Success Stories in Sustainability from the Southernmost Site
The Antarctic has little infrastructure, so reduce, reuse, and recycle are particularly important. Learn about sustainability initiatives at the McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER.
Diane McKnight Reflects on the LTER
The LTER Network Office sat down with Diane McKnight to chat about her life in the Network, the things she’s learned, and her dreams for the LTER moving forward.
Winter is Not Coming
A warming climate, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the harsh conditions make research at the McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER site remarkably interesting!
LTER Road Trip: Rising lakes in an Antarctic desert
By Natasha Griffin The lake ice crunches beneath my boots with each tentative step I take. Realistically, I know there’s not much danger here—I’m standing atop Lake Bonney, one of the permanently frozen lakes of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys. The ice underfoot is at least a few meters thick, creating a sturdy barrier between me… Read more »
Environmental History of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM)
As part of their current project, researchers at MCM LTER are writing a detailed study on the environmental history of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The monograph will be available online and published as a book with an academic press. For more information visit the McMurdo Dry Valleys History website.
NSF Antarctic Artists & Writers at McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM)
They also frequently collaborate with Antarctica-based members of the NSF Artists and Writers program. Other McMurdo arts and media collaborations can be viewed here.
Environmental Stewardship of the McMurdo Dry Valleys
The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), the largest ice-free portion of Antarctica, is a unique and fragile ecosystem that has been designated as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA). Human activities, including scientific research, are thus carefully regulated to minimize potential damage to the landscape and ecosystem. A workshop, held in May 2016, outlined actions to… Read more »
Glacial Melt Drives Primary Production in Antarctic Dry Valley Lakes
The ice-covered lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a polar desert, rely on glacial melt for almost all their inputs. A recent study of Lake Fryxell suggests that in this environment even small changes in climate can impact biological productivity in the lake.
Antarctica Is Practically Defined by Ice. What Happens When It Melts?
Antarctica Is Practically Defined by Ice. What Happens When It Melts? For prepared observers, a single season of melting offers clues to the future of the southern continent. October 13, 2016—A single season of intense melting buffeted Antarctica in 2001-2002. It yielded changes that ranged from speeding up microbial food webs to shifting penguin populations…. Read more »
Environmental Historians Enable Time Travel: Extending the Long Term Dataset in the Antarctic
A historian travels back a century into the cold, windblown Antarctic, landing at the edge of McMurdo Sound. A group of explorers recently returned to the coast recount their trip into a series of “curious” dry valleys, where the pervasive snow and ice encountered elsewhere on the continent is almost entirely absent. Forced to abandon… Read more »
Top Stories
Love writing about science? Now accepting applications for our 2024 LTER Graduate Writing Fellows program!
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Engagement Practice Briefs
Crossing boundaries: two new synthesis working groups funded at the LTER