Increased Connectivity in a Polar Desert Resulting from Climate Warming: McMurdo Dry Valley LTER Program

气候变暖导致极地沙漠连通性增强：麦克默多干谷 LTER 计划

• 批准号: 1115245
• 负责人: Michael Gooseff
• 金额: $ 490万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-04-15 至 2017-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1115245&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Increased; Connectivity; Polar; Desert; Resulting

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) is a polar desert on the coast of East Antarctica, a region that has not yet experienced climate warming. The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (MCMLTER) project has documented the ecological responses of the glacier, soil, stream and lake ecosystems in the MDV during a cooling trend (from 1986 to 2000) which was associated with the depletion of atmospheric ozone. In the past decade, warming events with strong katabatic winds occurred during two summers and the resulting high streamflows and sediment deposition changed the dry valley landscape, possibly presaging conditions that will occur when the ozone hole recovers. In anticipation of future warming in Antarctica, the overarching hypothesis of the proposed project is: Climate warming in the McMurdo Dry Valley ecosystem will amplify connectivity among landscape units leading to enhanced coupling of nutrient cycles across landscapes, and increased biodiversity and productivity within the ecosystem. Warming in the MDV is hypothesized to act as a slowly developing, long-term press of warmer summers, upon which transient pulse events of high summer flows and strong katabatic winds will be overprinted. Four specific hypotheses address the ways in which pulses of water and wind will influence contemporary and future ecosystem structure, function and connectivity. Because windborne transport of biota is a key aspect of enhanced connectivity from katabatic winds, new monitoring will include high-resolution measurements of aeolian particle flux. Importantly, integrative genomics will be employed to understand the responses of specific organisms to the increased connectivity. The project will also include a novel social science component that will use environmental history to examine interactions between human activity, scientific research, and environmental change in the MDV over the past 100 years. To disseminate this research broadly, MCM scientists will participate in a wide array of outreach efforts ranging from presentations in K-12 classrooms to bringing undergraduates and teachers to the MDV to gain research experience. Planned outreach programs will build upon activities conducted during the International Polar Year (2007-2008), which include development of an interactive DVD for high school students and teachers and publication of a children's book in the LTER Schoolyard Book Series. A teacher's edition of the book with a CD containing lesson plans will be distributed. The project will develop programs for groups traditionally underrepresented in science arenas by publishing some outreach materials in Spanish.

McMurdo Dry Valleys（MDV）是南极洲海岸的极地沙漠，该地区尚未经历气候变暖。 McMurdo Dry Valleys长期生态学研究（MCMLTER）项目已记录了在冷却趋势（从1986年至2000年）期间，MDV中冰川，土壤，溪流和湖泊生态系统的生态反应，这与大气ozone的消耗有关。在过去的十年中，在两个夏天发生了强烈的katabatic风的变暖事件，由此产生的高流量和沉积物沉积改变了干山谷的景观，可能会在臭氧孔恢复时会出现这种情况。为了期待南极未来的变暖，拟议项目的总体假设是：McMurdo Dry Valley生态系统中的气候变暖将扩大景观单位之间的连通性，从而增强跨景观范围内营养周期的偶联，并在生态系统内提高生物多样性和生产率。 假设MDV中的变暖是一种缓慢发展的长期夏季新闻，夏季流量和强烈的katabatic风的短暂脉冲事件将被过多地构成。四个特定的假设解决了水和风能影响当代和未来生态系统结构，功能和连通性的方式。 由于Biota的风载转运是Katabatic风中增强连通性的关键方面，因此新的监测将包括对风粒粒子通量的高分辨率测量。重要的是，将采用综合基因组学来了解特定生物对增加连通性的反应。该项目还将包括一个新颖的社会科学组成部分，该组成部分将使用环境历史来研究过去100年中MDV的人类活动，科学研究和环境变化之间的相互作用。为了广泛传播这项研究，MCM科学家将参加各种各样的外展工作，从K-12教室的演讲到将大学生和教师带到MDV获得研究经验。计划的外展计划将基于国际极性年（2007- 2008年）进行的活动，其中包括为高中生和老师开发互动DVD，以及在《 LTER Schoolyard Book》系列中的儿童读物出版。将分发带有CD的教师版，其中包含CD的课程计划。该项目将通过以西班牙语发布一些外展材料来为科学领域中传统上代表性不足的团体制定计划。