Collaborative Research: GeomicroBiology of Antarctic Subglacial Environments (GBASE) Beneath the Mercer and Whillans Ice Streams

合作研究：默瑟和威兰斯冰流下的南极冰下环境的地球微生物学 (GBASE)

• 批准号: 0838896
• 负责人: Ross Virginia
• 金额: $ 14.95万
• 依托单位: Dartmouth College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0838896&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; GeomicroBiology; Antarctic; Subglacial

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The GBASE project (GeomicroBiology of Antarctic Subglacial Environments) is one of three research components of the WISSARD (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) integrative initiative that is being funded by the Antarctic Integrated System Science Program of NSF's Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Division. The overarching scientific objective of WISSARD is to assess the role of water beneath a West Antarctic ice stream in interlinked glaciological, geological, microbiological, geochemical, and oceanographic systems. GBASE will examine distinct, but hydrologically related, subglacial environments using a combination of biogeochemical/ genomic measurements to answer key questions directly relevant to metabolic and phylogenetic biodiversity, and the biogeochemical transformation of major nutrients beneath the Whillans Ice Stream. We expect the microbial communities associated with the ice stream to be a metabolically dynamic ecosystem, and specifically ask (1) what is the microbial community structure and (2) what is the metabolic function of the community in situ? Understanding biogeochemical processes involved with elemental transformations on our planet is a central theme in NSF's decadal plan and the use of multidisciplinary tools to study these transformations in polar regions has been recommended by a 2007 NRC report that states "It is time for scientific research on subglacial lakes to begin". GBASE results will be used by investigators of LISSARD and RAGES (the other two components of the WISSARD project) to cast their results in a holistic ecosystem perspective.INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognized that the greatest uncertainties in assessing future global sea-level change stem from a poor understanding of ice sheet dynamics and ice sheet vulnerability to oceanic and atmospheric warming. Disintegration of the WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) alone would contribute 3-5 m to global sea-level rise, making WAIS a focus of scientific concern due to its potential susceptibility to internal or ocean-driven instability. The overall WISSARD project will test the overarching hypothesis that active water drainage connects various subglacial environments and exerts major control on ice sheet flow, geochemistry, metabolic and phylogenetic diversity, and biogeochemical transformations. BROADER IMPACTS: Societal Relevance: Global warming, melting of ice sheets and consequential sea-level rise are of high societal relevance. Science Resource Development: After a 9-year hiatus WISSARD will provide the US-science community with a renewed capability to access and study sub-ice sheet environments. Developing this technological infrastructure will benefit the broader science community and assets will be accessible for future use through the NSF-OPP drilling contractor. Furthermore, these projects will pioneer an approach implementing recommendations from the National Research Council committee on Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the Exploration and Study of Subglacial Environments (2007). Education and Outreach (E/O): These activities are grouped into four categories: i) increasing student participation in polar research by fully integrating them in our research programs; ii) introducing new investigators to the polar sciences by incorporating promising young investigators in our programs, iii) promotion of K-12 teaching and learning programs by incorporating various teachers and NSTA programs, and iv) reaching a larger public audience through such venues as popular science magazines, museum based activities and videography and documentary films. In summary, WISSARD will promote scientific exploration of Antarctica by conveying to the public the excitement of accessing and studying what may be some of the last unexplored aquatic environments on Earth, and which represent a potential analogue for extraterrestrial life habitats on Europa and Mars.

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏与再投资法》（公法111-5）资助的。 GBASE项目（南极亚冰分环境的地质生物学）是Wissard的三个研究组成部分（Whillans Ice Stream冰流下冰川访问研究钻探），该计划由NSF Polars Science Office of Polar Proparts Socore，南极分区提供了南极系统科学计划。 维萨德的总体科学目标是评估南极冰流下的水在相互联系的冰川，地质，微生物，地球化学和海洋学系统中的作用。 GBASE将使用生物地球化学/基因组测量的结合来检查不同但与水文相关的亚冰纹环境，以回答与代谢和系统发育生物多样性直接相关的关键问题，以及在Whillans冰流下的主要营养物质的生物地球化学转化。我们期望与冰流相关的微生物群落是一个代谢动态的生态系统，特别询问（1）微生物群落结构是什么，（2）社区原地的代谢功能是什么？ 了解我们星球上与元素转化有关的生物地球化学过程是NSF衰老计划中的一个核心主题，并且使用多学科工具来研究极地区域中的这些转变，这是2007年NRC的一份报告指出，“现在是时候开始对亚冰湖进行科学研究的开始。” Lissard and Rage（Wissard Project的其他两个组成部分）的研究人员将使用GBASE结果来将其结果以整体的生态系统的角度进行。智能优点：政府间关于气候变化的最新报告，关于气候变化的跨越人际关系，认识到，在评估全球层面的全球变化中，最大的不确定性源于不良的冰层和不良的冰层冰层和冰上的冰冰，而冰上的冰层和冰层的整体范围是冰上的动态。仅WAIS（南极西部冰盖）的瓦解将使全球海平面上升3-5 m，这使WAIS成为科学关注的焦点，因为它可能对内部或海洋驱动的不稳定敏感。 整个Wissard项目将检验总体假设，即主动排水连接各种冰川下环境，并对冰片流，地球化学，代谢和系统发育多样性以及生物地球化学转化产生重大控制。 更广泛的影响：社会相关性：全球变暖，冰盖的融化和相应的海平面上升具有很高的社会相关性。科学资源开发：经过9年的休假之后，Wissard将为美国科学家社区提供可访问和研究子夹纸环境的新能力。开发这种技术基础设施将使更广泛的科学界受益，并且可以通过NSF-OPP钻探承包商获得资产，以供将来使用。此外，这些项目将开拓国家研究委员会环境管理原理委员会的建议，以探索和研究冰川环境的探索和研究（2007年）。教育与外展（E/O）：这些活动分为四类：i）通过将它们完全融入我们的研究计划中，从而增加学生参与极地研究； ii）通过将有前途的年轻研究者纳入我们的计划，iii）促进K-12教学计划，通过合并各种教师和NSTA计划来促进K-12的教学计划，以及IV）通过流行的科学杂志，基于博物馆的活动和摄像机和文档电影来促进更大的公众观众。总而言之，Wissard将通过向公众传达访问和研究地球上最后一个未开发的水生环境的兴奋和研究，这代表了欧洲和火星上的外星生命栖息地的潜在类似物，从而促进对南极的科学探索。