SGER: Temporal Variability in Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances at McMurdo Station, Antarctica

这项探索性研究的小额赠款将侧重于收集下一组关键的观测结果，这些观测结果将有助于在南极洲麦默多站的陆地和海洋系统中建立自然和人为引起的环境变化。根据《南极条约》，各国必须记录人类活动对南极洲的影响。当前项目的探索性质来自于最近对一个试点项目结果的综合，该项目需要大量的时间和精力来制定一个统计上可靠的方案设计。该项目具有极端的紧迫性，以便进入麦默多站的南半球夏季，以评估美国南极计划将要实施的环境监测计划。 已经错过了一年的抽样，进一步的差距将损害发现长期趋势的能力。因此，不可避免的延迟使时间序列数据的连续性处于危险之中;因此，一个季节的采样工作对于研究设计的最终评估至关重要。监测提供了及时作出有关支助和科学活动的知情管理决定所需的客观信息。理解人类引起的自然系统变化的一个基本原则是，这些变化是在自然变异的背景下发生的，而无论是否存在人为扰动。除非对自然变异性作出定义，否则无法明确确定变化的原因。可变性发生在空间和时间的连续体中，需要长期观察来识别系统属性的变化。以前的空间变异性的麦默多站环境的研究提供了一个机会，建立陆地和海洋系统的时间变化的程度。将在定点和随机取样地点收集一系列163个陆地样品，用于碳氢化合物、微量金属和碳分析。将对该观测站近海的三个观测站的三个断面进行取样，以了解化学污染物、沉积物特性、底栖动物群落，并进行毒性分析。将通过多变量统计分析数据，以确定时间变异性并测试长期观察计划的设计要素。这些研究将增加我们对物理，化学和生物过程的理解，这些过程对于定义系统在空间和时间上的变化至关重要。该项目的广泛影响是多方面的。这项研究将满足国内法和《南极条约环境议定书》规定的国家和国际环境保护要求。实地活动的开展和样品分析将用于在实验室培训本科生和研究生。该项目将成为地球科学学院“采用学校计划”的一部分，该计划允许K-12学生从开始到完成，特别是在实地活动期间与该计划进行互动并遵循该计划。在万维网上几乎实时地记录了实地活动。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research will focus on the collection of the crucial next set of observations that will aid in establishing natural and human induced environmental variability in terrestrial and marine systems at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Under the Antarctic Treaty, nations are required to document the impacts of human activity in Antarctica. The exploratory nature of the current project results from the recent synthesis of results from a pilot project that required extensive time and effort to develop a statistically robust program design. The project has extreme urgency in order to access the austral summer season at McMurdo Station to evaluate an environmental monitoring program to be implemented for the U.S. Antarctic Program. One year of sampling has already been missed and further gaps will compromise the ability to detect trends over time. Thus, the unavoidable delay put the continuity of the time series data in jeopardy; therefore, a one season sampling effort is critical for a final assessment of the study design. Monitoring provides the objective information needed to make timely and informed management decisions regarding support and science operations. A basic precept in understanding human induced changes in natural systems is that they occur against a back drop of natural variability that would occur whether or not there was an anthropogenic perturbation. The causes of change cannot be unambiguously determined unless natural variability is defined. Variability occurs across a continuum of space and time that requires long-term observations to identify changes in system attributes. Previous studies of the spatial variability of the McMurdo Station environment provide an opportunity to establish the extent of temporal variability in terrestrial and marine systems. A series of 163 terrestrial samples will be collected for hydrocarbons, trace metals and carbon analyses at fixed point and random sample locations. Three transects of three stations offshore of the station will be sampled for chemical contaminants, sediment properties, benthic infaunal assemblages, and assayed for toxicity. The data will be analyzed by multi-variate statistics to establish temporal variability and test the design elements of a longer term program of observations. These studies will increase our understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that are critical in defining system variability over space and time. The broader impacts of the project are multi-faceted. The study will fulfill both national and international requirements for environmental protection under domestic law and the Protocol on the Environment of the Antarctic Treaty. The conduct of the field activities and the analysis of samples will be used to train undergraduate and graduate students in the laboratory. The project will be a part of the College of Geosciences' "Adopt a School Program" that allows K-12 students to interact with and follow the program from initiation to completion, especially during the field activities. The field activities are chronicled in near real-time on the World Wide Web.