Collaborative Research: THE MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS: A landscape on the Threshold of Change

合作研究：麦克默多干旱河谷：《变化门槛上的景观》得到了国家科学基金会（NSF）地球科学理事会极地方案司南极科学处南极综合系统科学（AISS）方案的支持。 这笔资金将用于支持在2014/2015年南极考察季节收集最先进的高分辨率LIDAR（光和雷达相结合）图像，LIDAR数据收集和处理由NSF支持的NCALM（国家机载激光测绘中心）设施提供。2014/2015年收集的激光雷达图像将与2001年的图像进行比较，以检测十年变化。额外的实地考察将着眼于埋藏的大量冰的分布，以及像滑坡这样的重大变化对生物群的影响。所有的实地数据将被用于改进能量平衡和水文模型。学术价值：在过去的十年里，麦克默多干旱山谷发生了巨大的变化：冰川缩小了几十米，河流被切割了三米多，几条溪流和湖泊附近出现了热岩溶塌陷。这些观察都是由该领域的研究人员进行的，但没有一个变化是在山谷范围内绘制的。该合同将为整个干谷系统提供新的基线图，为谷底提供高分辨率图像，为变化较小的高海拔地区提供低分辨率图像。 该项目将测试沉积物覆盖的冰与最剧烈的变化有关的想法，这是由于与干净的冰相比，增加的太阳辐射对沉积物覆盖的影响不同，尽管目前干旱山谷内的空气温度略有下降。收集到的地形信息，加上探地雷达确定的埋冰分布，也将被纳入改进的能源和水文模型。除了提供新的高分辨率数字高程模型外，该项目还将最终确定易受沉积物增强的融化驱动的变化影响的地区，为预测气候变化的影响提供强有力的工具。新的数字高程模型将立即对广泛的学科有用，并将提供一个全面的新基线，以便与未来的变化进行比较。该项目将提供一个供整个社区使用的工具，调查人员将与社区合作，通过公开演示，或者通过研讨会，使他们了解新资产。该地图将引起国际关注，并将作为环境管理人员在考虑保护计划时的参考工具。 几个本科生和研究生将参与该项目，其中一个合作PI是一个新的调查员。除了科学研究人员之外，收集到的图像预计也会引起一般公众的兴趣，并将探索博物馆展览和互联网等宣传场所。拟议的工作是协同1）位于同一地点的麦克默多LTER计划，和2）NCALM设施，也是由地球科学理事会资助。

Collaborative Research: THE MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS: A Landscape on the Threshold of Change is supported by the Antarctic Integrated System Science (AISS) program in the Antarctic Sciences Section of the Division of Polar Programs within the Geosciences Directorate of the National Sciences Foundation (NSF). The funds will support the collection of state-of-the-art high resolution LIDAR (combining the terms light and radar) imagery of the Dry Valleys of Antarctica in the 2014/2015 Antarctic field season, with LIDAR data collection and processing being provided by the NSF-supported NCALM (National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping) facility. LIDAR images collected in 2014/2015 will be compared to images from 2001 in order to detect decadal change. Additional fieldwork will look at the distribution of buried massive ice, and the impacts that major changes like slumping are having on the biota. All field data will be used to improve models on energy balance, and hydrology.Intellectual Merit: There have been dramatic changes over the past decade in the McMurdo Dry Valleys: glaciers are deflating by tens of meters, rivers are incising by more than three meters, and thermokarst slumps are appearing near several streams and lakes. These observations have all been made by researchers in the field, but none of the changes have been mapped on a valley-wide scale. This award will provide a new baseline map for the entire Dry Valley system, with high-resolution imagery provided for the valley floors, and lower resolution imagery available for the higher elevation areas that are undergoing less change. The project will test the idea that sediment-covered ice is associated with the most dramatic changes, due to differential impacts of the increased solar radiation on sediment-covered compared to clean ice, and despite the current trend of slightly cooling air temperatures within the Dry Valleys. Information collected on the topography, coupled with the GPR determined buried ice distributions, will also be incorporated into improved energy and hydrological models. In addition to providing the new high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM), the project will ultimately result in identification of areas that are susceptible to sediment-enhanced melt-driven change, providing a powerful prediction tool for the impacts of climate change.Broader Impacts: The new DEM will be immediately useful to a wide range of disciplines, and will provide a comprehensive new baseline against which future changes will be compared. The project will provide a tool for the whole community to use, and the investigators will work with the community to make them aware of the new assets via public presentations, and perhaps via a workshop. The map will have international interest, and will also serve as a tool for environmental managers to draw on as they consider conservation plans. Several undergraduate and graduate students will participate in the project, and one of the co-PIs is a new investigator. The imagery collected is expected to be of interest to the general public in addition to scientific researchers, and venues for outreach such as museum exhibits and the internet will be explored. The proposed work is synergistic with 1) the co-located McMurdo LTER program, and 2) the NCALM facility that is also funded by the Geosciences Directorate.