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

EAGER：合作研究：南极湖泊的可居住性和通过自主全年仪器在冰冷环境中探测微生物生命，由南极综合系统科学（AISS）和南极生物与生态系统（AOE）计划提供支持，该计划隶属于美国国家科学基金会（NSF）地球科学理事会极地计划部南极科学部。这笔资金将用于测量微生物和邦尼湖周围水的全年特性。邦尼湖位于南极洲的干谷，有4米的永久冰层覆盖，40米的液态水。美国国家科学基金会的资金将用于支持部署，以及部署所带来的科学，美国国家航空航天局的资金将用于购买设备。智力价值：这项研究将首次对南极洲邦尼湖连续流动部分的微生物群落和几个相关环境变量进行全年测量。三种不同类型的设备将被部署在邦尼湖的每个裂片上。第一个仪器是ITP（冰系剖面仪），它将测量湖泊液态水部分的整个深度的物理参数，如温度、溶解氧和叶绿素，每周至少进行一次测量。第二个和第三个仪器将用于至少每两周收集一次离散水样，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，溶解有机碳和溶解无机氮物种）。在南极，这样的采样器从未被用于全年测量这些特性。寒冷的温度、比海洋高四倍的湖底水盐度、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（首字母缩写为EAGER，即探索性研究早期概念资助）。更广泛的影响：在气候变化时代，人们对了解极地地区的生态系统很感兴趣。由于后勤方面的限制，这项工作大部分只能在夏季进行，直到新的自主技术为全年的测量打开了大门。这个奖项将是第一个尝试在南极洲进行全年微生物采样的奖项。麦克默多干谷地区也是长期生态研究（LTER）项目的所在地，在这个项目上进行的研究受益于更大的LTER项目，并为其做出贡献。该项目中使用的仪器将由美国宇航局购买，因此两个独立的机构已同意探索早期项目的可行性。在该项目期间，将至少有三名研究生接受培训，该团队还将参加包括蒙大拿州乌鸦保护区在内的几个地点的外展活动。

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.