Ground Ice Dynamics in Hyperarid Soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

该项目研究南极洲麦克默多干燥山谷的地下冰，基于野外、实验室和理论工作对其起源进行模拟。这些冰层非常不寻常，因为考虑到浅层的出现和极度干旱的条件，它们本应升华而去，但似乎已经存在了数百万年。冰层之所以重要，是因为它们可以提供独特的古气候信息，洞察这些极端环境中土壤的物理行为，并为主要的火星过程提供模拟。更广泛的影响是本科生和研究生教育。这一结果也可能有助于理解最近的全球气候变化。

This project studies subsurface ice in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, modeling their origin based on field, laboratory, and theoretical work. These ices are highly unusual in that given the shallow occurrence and hyperarid conditions they should have sublimed away, but appear to have existed for many millions of years. The ices are important in that they may provide unique paleoclimate information, insight into the physical behavior of soils in these extreme environments, and provide an analogue for primary Martian processes. The broader impacts are undergraduate and graduate student education. The results may also contribute to understanding recent global climate change.