacterial densities and their molecular ecology. Experimental manipulations will include experimental re-wetting of soils and observations of the time course of response of the microbial community. The research will integrate modern molecular genetic approaches (ARISA-DNA fingerprinting and ultra deep 16S rDNA microbial phylogenetic analysis) with geochemistry to study the diversity, ecology, and function of microbial communities that thrive in these extreme environments. The broader impacts of the project include research and educational opportunities for graduate students and a postdoctoral associate. The P.I.s will involve undergraduates as work-study students and in REU programs, and will participate in educational and outreach programs. | POINT(163 -77.5) | POINT(163 -77.5) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: The Role of Snow Patches on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Microbial Communities and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Antarctic Dry Valleys
|
0838850 |
2013-11-26 | Gooseff, Michael N. |
|
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).<br/><br/>Two models have been proposed to describe controls over microbial biogeography. One model proposes that microbes are ubiquitously distributed across the global environment, and that environmental conditions select for taxa physiologically adapted to local physical conditions. An alternative model predicts that dispersal is the important limitation to the distribution of microorganisms and that spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities is a result of both dispersal and local environmental limitations. According to both models, spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities may be especially pronounced in extreme ecosystems where the environmental selection for organisms with suitable physiology is most strongly manifest. We propose that Antarctic terrestrial environments are ideal places to examine microbial biogeography for 3 reasons: 1) the pristine nature and remoteness of Antarctica minimizes the prevalence of exotic species dispersed through human vectors; 2) the extreme conditions of Antarctic environments provide a strong environmental filter which limits the establishment of non-indigenous taxa; and 3) extreme heterogeneity in the terrestrial environment provides natural gradients of soil conditions (temperature, water and nutrient availability). In the proposed research we will investigate the influence of snow on the composition and spatial distribution of soil microbial communities and linked biogeochemical cycling in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. We will conduct fieldwork at the landscape scale (repeated remote sensing to characterize snow distribution), at the valley and patch scales (quantify snow patch ablation, microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling in subnivian soils). We hypothesize that snow patches play an important role in structuring the spatial distribution of soil microbial communities and their associated ecosystem functioning because of the physical and hydrological influences that snow patches have on the soil environment. The research will contribute to greater public awareness of the importance of polar research to fundamental questions of biology, ecology and hydrology through direct linkages with International Antarctic Institute public outreach activities, including dissemination of web-based learning units on environmental science and microbiology, targeted as resources for secondary and post-secondary educators. Three graduate students, one postdoctoral scholar and multiple undergraduates will participate in the research activities. | POLYGON((162.32 -77.62,162.418 -77.62,162.516 -77.62,162.614 -77.62,162.712 -77.62,162.81 -77.62,162.90800000000002 -77.62,163.006 -77.62,163.104 -77.62,163.202 -77.62,163.3 -77.62,163.3 -77.631,163.3 -77.64200000000001,163.3 -77.653,163.3 -77.664,163.3 -77.67500000000001,163.3 -77.686,163.3 -77.697,163.3 -77.708,163.3 -77.71900000000001,163.3 -77.73,163.202 -77.73,163.104 -77.73,163.006 -77.73,162.90800000000002 -77.73,162.81 -77.73,162.712 -77.73,162.614 -77.73,162.516 -77.73,162.418 -77.73,162.32 -77.73,162.32 -77.71900000000001,162.32 -77.708,162.32 -77.697,162.32 -77.686,162.32 -77.67500000000001,162.32 -77.664,162.32 -77.653,162.32 -77.64200000000001,162.32 -77.631,162.32 -77.62)) | POINT(162.81 -77.675) | false | false | |||||||
Climatology, Meteorology, and Microbial Metabolism in Ice with Dust Loggers and Fluorimetry
|
0738658 |
2012-06-19 | Bay, Ryan; Price, Buford; Souney, Joseph Jr. |
|
