Collaborative Research on Biogeochemistry of Antarctic Dry Valley Lakes: Seasonality and Feedback Processes in Amictic Lakes Dominated by Internal Cycling

温带的湖泊生态系统受到以下两种因素的影响： 季节性变化的外部力量和内部 地球化学循环;然而，水文混合和 稀释可能会掩盖一些地球化学物质的重要性， 流程. 相比之下， 南极洲受到季节性的影响， 在极端的情况下，被永久的冰盖所稳定， 每年投入少量化学品 成分，包括有机物质和营养物质， 冰川融水流 因此，这些湖泊 特别适合于研究涉及的过程， 有机物质内部产生和降解。这 研究将集中在化学和生物变化 发生在南方的冬天（持续的黑暗）， 南半球的夏天（持续的日光）和相互作用 或反馈机制之间发生的过程中， 这些湖泊的区域。 这项研究将通过以下方式完成： 测量关键的自养和异养过程， 相关的化学参数，通过量化湖泊水文 并通过部署采样装置在 冬天 了解这些湖泊生态系统将提高我们的 了解其他地区的内部地球化学循环 湖泊.

Lake ecosystems in temperate zones are influenced both by seasonally-varying external forces and by internal biogeochemical cycling; however, hydrologic mixing and dilution may obscure the importance of some biogeochemical processes. In contrast, lakes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica are influenced by a seasonality that is simple in the extreme, are stabilized by a permanent ice cover, and receive proportionately minor annual inputs of chemical constituents, including organic material and nutrients, from glacial meltwater streams. Therefore, these lakes are uniquely suited for the study of processes involved in the internal production and degradation of organic material. This study will focus on the chemical and biological changes occurring during the austral winter (constant darkness) and the austral summer (constant daylight) and on the interaction or feedback mechanisms between processes occurring in major zone of these lakes. The study will be accomplished by measuring key autotrophic and heterotrophic processes and related chemical parameters, by quantifying lake hydrology and by deploying sampling devices to operate during the winter. Knowledge of these lake ecosystems will enhance our understanding of internal biogeochemical cycling in other lakes.