So why are we here?

Taylor Valley Via Wikimedia Commons

Being here is exciting and amazing, but I’m not here to have an adventure (that’s just a bonus).  We’re here to study the microbiology in the Dry Valleys, a region in Coastal Antarctica.  The Dry Valleys are a network of valleys in coastal Antarctica, about 50 miles from my current location in McMurdo Station.

Like most of Antarctica, the Dry Valleys are a desert, although unlike the vast majority of the continent, they are not covered in ice.  In fact they are the largest region not iced over, covering about 1,900 square miles or 0.03 percent of the landmass.  Cold, dry air blows down from the mountains, and prevents precipitation.  Any snow that does fall sublimates into water vapor before there is time for it to accumulate.

Landsat 7 satellite image Via Wikimedia Commons

The only water sources to the Valleys are streams.  During the summer, the glaciers surrounding the region melt a bit, and the meltwater flows through the valley floors.  These rivers support a unique micro-ecology.  The major vegetation in the dry valleys is microbial mats. Primarily composed of the prokaryotic algae Nostoc commune, they go dormant during the dry winter and burst to life as soon as the water begins to flow. 

Nostoc commune forms, via Wikimedia Commons
left - multicellular thallus (simple plant body)
right - microscopic trichomes (filaments)

Nostoc is photosynthetic and can convert nitrogen from the air into ammonium, an important nutrient.  Therefore, the algae supports a diverse ecosystem, composed mostly of bacteria, along with some protists, like nematodes and tardigrades.  The organisms have some interesting physiologies, and are well suited to the extreme conditions.  Enzymes found in these organisms may be commercially useful, to do things like catalyzing polymerase chain reactions (PCR) at low temperatures.

There's a much cooler rationale for our research here.  The valleys are similar in climate and geology to what we may find on Mars, and the organisms living there may be similar to what once lived on the red planet.

-Andrew

McMurdo

After a few delays, we’ve made it to Antarctica, aka “The Ice”.  After the breakdown of our first plane, our hopes were subdued on Tuesday.  We got to the terminal, passed through security, and loaded onto a bus.  The bus took us to a different airplane this time, so things were looking up.

Then the bus turned around.  I think it was long delayed karmic revenge on tempting my brother with cake and then snatching it away, when I was a kid.  After a couple of gloomy hours waiting in the terminal, we loaded back into the bus and were taken to the first plane (the one with the broken engine 24 hours previous).  As we loaded, I was positive that we would soon be herded back off.  Sometimes I love being wrong.

The plane was noisy, hot, and bounced around a lot, but I got a bit more legroom than I’m used to, and the view was second to none.  We were free to roam the plane, and the sights from the cockpit were astounding!  We first reached the ice shelf, breaking up in the summer warmth.  Next we reached the mountains, absolutely gorgeous and shrouded in snow.  This was soon forgotten as the crew had one more a treat for us. 

There’s a volcano near

McMurdo station, Mount Erebus, around which the pilot flew a low, slow circle(I took a video of it, I will post it upon my return to civilization).  The volcano was smoking, and we flew at about the height of the peak.  It was amazing, and only slightly terrifying (which is fitting, as Mount Erebus shares Ross Island with the inactive volcano Mount Terror. 

We soon landed and disembarked, but I  hadn’t touched the continent just yet.  The runway is built on the ice shelf, and the plane uses skis to land.  It as a remarkably smooth landing, and we were soon blinking in the bright sun at 11:00pm.  We were bussed up to the station, got our first of many safety briefings, grabbed a bite to eat, and finally fell asleep.

-Andrew