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

EIGER：协作研究：南极湖泊的宜居性和通过自主的全年仪器在冰环境中检测微生物生命的能力，得到了南极综合系统科学(AISS)和国家科学基金会(NSF)地球科学局极地项目部南极科学部门内的南极生物和生态系统(AOE)计划的支持。这笔资金将用于测量邦尼湖的微生物和周围水的全年特性。邦尼湖位于南极洲干燥的山谷中，湖面上覆盖着4米厚的永久冰，超过40米厚的液态水。NSF的资金将用于支持部署，以及部署所带来的科学研究，NASA(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持续液态部分的微生物群落和几个相关的环境变量进行全年测量。三种不同类型的设备将部署在邦尼湖的每个叶状区。第一台仪器是ITP(一种冰系带剖面仪)，它将测量整个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，每周至少测量一次。第二个和第三个仪器将用于至少每两周收集一次离散的水样，以确定A)生物群落(评估新陈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来全年测量这些特性。寒冷的气温、比海洋大四倍的湖底盐度、厚厚的永久冰盖，以及缺乏阳光为电池充电，这些都给该项目带来了巨大的挑战，因此将这项工作归类为早期、高风险、高回报的活动(EIGER是早期概念探索性研究补助金的缩写)。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非常感兴趣。后勤方面的限制决定了这项工作的大部分只能在夏季进行，直到新的自主技术能够为全年测量打开大门。这一奖项将是首次尝试在南极洲进行全年微生物采样。麦克默多干旱河谷地区也是长期生态研究(LTER)计划的所在地，对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。该项目使用的仪器将由NASA购买，因此两个不同的机构已同意探索早期项目的可行性。项目期间将有至少三名研究生接受培训，团队还将参加包括蒙大拿州乌鸦保护区在内的几个场馆的外联活动。

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.