Greetings from McMurdo!  Weather is good (for now) and we have a DV (distinguished visitor) contingent here that includes 4 members of the National Science Board, 2 Associate Directors of NSF, Brian Stone (head of ANT infrastructure & logistics) and the head of Polar Scinces, Dr. Kelly Faulkner.  We met with them at Lake Hoare yesterday and it was a terrific visit (they all walked away with a new MCM LTER sticker too!).  

 

Field science is going well right now.  The limno team and part of Peter Doran’s team are both at Lake Miers, and the other part of the Doran team is at Lake Hoare camp working on blue boxes and met stations.   The stream and glacier teams are in McMurdo washing a LOT of bottles, getting ready to head to the field.

 

Here are a few new papers published by our team (all but the first are available on our publications web page); CONGRATULATIONS on getting these new findings published!

• Knox MA, Wall DH, Virginia RA, Vandegehuchte ML, San Gil I, Adams BJ. Impact of diurnal freeze–thaw cycles on the soil nematode Scottnema lindsayae in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Polar Biology, in press (but available online)
• Sumner DY, Hawes I, Mackey TJ, Jungblut AD, Doran PT. Antarctic microbial mats: A modern analog for Archean lacustrine oxygen oases. Geology. 2015:G36966.1. doi:10.1130/G36966.1.
  
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• W Lyons B, Dailey KR, Welch KA, Deuerling KM, Welch S, McKnight DM. Antarctic streams as a potential source of iron for the Southern Ocean: Figure 1. Geology. 2015;43(11):1003 - 1006. doi:10.1130/G36989.1.
  
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• Scheuermann J, W Lyons B. Chemical Weathering and Mineralogy of McMurdo Dry Valley Streams: Examining the Controls of Current and Future Ephemeral Stream Geochemistry. School of Earth Sciences. 2015;Undergraduate Theses:38. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1811/68887
  
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• Yang N, Welch KA, T. Mohajerin J, et al. Comparison of arsenic and molybdenum geochemistry in meromictic lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Implications for oxyanion-forming trace element behavior in permanently stratified lakes. Chemical Geology. 2015;404:110 - 125. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.03.029.
  
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• Ball B, Virginia RA. Controls on diel soil CO2 flux across moisture gradients in a polar desert. Antarctic Science. 2015. doi:10.1017/S0954102015000255.
  
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