This award supports a project to use two new scanning fluorimeters to map microbial concentrations vs depth in the WAIS Divide ice core as portions of it become available at NICL, and selected portions of the GISP2 ice core for inter-hemispheric comparison. Ground-truth calibrations with microbes in ice show that the instruments are sensitive to a single cell and can scan the full length of a 1-meter core at 300-micron intervals in two minutes. The goals of these studies will be to exploit the discovery that microbes are transported onto ice, in clumps, several times per year and that at rare intervals (not periodically) of ~104 years, a much higher flux, sometimes lasting >1 decade, reaches the ice. From variations ranging from seasonal to millennial to glacial scale in the arrival time distribution of phototrophs, methanogens, and total microbes in the Antarctic and Arctic ice, the investigators will attempt to determine oceanic and terrestrial sources of these microbes and will look for correlations of microbial bursts with dust concentration and temperature proxies. In addition the project will follow up on the discovery that the rare instances of very high microbial flux account for some of the"gas artifacts" in ice cores - isolated spikes of excess CH4 and N2O that have been discarded by others in previous climate studies. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will exploit scanning fluorimetry of microbes as a powerful new tool for studies ranging from meteorology to climatology to biology, especially when combined with mapping of dust, gases, and major element chemistry in ice cores. In 2010-11 the WAIS Divide borehole will be logged with the latest version of the dust logger. The log will provide mm-scale depth resolution of dust concentration and of volcanic ash layers down the entire depth of the borehole. The locations of ash layers in the ice will be determined and chemical analyses of the ash will be analyzed in order to determine provenance. By comparing data from the WAIS Divide borehole with data from other boreholes and with chemical data (obtained by others) on volcanic layers, the researchers will examine the relationship between the timing of volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change. Results from this project with the scanning fluorimeters and the dust logger could have applications to planetary missions, borehole oceanography, limnology, meteorology, climate, volcanology, and ancient life in ice. A deeper understanding of the causes of abrupt climate change, including a causal relationship with volcanic explosivity, would enable a better understanding of the adverse effects on climate. The broader impact of the project is that it will provide training to students and post-docs from the U. S. and other countries. | POINT(112.1125 -79.4638) | POINT(112.1125 -79.4638) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: Controls on climate-active gases by Amundsen Sea ice biota
|
0836061 0836112 0836144 |
2011-04-24 | Smith, Walker; Yager, Patricia; Dennett, Mark | Convincing evidence now confirms that polar regions are changing rapidly in response to human activities. Changes in sea ice extent and thickness will have profound implications for productivity, food webs and carbon fluxes at high latitudes, since sea ice biota are a significant source of biogenic matter for the ecosystem. While sea ice is often thought to be a barrier to gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, it more likely functions as a source or sink for climate-active gases such as carbon dioxide and ozone-depleting organohalogens, due in part to activities of microbes embedded in the sea ice matrix. This project brings together experienced US and Swedish investigators to examine the controls by sea-ice biota on the production and degradation of key climate-active gases in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. We hypothesize that 1) the physical properties of the sea-ice environment will determine the community structure and activities of the sea ice biota; 2) the productivity, biomass, physiological state and species composition of ice algae will determine the production of specific classes of organic carbon, including organohalogens; 3) heterotrophic co-metabolism within the ice will break down these compounds to some extent, depending on the microbial community structure and productivity, and 4) the sea ice to atmosphere fluxes of CO2 and organohalogens will be inversely related. This project will build close scientific collaborations between US and Swedish researchers and also train young scientists, including members of underrepresented groups. Dissemination of results will include the scientific literature, and public outreach venues including interactions with a PolarTrec teacher. | POLYGON((100 -69,107 -69,114 -69,121 -69,128 -69,135 -69,142 -69,149 -69,156 -69,163 -69,170 -69,170 -70,170 -71,170 -72,170 -73,170 -74,170 -75,170 -76,170 -77,170 -78,170 -79,163 -79,156 -79,149 -79,142 -79,135 -79,128 -79,121 -79,114 -79,107 -79,100 -79,100 -78,100 -77,100 -76,100 -75,100 -74,100 -73,100 -72,100 -71,100 -70,100 -69)) | POINT(135 -74) | false | false | ||||||||
