USAP-DC

Microbial mats are found throughout the McMurdo Dry Valleys where summer snowmelt provides liquid water that allows these mats to flourish. Researchers have long studied the environmental conditions microbial mats need to grow. Despite these efforts, it has been difficult to develop a broad picture of these unique ecosystems. Recent advances in satellite technology now provide researchers an exciting new tool to study these special Antarctic ecosystems from space using the unique spectral signatures associated with microbial mats. This new technology not only offers the promise that microbial mats can be mapped and studied from space, this research will also help protect these delicate environments from potentially harmful human impacts that can occur when studying them from the ground. This project will use satellite imagery and spectroscopic techniques to identify and map microbial mat communities and relate their properties and distributions to both field and lab-based measurements. This research provides an exciting new tool to help document and understand the distribution of a major component of the Antarctic ecosystem in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The goal of this project is to establish quantitative relationships between spectral signatures derived from orbit and the physiological status and biogeochemical properties of microbial mat communities in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, as measured by field and laboratory analyses on collected samples. The goal wioll be met by (1) refining atmospheric correction techniques using in situ radiometric rectification to derive accurate surface spectra; (2) collecting multispectral orbital images concurrent with in situ sampling and spectral measurements in the field to ensure temporal comparability; (3) measuring sediment, water, and microbial mat samples for organic and inorganic carbon content, essential biogeochemical nutrients, and chlorophyll-a to determine relevant mat characteristics; and (4) quantitatively associating these laboratory-derived characteristics with field-derived and orbital spectral signatures and parameters. The result of this work will be a more robust quantitative link between the distribution of microbial mat communities and their biogeochemical properties to landscape-scale spectral signatures. 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.

Person	Role
Barrett, John	Investigator and contact
Power, Sarah	Other
Salvatore, Mark	Investigator

Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems

Award # 1744785

USAP-1744785_1

Deployment	Type
John E. Barrett	field camp
Sarah Power	field camp

None in the Database

Repository	Title (link)	Format(s)	Status
EDI	McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER: Microbial mat biomass and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from Lake Fryxell Basin, Antarctica	CSV	exists

1. Salvatore, M. R., S. R.Borges, J. E. Barrett, S. N. Power, L. F. Stanish, and E. R. Sokol. 2021. Counting carbon: Quantifying biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys through orbital and field observations. International Journal of Remote Sensing 42:22, 8597-8623. (DOI: 10.1080/01431161.2021.1981559)
2. Sokol, E. R., Barrett, J. E., Kohler, T. J., McKnight, D. M., Salvatore, M. R., & Stanish, L. F. (2020). Evaluating Alternative Metacommunity Hypotheses for Diatoms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using Simulations and Remote Sensing Data. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8. (doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.521668)
3. Barrett, J. E., Adams, B. J., Doran, P. T., Dugan, H. A., Myers, K. F., Salvatore, M. R., Power, S. N., Snyder, M. D., Wright, A. T., & Gooseff, M. N. (2024). Response of a Terrestrial Polar Ecosystem to the March 2022 Antarctic Weather Anomaly. Earth’s Future, 12(8). Portico. (doi:10.1029/2023ef004306)