Increased Connectivity in a Polar Desert Resulting from Climate Warming: McMurdo Dry Valley LTER Program

气候变暖导致极地沙漠连通性增强：麦克默多干谷 LTER 计划

• 批准号: 1115245
• 负责人: Michael Gooseff
• 金额: $ 490万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-04-15 至 2017-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1115245&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Increased; Connectivity; Polar; Desert; Resulting

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) is a polar desert on the coast of East Antarctica, a region that has not yet experienced climate warming. The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (MCMLTER) project has documented the ecological responses of the glacier, soil, stream and lake ecosystems in the MDV during a cooling trend (from 1986 to 2000) which was associated with the depletion of atmospheric ozone. In the past decade, warming events with strong katabatic winds occurred during two summers and the resulting high streamflows and sediment deposition changed the dry valley landscape, possibly presaging conditions that will occur when the ozone hole recovers. In anticipation of future warming in Antarctica, the overarching hypothesis of the proposed project is: Climate warming in the McMurdo Dry Valley ecosystem will amplify connectivity among landscape units leading to enhanced coupling of nutrient cycles across landscapes, and increased biodiversity and productivity within the ecosystem. Warming in the MDV is hypothesized to act as a slowly developing, long-term press of warmer summers, upon which transient pulse events of high summer flows and strong katabatic winds will be overprinted. Four specific hypotheses address the ways in which pulses of water and wind will influence contemporary and future ecosystem structure, function and connectivity. Because windborne transport of biota is a key aspect of enhanced connectivity from katabatic winds, new monitoring will include high-resolution measurements of aeolian particle flux. Importantly, integrative genomics will be employed to understand the responses of specific organisms to the increased connectivity. The project will also include a novel social science component that will use environmental history to examine interactions between human activity, scientific research, and environmental change in the MDV over the past 100 years. To disseminate this research broadly, MCM scientists will participate in a wide array of outreach efforts ranging from presentations in K-12 classrooms to bringing undergraduates and teachers to the MDV to gain research experience. Planned outreach programs will build upon activities conducted during the International Polar Year (2007-2008), which include development of an interactive DVD for high school students and teachers and publication of a children's book in the LTER Schoolyard Book Series. A teacher's edition of the book with a CD containing lesson plans will be distributed. The project will develop programs for groups traditionally underrepresented in science arenas by publishing some outreach materials in Spanish.

麦克默多干谷（MDV）是位于东南极洲海岸的极地沙漠，该地区尚未经历气候变暖。麦克默多干谷长期生态研究 (MCMLTER) 项目记录了麦克默多干谷的冰川、土壤、溪流和湖泊生态系统在与大气臭氧消耗有关的降温趋势期间（1986 年至 2000 年）的生态反应。在过去的十年中，两个夏季发生了伴随强烈下降风的变暖事件，由此产生的高水流和沉积物沉积改变了干燥山谷的景观，这可能预示着臭氧空洞恢复时将出现的情况。考虑到南极洲未来的变暖，该项目的总体假设是：麦克默多干谷生态系统的气候变暖将增强景观单元之间的连通性，从而增强跨景观养分循环的耦合，并增加生态系统内的生物多样性和生产力。 据推测，MDV 的变暖是夏季变暖的缓慢发展的长期压力，夏季高流量和强下降风的瞬态脉冲事件将被叠加。四个具体假设阐述了水和风的脉冲影响当代和未来生态系统结构、功能和连通性的方式。 由于生物群的风载传输是增强下降风连通性的一个关键方面，因此新的监测将包括风成颗粒通量的高分辨率测量。重要的是，将采用整合基因组学来了解特定生物体对增加的连通性的反应。该项目还将包括一个新颖的社会科学部分，将利用环境历史来研究过去 100 年来人类活动、科学研究和 MDV 环境变化之间的相互作用。为了广泛传播这项研究，MCM 科学家将参与一系列广泛的外展活动，包括在 K-12 课堂上进行演讲，以及带领本科生和教师到 MDV 获取研究经验。计划中的外展计划将建立在国际极地年（2007-2008）期间开展的活动的基础上，其中包括为高中生和教师制作交互式DVD，以及在LTER校园图书系列中出版一本儿童读物。将分发该书的教师版以及包含课程计划的 CD。该项目将通过出版一些西班牙语外展材料，为传统上在科学领域代表性不足的群体制定计划。