Collaborative Research: Free Drifting Icebergs as Proliferation Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean
|
0636440 0636319 0636723 0636543 |
2010-11-22 | Twining, Benjamin; Shaw, Tim; Long, David; Murray, Alison; Helly, John | Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers, disintegrating ice shelves, and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. Our preliminary study of two icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea, an area of high iceberg concentration, showed significant delivery of terrestrial material accompanied by significant enhancement of phytoplankton and zooplankton/micronekton abundance, and primary production surrounding the icebergs. We hypothesize that nutrient enrichment by free-drifting icebergs will increase primary production and sedimentation of organic carbon, thus increasing the draw-down and sequestration of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and impacting the global carbon cycle. Our research addresses the following questions:1) What is the relationship between the physical dynamics of free-drifting icebergs and the Fe and nutrient distributions of the surrounding water column? 2) What is the relationship between Fe and nutrient distributions associated with free-drifting icebergs and the organic carbon dynamics of the ice-attached and surrounding pelagic communities (microbes, zooplankton, micronekton)? 3) What is impact on the export flux of particulate organic carbon from the mixed layer? An interdisciplinary approach is proposed to examine iceberg structure and dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and carbon cycling that includes measurement of trace element, nutrient and radionuclide distributions; organic carbon dynamics mediated by microbial, ice-attached and zooplankton communities; and particulate organic carbon export fluxes. Results from this project will further our understanding of the relationship between climate change and carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Our findings will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC) as part of the SIOExplorer: Digital Library Project. The OEC allows users to access content, which is classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers, and volunteers are important participants in the proposed field and laboratory work. For the K-12 level, a professional writer of children's books will participate in cruises to produce an account of the expedition and a daily interactive website. | POLYGON((-55 -52,-53.5 -52,-52 -52,-50.5 -52,-49 -52,-47.5 -52,-46 -52,-44.5 -52,-43 -52,-41.5 -52,-40 -52,-40 -53.3,-40 -54.6,-40 -55.9,-40 -57.2,-40 -58.5,-40 -59.8,-40 -61.1,-40 -62.4,-40 -63.7,-40 -65,-41.5 -65,-43 -65,-44.5 -65,-46 -65,-47.5 -65,-49 -65,-50.5 -65,-52 -65,-53.5 -65,-55 -65,-55 -63.7,-55 -62.4,-55 -61.1,-55 -59.8,-55 -58.5,-55 -57.2,-55 -55.9,-55 -54.6,-55 -53.3,-55 -52)) | POINT(-47.5 -58.5) | false | false | ||||||||
Collaborative Reseach: Free-drifting Icebergs as Proliferating Dispersion Sites of Iron Enrichment, Organic Carbon Production and Export in the Southern Ocean.
|
0636730 |
2010-11-22 | Vernet, Maria |
|
Atmospheric warming has been associated with retreating glaciers, disintegrating ice shelves, and the increasing prevalence of icebergs in the Southern Ocean over the last decade. Our preliminary study of two icebergs in the NW Weddell Sea, an area of high iceberg concentration, showed significant delivery of terrestrial material accompanied by significant enhancement of phytoplankton and zooplankton/micronekton abundance, and primary production surrounding the icebergs. We hypothesize that nutrient enrichment by free-drifting icebergs will increase primary production and sedimentation of organic carbon, thus increasing the draw-down and sequestration of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and impacting the global carbon cycle. Our research addresses the following questions:1) What is the relationship between the physical dynamics of free-drifting icebergs and the Fe and nutrient distributions of the surrounding water column? 2) What is the relationship between Fe and nutrient distributions associated with free-drifting icebergs and the organic carbon dynamics of the ice-attached and surrounding pelagic communities (microbes, zooplankton, micronekton)? 