NSF Global Fiducial Site Survey

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Site Number/Name:

GFL No.:

Name: MCM/McMurdo Dry Valleys

State, Country: Antarctica

Priority: 1

Site designation(s): LTER

Other sponsoring/interested agencies, if any:

NASA

Location and size:

USGS Quads: Webb Lake, Victoria Upper Lake, Lake Brownworth, Marble Point, Labyrinth, Lake Vanda, Lake Bonney, Lake Fryxell, Beacon Valley, Knobhead, Cathedral Rocks, Granite Knolls, Cape Chocolate, The Spire, Mount Lister, Joyce Glacier, Marshall Valley

Center: 77 deg 35 min S, 162 deg 00 min E

NE corner: 77 deg 00 min S, 159 deg 20 min E

SE corner: 78 deg 15 min S, 159 deg 20 min E

SW corner: 78 deg 15 min S, 165 deg 00 min E

NW corner: 77 deg 00 min S, 165 deg 00 min E

Center elevation: ~1500 m

Size (N-S x E-W): [in kilometers-km and nautical miles nm]

~120 km x 144 km

Resource to be monitored: Glaciers, Lake ice, Soils, environmental change

Detailed description, management issues (e.g. ecosystem represented):

Principal biome: Polar Desert Ecosystem. Role of past climatic legacies on ecosystem structure and function. Understanding hydrological and biological responses to climate. Timing, duration and location and controls on biogeochemical processes. Microbial ecosystem dynamics in arid soils, ephemeral streams, and closed basin lakes.

Frequency and time(s) of collection: October - February

1 per month in October, November, February

2 per month in December and January

Resolution/scale:

Special characteristics (spectral values, thermal anomalies,

underwater/ground, etc.):

all bands may be utilized, including panchromatic, thermal, Vis, NIR

Existing maps of area (digital?): see web site

http://huey.colorado.edu/LTER/maps.html

http://huey.colorado.edu/LTER/data.html

MEDEA sponsor (active/passive):

Sponsoring agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF agency point of contact: Polly Penhale (OPP)

NSF site point of contact (current security clearance, if any):

John Vande Castle, Security Clearance -YES

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