COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Remote Characterization of Microbial Mats in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, through In Situ Sampling and Spectral Validation

合作研究：通过原位采样和光谱验证对南极洲泰勒谷微生物垫进行远程表征

• 批准号: 1744785
• 负责人: John Barrett
• 金额: $ 11.95万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-15 至 2021-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1744785&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Remote; Characterization; Microbial

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.

麦克默多干谷各处都发现了微生物垫，夏季融雪提供了液态水，使这些垫子能够茂盛生长。研究人员长期以来一直在研究微生物垫生长所需的环境条件。尽管做出了这些努力，但仍很难全面了解这些独特的生态系统。卫星技术的最新进展现在为研究人员提供了一个令人兴奋的新工具，可以利用与微生物垫相关的独特光谱特征从太空研究这些特殊的南极生态系统。这项新技术不仅提供了从太空绘制和研究微生物垫的希望，这项研究还将有助于保护这些脆弱的环境免受从地面研究它们时可能发生的潜在有害的人类影响。该项目将使用卫星图像和光谱技术来识别和绘制微生物垫群落图，并将其特性和分布与现场和实验室测量联系起来。这项研究提供了一个令人兴奋的新工具，帮助记录和了解麦克默多干谷南极生态系统主要组成部分的分布。该项目的目标是建立来自轨道的光谱特征与生理状态和生物地球化学之间的定量关系通过对收集的样本进行现场和实验室分析来测量南极洲泰勒谷微生物垫群落的特性。该目标将通过以下方式实现：（1）使用原位辐射校正来改进大气校正技术，以获得准确的表面光谱； (2) 收集多光谱轨道图像，同时进行现场采样和光谱测量，以确保时间可比性； (3) 测量沉积物、水和微生物垫样品的有机和无机碳含量、必需的生物地球化学营养素和叶绿素-a，以确定相关的垫特性； (4) 将这些实验室衍生的特征与现场衍生和轨道光谱特征和参数定量关联。 这项工作的结果将是微生物垫群落分布及其生物地球化学特性与景观尺度光谱特征之间更强有力的定量联系。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，被认为值得支持以及更广泛的影响审查标准。