3) What is impact on the export flux of particulate organic carbon from the mixed layer? An interdisciplinary approach is proposed to examine iceberg structure and dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and carbon cycling that includes measurement of trace element, nutrient and radionuclide distributions; organic carbon dynamics mediated by microbial, ice-attached and zooplankton communities; and particulate organic carbon export fluxes. Results from this project will further our understanding of the relationship between climate change and carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Our findings will be incorporated into the Antarctic Research division of the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC) as part of the SIOExplorer: Digital Library Project. The OEC allows users to access content, which is classified to one of four levels: entry (grade K-6), student (grade 6-12), college, and research. Graduate students, undergraduates, teachers, and volunteers are important participants in the proposed field and laboratory work. For the K-12 level, a professional writer of children's books will participate in cruises to produce an account of the expedition and a daily interactive website. | POLYGON((-55 -52,-53.5 -52,-52 -52,-50.5 -52,-49 -52,-47.5 -52,-46 -52,-44.5 -52,-43 -52,-41.5 -52,-40 -52,-40 -53.3,-40 -54.6,-40 -55.9,-40 -57.2,-40 -58.5,-40 -59.8,-40 -61.1,-40 -62.4,-40 -63.7,-40 -65,-41.5 -65,-43 -65,-44.5 -65,-46 -65,-47.5 -65,-49 -65,-50.5 -65,-52 -65,-53.5 -65,-55 -65,-55 -63.7,-55 -62.4,-55 -61.1,-55 -59.8,-55 -58.5,-55 -57.2,-55 -55.9,-55 -54.6,-55 -53.3,-55 -52)) | POINT(-47.5 -58.5) | false | false | |||||||
Studies of Antarctic Fungi: Adaptive Stratigies for Survival and Protecting Antarctica's Historic Structures
|
0537143 |
2010-05-24 | Blanchette, Robert | Fungi in Antarctic ecosystems are major contributors to biodiversity and have great influence on many processes such as biodegradation and nutrient cycling. It is essential for biological surveys as well as genomic and proteomic studies to be completed so a better understanding of these organisms is obtained. Previous research has identified unique fungi associated with historic wooden structures brought to Antarctica by Robert F. Scott and Ernest Shackleton during the Heroic Era of exploration. Many of the fungi found are previously undescribed species that belong to the little known genus Cadophora. The research team will obtain important new information on the fungi present in the Ross Sea and Peninsula Regions of Antarctica, particularly their role in decomposition and nutrient recycling and their mechanisms and strategies for survival in the polar environment. New tools and methods include denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), real-time PCR, and proteomic profiling. These analyses will reveal key details of the physiological adaptations these fungi have evolved to carry out processes such as biodegradation and nutrient cycling under conditions that would inhibit other fungi. This work, coupled with the training and learning opportunities it provides, will be of value to many fields of study including microbial ecology, polar biology, wood microbiology, environmental science, soil science, geobiochemistry, and mycology as well as fungal phylogenetics, proteomics and genomics. Results obtained will have immediate applied use to help preserve and protect Antarctica's historic monuments. The investigations proposed are a continuation of research to identify the microbes attacking these historic structures and artifacts and to elucidate their biology and ecology in the polar environment. New research will also be done at the historic Cape Adare huts, the first wooden structures to be built in Antarctica and also at East Base, an American historic site on Stonington Island from the Admiral Byrd and Ronne Expeditions of 1939-1948. The research team will conduct vital studies needed to successfully conserve the wooden structures and artifacts at these sites and protect them for future generations | POLYGON((-69 -60,-68.3 -60,-67.6 -60,-66.9 -60,-66.2 -60,-65.5 -60,-64.8 -60,-64.1 -60,-63.4 -60,-62.7 -60,-62 -60,-62 -61,-62 -62,-62 -63,-62 -64,-62 -65,-62 -66,-62 -67,-62 -68,-62 -69,-62 -70,-62.7 -70,-63.4 -70,-64.1 -70,-64.8 -70,-65.5 -70,-66.2 -70,-66.9 -70,-67.6 -70,-68.3 -70,-69 -70,-69 -69,-69 -68,-69 -67,-69 -66,-69 -65,-69 -64,-69 -63,-69 -62,-69 -61,-69 -60)) | POINT(-65.5 -65) | false | false | ||||||||
IPY: Collaborative Research: A Metagenomic Investigation of Adaptation to Prolonged Cold and Dark Conditions of the Lake Vostok Microbial Community
|
0632250 |
2010-04-30 | Cary, Stephen |
|
This project brings together researchers with expertise in molecular microbial ecology, Antarctic and deep sea environments, and metagenomics to address the overarching question: how do ecosystems dominated by microorganisms adapt to conditions of continuous cold and dark over evolutionarily and geologically relevant time scales? Lake Vostok, buried for at least 15 million years beneath approximately 4 km of ice that has prevented any communication with the external environment for as much as 1.5 million years, is an ideal system to study this question. Water from the lake that has frozen on to the bottom of the ice sheet (accretion ice) is available for study. Several studies have indicated the presence of low abundance, but detectable microbial communities in the accretion ice. Our central hypothesis