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McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER - MCM

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LTER Sites > McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER

NSF Award(s) ANT-0423595 (View all sites)

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are located on the western coast of McMurdo Sound (77°00'S 162°52'E) and form the largest relatively ice-free area (approximately 4800 square kilometers) on the Antarctic continent. These ice-free areas of Antarctica display a sharp contrast to most other ecosystems in the world, which exist under far more moderate environmental conditions. The perennially ice-covered lakes, ephemeral streams and extensive areas of exposed soil within the McMurdo Dry Valleys are subject to low temperatures, limited precipitation and salt accumulation. Thus, the dry valleys represent a region where life approaches its environmental limits, and is an ""end-member"" in the spectrum of environments included in the LTER Network.
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Contact Information
Site Contacts
Principal Investigator: Andrew Fountain
Primary Contact: Andrew Fountain
Information Mgr: Christopher Gardner
Education Contact: Carol Landis
Address:
Byrd Polar Research Center - MCM LTER
108 Scott Hall
1090 Carmack Rd
Columbus, OH 43210-1002 USA
Phone: 614-292-3229
Fax: 614-292-4697
Email: mcmlter@bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu
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Site History
The McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER project is an interdisciplinary study of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in a cold desert region of Antarctica. In 1992 this area was selected as a study site within the National Science Foundation's Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Program. Details about the research can be reviewed through the original 1992 research proposal to the National Science Foundation, or the more recent 1998 proposal, resulting in funding for another 6 years.
Research Topics
Microbial ecosystem dynamics in arid soils, ephemeral streams, and closed basin lakes; resource and environmental controls on terrestrial, stream and lake ecosystems; material transport between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; ecosystem response to greater hydrologic flux driven by warming climate.
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Institutional Affliations Research Sites
McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Headlines
 
Site Coordinates
Lat: -77.000
Long. +162.520
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Climate Info.
  High Mean Low
Temperature 11.83 c -19c -65.67c
Windspeed 38 m/s 2.7-5 m/s 0 m/s
Preciptation NA 100 mm NA
Other Climate Info
Snow Day:
Sunshine Day: 		Water Balance:
Evapotranspiration: AET: PET:
rel_parm: rel_stat: dim_parm: dim_stat:
- Copyright 2004 Long Term Ecological Research Network -
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement #DEB-9634135. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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