Investigations on Deterioration in the Historic Huts of Antarctica

南极洲英雄时代(20世纪初)的探险家们在南极探险期间建造了建筑物，并带来了大量物资，以求在极端环境中生存下来。探险结束后，这些建筑就被遗弃了，留下了小屋和数千件文物(如家具、科学仪器、食品店、服装)。今天，这些历史遗迹提供了对过去的非凡看法，尽管极端的极地环境提供了一些保护，使其免受快速衰退的影响，但严重的退化是显而易见的。该项目(与新西兰科学家合作)是研究的继续，目的是确定攻击这些历史建筑和文物的细菌和真菌，并阐明在极地环境中发生的生物降解机制。还将进行研究，以更好地了解正在发生的非生物(例如，盐、紫外线、风)退化过程，并测试保护历史木材免受持续攻击的方法。污染历史遗址的污染物(如多环芳烃)对南极环境造成严重问题，调查将评估污染程度并制定适当的补救方案。这个项目将为本科生和研究生提供参与研究的机会。保护具有历史意义的木结构建筑将引起国际社会和对上一个伟大的极地探索时代感兴趣的公众的极大兴趣。研究结果将为保护人员提供所需的科学数据，帮助子孙后代保护这些重要的南极历史遗迹。这项研究还将大大增加我们对南极微生物生物学和生态学的了解，以及极地环境中微生物的生物多样性，并阐明独特的退化过程。

The explorers of Antarctica's heroic era (early twentieth century) erected buildings and brought large amounts of supplies to survive the extreme environment during their Antarctic exploration. These buildings were abandoned once the expedition was over, leaving huts and thousands of artifacts (e.g., furniture, scientific apparatus, food stores, clothing) behind. Today these historic sites provide a remarkable view into the past and while the extreme polar environment has provides some protection from rapid decay, serious deterioration is apparent. This project (in collaboration with New Zealand scientists) and is a continuation of research to identify the bacteria and fungi attacking these historic structures and artifacts and to elucidate the mechanisms of biodegradation occurring in the polar environment. Studies will also be done to better understand the non-biological (e.g., salt, UV light, wind) deterioration processes taking place and to test methods for protecting the historic woods from continued attack. Pollutants (e.g., polyaromatic hydrocarbons) that contaminate the historic sites pose serious problems to the Antarctic environment and investigations will assess the extent of contamination and develop appropriate protocols for remediation. This project will provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to become involved in research. The preservation of the historic wooden structures will be of great interest to those in the international community and the general public who are intrigued by the last great age of polar exploration. Results will provide the scientific data needed by conservators to help protect these important Antarctic historic sites for future generations. This research will also add significantly to our knowledge of the biology and ecology of the Antarctic microorganisms, the biodiversity of microbes present in the polar environment and elucidate unique deterioration processes.