Collaborative Research: EAGER: Processing, Interpretation and Dissemination of the Proof-of-Concept Transient Electromagnetic Survey of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Region

知识价值：MCM-SkyTEM项目利用机载瞬变电磁法绘制了2011- 2012年南方季节McMurdo干谷和Ross岛Cape Barne的电阻率图。SkyTEM系统安装在直升机上，可以对传统地面方法无法达到的地表下电阻率结构进行广泛的地球物理测量。电阻率测量可以区分高电阻地质材料，如冰川冰、基岩和永久冻土，以及导电材料，如未冻结的沉积物或含有液体盐水的永久冻土，深度约为300米。ppi要求获得资金，以获得与麦克默多干谷、地球上类似的寒冷地区和其他行星体的潜在地下微生物栖息地的物理和化学条件有关的数据产品。他们将使用这些数据产品来描述麦克默多干谷的水文历史，以及该地区的地下水文连通性，以研究营养物质和微生物运输的影响。pi将使这些数据产品可供研究界使用。更广泛的影响：极地微生物栖息地具有很高的社会和科学意义，因为它们是地球和其他行星上生命极限的重要试验场。项目可交付成果将包括本科生和研究生的教学辅助工具。作为该项目的一部分，两名博士生将获得高级研究培训。该项目的pi和学生还将参与非正式的公共宣传机会，在当地K-12学校进行演讲，并与当地媒体接触有关SkyTEM研究的故事。

Intellectual Merit: The MCM-SkyTEM project mapped resistivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys and at Cape Barne on the Ross Island during the 2011-12 austral season using an airborne transient electromagnetic method. The SkyTEM system is mounted to a helicopter enabling a broad geophysical survey of subsurface resistivity structure over terrain that is inaccessible to traditional ground-based methods. Resistivity measurements obtained distinguish between highly resistive geologic materials such as glacier ice, bedrock and permafrost, and conductive materials such as unfrozen sediments or permafrost with liquid brine to depths of about 300 m. The PIs request funding to derive data products relevant to physical and chemical conditions in potential subsurface microbial habitats of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, similar cold regions on Earth and other planetary bodies. They will use these data products to characterize the hydrologic history of McMurdo Dry Valleys as well as the subsurface hydrologic connectivity in the region to investigate the implications for nutrient and microbial transport. The PIs will make these data products accessible to the research community. Broader impacts: Polar microbial habitats are of high societal and scientific interest because they represent important testing grounds for the limits of life on Earth and other planetary bodies. Project deliverables will include teaching aids for undergraduate and graduate students. Two Ph.D. students will obtain advanced research training as part of this project. The PIs and students on this project will also engage in informal public outreach opportunities by presenting at local K-12 schools and reaching out to local media outlets on stories relating to SkyTEM research.