maintains that Lake Vostok microbes are specifically adapted to life in conditions of extreme cold, dark, and oligotrophy and that signatures of those adaptations can be observed in their genome sequences at the gene, organism, and community levels. To address this hypothesis, we propose to characterize the metagenome (i.e. the genomes of all members of the community) of the accretion ice. using whole genome amplification (WGA), which can provide micrograms of unbiased metagenomic DNA from only a few cells. The results of this project have relevance to evolutionary biology and ecology, subglacial Antarctic lake exploration, biotechnology, and astrobiology. The project directly addresses priorities and themes in the International Polar Year at the national and international levels. A legacy of DNA sequence data and the metagenomic library will be created and maintained. Press releases and a publicly available web page will facilitate communication with the public. K-12 outreach will be the focus of a new, two-tiered program targeting the 7th grade classroom and on site visits to the Joint Genome Institute Production Sequencing Facility by high school juniors and seniors and community college level students. Minority undergraduate researchers will be recruited for research on this project, and support and training are provided to two graduate students, a postdoctoral scholar, and a technician. | POLYGON((-38.5 -72.6,-23.963 -72.6,-9.426 -72.6,5.111 -72.6,19.648 -72.6,34.185 -72.6,48.722 -72.6,63.259 -72.6,77.796 -72.6,92.333 -72.6,106.87 -72.6,106.87 -73.185,106.87 -73.77,106.87 -74.355,106.87 -74.94,106.87 -75.525,106.87 -76.11,106.87 -76.695,106.87 -77.28,106.87 -77.865,106.87 -78.45,92.333 -78.45,77.796 -78.45,63.259 -78.45,48.722 -78.45,34.185 -78.45,19.648 -78.45,5.111 -78.45,-9.426 -78.45,-23.963 -78.45,-38.5 -78.45,-38.5 -77.865,-38.5 -77.28,-38.5 -76.695,-38.5 -76.11,-38.5 -75.525,-38.5 -74.94,-38.5 -74.355,-38.5 -73.77,-38.5 -73.185,-38.5 -72.6)) | POINT(34.185 -75.525) | false | false | |||||||
Optical Logging for Dust and Microbes in Boreholes in Glacial Ice
|
0125794 |
2009-07-29 | Bay, Ryan |
|
0125794<br/>Price<br/><br/>This award supports research in climatology, geosciences, and life in extreme environments to be carried out with a newly developed optical borehole logger. The logger fits into a fluid-filled borehole in glacial ice. It emits light at 370 nm in a horizontal plane in order to probe optical properties of particles embedded in the ice out to several meters from the borehole. After leaving the borehole, the light is partially absorbed and scattered by dust, biomolecules, or microbes. A fraction of the light is scattered back into the borehole and is detected by a system of seven phototubes, each of which collects light with high efficiency in a separate wavelength band. One of them collects light that scatters off of dust and air bubbles without wavelength shift, and serves as a dust logger. The other six are covered with notch filters that measure six different wavelength bands and measure the shape of the fluorescence spectrum of microbes and biomolecules. Thus, the same instrument serves as both a dust logger and a microbe logger. Applications include: 1) Precise chronologies and long-period solar variability. With a resolution of 1 to 2 cm for both GISP2 and Siple Dome, the logger will record annual dust maxima and evaluate claims of modulations of dust concentration with periods ranging from 11 yrs (the solar cycle) to 2300 yrs; 2) Volcanism and age-depth markers. Dozens of volcanic ash bands will be detectable and will serve as primary age-depth markers for other boreholes; 3) Microorganisms and biomolecules. The vertical distribution of living, dormant, and dead microbes can be logged, and searches for archaea and aeolian polyaromatic hydrocarbons can be made. The logging experiments will be carried out at Siple Dome and Dome C in Antarctica and at GISP2 and GRIP in Greenland. | None | None | false | false | |||||||
Comprehensive Biological Study of Vostok Accretion Ice
|
0536870 |
2008-09-02 | Rogers, Scott O. |
|
The large subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica is unique ecological site with a novel microbial biota. The temperatures, pressures and lack of light all select for organisms that may not exist anywhere else on Earth. The accretion ice (lake water frozen to the bottom of the lower surface of the glacier) has preserved microbial samples from each region of Lake Vostok as the glacier passes over and into the lake. Thus, without contaminating the lake with microorganisms from the surface, microbes originating from the lake can be collected, transported to the laboratory and studied. Two of the deepest ice cores sections in this project are part of the international allocation. The will be shared between four researchers (Sergey Bulat from Russia, Jean-Robert Petit and Daniel Prieur