EAGER: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Habitability of Antarctic Lakes and Detectability of Microbial Life in Icy Environments by Aautonomous Year-round Instrumentation

渴望：合作研究：南极湖泊的宜居性和通过全年自主仪器检测冰冷环境中微生物生命的能力

• 批准号: 1340905
• 负责人: Peter Doran
• 金额: $ 12.1万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-08-15 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1340905&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Habitability; Antarctic

EAGER: Collaborative Research: Habitability of Antarctic lakes and detectability of microbial life in icy environments by autonomous year-round instrumentation, is supported by the Antarctic Integrated System Science (AISS) and the Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems (AOE) programs within the Antarctic Sciences section in the Division of Polar Programs within the Geosciences Directorate of the National Sciences Foundation (NSF). The funds will allow the measurement of year-round properties of the microbes and the surrounding water in Lake Bonney, a lake with four meters of permanent ice cover over forty meters of liquid water in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. NSF funds will be used to support the deployment, and the science enabled by the deployment, and NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) funds will be used to purchase the equipment.Intellectual Merit: This research will be the first to make year-round measurements of the microbial community, and several associated environmental variables, in the continuously liquid portions of Lake Bonney, Antarctica. Three different types of equipment will be deployed in each of the lobes of Lake Bonney. The first instrument is an ITP (an ice-tethered profiler) that will measure physical parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll throughout the full depth of the liquid water portion of the lake, making measurements at least once each week. The second and third instruments will be used to collect discrete water samples at least every two weeks to determine A) the biological community (assessing metabolic and phylogenetic diversity) and B) the geochemistry (e.g., dissolved organic carbon, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen species). Such samplers have never been used to measure these properties year-round in the Antarctic. Cold temperatures, bottom lake water salinities that are four times greater than the ocean, the thick permanent ice cover, and the lack of sunlight to recharge batteries all present significant challenges for the project, thus classifying the work as an early, high-risk, high-reward activity (the acronym EAGER stands for Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research).Broader Impacts: There is much interest in understanding the ecosystems of the Polar regions in an era of climate change. Logistical limitations dictate much of this work only take place in the summer, until new autonomous technologies can open the door for year-round measurements. This award will be the first to attempt year-round microbial sampling in Antarctica. The McMurdo Dry Valleys region is also the site of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program, and the research conducted on this project with benefit from, and contribute to, the larger LTER project. The instruments used in the project will be purchased by NASA, so two separate agencies have agreed to explore the feasibility of an early stage project. There will be at least three graduate student trained during the project, and the team will also participate in outreach activities at several venues including the Crow Reservation in Montana.

EAGER：合作研究：南极湖泊的宜居性和通过全年自主仪器检测冰冷环境中微生物生命的能力，得到了美国国家科学基金会（NSF）地球科学局极地项目部南极科学部分的南极综合系统科学（AISS）和南极生物和生态系统（AOE）项目的支持。 这些资金将用于测量邦尼湖微生物和周围水域的全年特性，邦尼湖位于南极洲干谷，有四米厚的永久冰层，超过四十米的液态水。 NSF 资金将用于支持部署以及部署所带来的科学成果，NASA（美国国家航空航天局）资金将用于购买设备。 智力成果：这项研究将是第一个对南极洲邦尼湖连续液体部分的微生物群落和几个相关环境变量进行全年测量的研究。邦尼湖的每个湖瓣将部署三种不同类型的设备。 第一个仪器是 ITP（冰系剖面仪），它将测量湖泊液态水部分整个深度的温度、溶解氧和叶绿素等物理参数，每周至少测量一次。 第二台和第三台仪器将用于至少每两周收集离散水样，以确定 A）生物群落（评估代谢和系统发育多样性）和 B）地球化学（例如溶解的有机碳和溶解的无机氮物种）。此类采样器从未用于在南极洲全年测量这些特性。 寒冷的气温、比海洋高四倍的底部湖水盐度、厚厚的永久冰盖以及缺乏给电池充电的阳光都给该项目带来了重大挑战，因此将这项工作归类为早期、高风险、高回报的活动（缩写词 EAGER 代表探索性研究的早期概念资助）。 更广泛的影响：人们对了解极地地区生态系统在一个时代的兴趣非常浓厚。 气候变化。 由于后勤限制，大部分工作只能在夏季进行，直到新的自主技术能够为全年测量打开大门。该奖项将是第一个尝试在南极洲进行全年微生物采样的项目。麦克默多干谷地区也是长期生态研究 (LTER) 计划的所在地，该项目进行的研究受益于更大的 LTER 项目，并为其做出了贡献。该项目中使用的仪器将由美国宇航局购买，因此两个不同的机构已同意探索早期项目的可行性。项目期间将至少培训三名研究生，团队还将参加蒙大拿州乌鸦保护区等多个场地的外展活动。