from France, Scott Rogers from USA). The United States team will study, isolate, and characterize bacteria, fungi, and viruses that have been sampled from the lake through the process of ice accretion to the lower surface of 3500+m thick glacier overriding the lake. The project will involve a suite of methods, including molecular, morphological, and cultural. This includes observation and description by fluorescence, light, and electron microscopy, isolation on thirteen separate cultural media, polymerase chain reaction amplification, DNA sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. Eleven accretion ice core sections, as well as two glacial ice core sections. As well as two glacial ice core sections will be studied. The accretion ice core sections, as well as two glacial ice core sections will be studied. The accretion ice core sections represent all of the major regions of the lake that have been sampled by the accretion process in the vicinity of the Vostok 5G ice core. The broader impacts of the work relate to the impact the results will have on the filed. These long=isolated lakes, deep below the Antarctic ice sheet may contain novel uniquely adapted organisms. Glacial ice contains an enormous diversity of entrapped microbes, some of which may be metabolically active in the ice. The microbes from Lake Vostok are of special interest, since they are adapted to cold, dark, and high pressure. Thus, their enzyme systems and biochemical pathways may be significantly different from those in the microbes that are the subject of current studies. As such, these organisms may form compounds that may have useful applications. Also, study of the accretion ice, and eventually the water, from Lake Vostok will provide a basis for the study of other subglacial lakes. Additionally, study of the microbes in the accretion ice will be useful to those planning to study analogous systems on ice-covered planets and moons. | POINT(-106.8 -72.4667) | POINT(-106.8 -72.4667) | false | false | |||||||
Climatology, Volcanism, and Microbial Life in Ice with Downhole Loggers
|
0440609 |
2008-06-03 | Bay, Ryan; Price, Buford | No dataset link provided | This award supports a project to use three downhole instruments - an optical logger; a<br/>miniaturized biospectral logger at 420 nm (miniBSL-420); and an Acoustic TeleViewer (ATV) - to log a 350-m borehole at the WAIS Divide drill site. In addition, miniBSL-224 (at 224 nm) and miniBSL-420 will scan ice core sections at NICL to look for abrupt climate changes, volcanic ash, microbial concentrations, and correlations among them. Using the optical logger and ATV to log bubble number densities vs depth in a WAIS Divide borehole, we will detect annual layers, from which we can establish the age vs depth relation to the bottom of the borehole that will be available during the three-year grant period. With the same instruments we will search for long-period modulation of bubble and dust concentrations in order to provide definitive evidence for or against an effect of long-period variability of the sun or solar wind on climate. We will detect and accurately date ash layers in a WAIS Divide borehole. We will match them with ash layers that we previously detected in the Siple Dome borehole, and also match them with sulfate and ash layers found by others at Vostok, Dome Fuji, Dome C, and GISP2. The expected new data will allow us to extend our recent study which showed that the Antarctic record of volcanism correlates with abrupt climate change at a 95% to >99.8% significance level and that the volcanic signatures at bipolar locations match at better than 3 sigma during the interval 2 to 45 kiloyears. The results to be obtained during this grant period will position us to extend an accurate age vs depth relation and volcano-climate correlations to earlier than 150 kiloyears ago in the future WAIS Divide borehole to be drilled to bedrock. Using the miniBSLs to identify biomolecules via their fluorescence, we will log a 350-m borehole at WAIS Divide, and we will scan selected lengths of ice core at NICL. Among the biomolecules the miniBSLs can identify will be chlorophyll, which will provide the first map of aerobic microbes in ice, and F420, which will provide the first map of methanogens in ice. We will collaborate with others in relating results from WAIS Divide and NICL ice cores to broader topics in climatology, volcanology, and microbial ecology. We will continue to give broad training to undergraduate and graduate students, to attract underrepresented minorities to science, engineering, and math, and to educate the press and college teachers. A deeper understanding of the causes of abrupt climate change, including a causal relationship with strong volcanic eruptions, can enable us to understand and mitigate adverse effects on climate. | POINT(-112.06556 -79.469444) | POINT(-112.06556 -79.469444) | false | false |