@article {4928, title = {Remotely characterizing photosynthetic biocrust in snowpack-fed microhabitats of Taylor Valley, Antarctica}, journal = {Science of Remote Sensing}, year = {2024}, month = {02/2024}, pages = {100120}, abstract = {

Microbial communities are the primary drivers of carbon cycling in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Dense microbial mats, consisting mainly of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, occupy aquatic areas associated with streams and lakes. Other microbial communities also occur at lower densities as patchy surface biological soil crusts (hereafter, biocrusts) across the terrestrial landscape. Multispectral satellite data have been used to model microbial mat abundance in high-density areas like stream and lake margins, but no previous studies have investigated the lower detection limits of biocrusts. Here, we describe remote sensing and field-based survey and sampling approaches to study the detectability and distribution of biocrusts in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Using a combination of multi- and hyperspectral tools and spectral linear unmixing, we modeled the abundances of biocrust in eastern Taylor Valley. Our spectral approaches can detect low masses of biocrust material in laboratory microcosms down to biocrust concentrations of 1\% by mass. These techniques also distinguish the spectra of biocrust from both surface rock and mineral signatures from orbit. We found that biocrusts are present throughout the soils of eastern Taylor Valley and are associated with diverse underlying soil communities. The densest biocrust communities identified in this study had total organic carbon 5x greater than the content of typical arid soils. The most productive biocrusts were located downslope of melting snowpacks in unique soil ecosystems that are distinct from the surrounding arid landscape. There are similarities between the snowpack and stream sediment communities (high diversity of soil invertebrates) as well as their ecosystem properties (e.g., persistence of liquid water, high transfer of available nutrients, lower salinity from flushing) compared to the typical arid terrestrial ecosystem of the dry valleys. Our approach extends the capability of orbital remote sensing of photosynthetic communities out of the aquatic margins and into the drier soils which comprise most of this landscape. This interdisciplinary work is critical for measuring and monitoring terrestrial carbon stocks and predicting future ecosystem dynamics in this currently water-limited but increasingly dynamic Antarctic landscape, which is particularly climate-sensitive and difficult to access.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, biocrust, carbon, reflectance spectroscopy, snow, soil ecology}, issn = {26660172}, doi = {10.1016/j.srs.2024.100120}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266601722400004X}, author = {Power, Sarah N. and Salvatore, Mark R. and Eric R. Sokol and Lee F. Stanish and Borges, Schuyler R. and Byron Adams and John E. Barrett} } @article {4942, title = {The distribution of surface soil moisture over space and time in eastern Taylor Valley, Antarctica}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, year = {2023}, month = {06/2023}, pages = {3170}, abstract = {

Available soil moisture is thought to be the limiting factor for most ecosystem processes in the cold polar desert of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica. Previous studies have shown that microfauna throughout the MDVs are capable of biological activity when sufficient soil moisture is available (~2\–10\% gravimetric water content), but few studies have attempted to quantify the distribution, abundance, and frequency of soil moisture on scales beyond that of traditional field work or local field investigations. In this study, we present our work to quantify the soil moisture content of soils throughout the Fryxell basin using multispectral satellite remote sensing techniques. Our efforts demonstrate that ecologically relevant abundances of liquid water are common across the landscape throughout the austral summer. On average, the Fryxell basin of Taylor Valley is modeled as containing 1.5 \± 0.5\% gravimetric water content (GWC) across its non-fluvial landscape with ~23\% of the landscape experiencing an average GWC \> 2\% throughout the study period, which is the observed limit of soil nematode activity. These results indicate that liquid water in the soils of the MDVs may be more abundant than previously thought, and that the distribution and availability of liquid water is dependent on both soil properties and the distribution of water sources. These results can also help to identify ecological hotspots in the harsh polar Antarctic environment and serve as a baseline for detecting future changes in the soil hydrological regime.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Dry valleys, ecology, hydrology, remote sensing, soil moisture}, doi = {10.3390/rs15123170}, url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/12/3170}, author = {Salvatore, Mark R. and Barrett, John E. and Fackrell, Laura E. and Sokol, Eric R. and Levy, Joseph S. and Kuentz, Lily C. and Gooseff, Michael N. and Adams, Byron J. and Power, Sarah N. and Knightly, J. Paul and Matul, Haley M. and Szutu, Brian and Doran, Peter T.} } @article {4717, title = {Counting carbon: Quantifying biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys through orbital and field observations}, journal = {International Journal of Remote Sensing}, volume = {42}, year = {2021}, month = {10/2021}, pages = {8597 - 8623}, abstract = {

We use correlative field studies and high-resolution multispectral remote sensing data from the WorldView-2 instrument to estimate the abundance of photosynthetically active biomass (photoautotrophs consisting primarily of microbial mats and mosses) in Canada Stream in Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica. In situ field investigations were performed to (1) acquire ground validation targets for atmospherically correcting satellite imagery, (2) derive spectra of \“pure\” geologic and biological endmembers, (3) estimate photoautotroph cover from remote sensing data, and (4) convert these coverage estimates to biomass using data collected in the field. Our results suggest that, on the morning of 12 December 2018, the Canada Stream system contained more than 3,800 kg of photosynthetically active carbon. Extrapolating our unmixing results to the entirety of the Fryxell basin of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, we model the presence of more than 750,000 kg of photosynthetically active carbon across the landscape and carbon fixation rates roughly equivalent to five hectares of tropical rainforest. The ability to spatially and temporally quantify the amount of photosynthetically active biomass using remote sensing data in the MDV of Antarctica is a revolutionary development that will help elucidate the ecological drivers and environmental responses in this cold desert landscape.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1080/01431161.2021.1981559}, url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01431161.2021.1981559}, author = {Salvatore, Mark R. and John E. Barrett and Borges, Schuyler R. and Power, Sarah N. and Lee F. Stanish and Eric R. Sokol and Michael N. Gooseff} } @article {4516, title = {Estimating microbial mat biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica using satellite imagery and ground surveys}, journal = {Polar Biology}, year = {2020}, month = {09/2020}, abstract = {

Cyanobacterial mat communities are the main drivers of primary productivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. These microbial communities form laminar mats on desert pavement surfaces adjacent to glacial meltwater streams, ponds, and lakes. The low-density nature of these communities and their patchy distribution make assessments of distribution, biomass, and productivity challenging. We used satellite imagery coupled with in situ surveying, imaging, and sampling to systematically estimate microbial mat biomass in selected wetland regions in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. On January 19th, 2018, the WorldView-2 multispectral satellite acquired an image of our study areas, where we surveyed and sampled seven 100 m2 plots of microbial mats for percent ground cover, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and pigment content (chlorophyll-a, carotenoids, and scytonemin). Multispectral analyses revealed spectral signatures consistent with photosynthetic activity (relatively strong reflection at near-infrared wavelengths and relatively strong absorption at visible wavelengths), with average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values of 0.09 to 0.28. Strong correlations of microbial mat ground cover (R2\ =\ 0.84), biomass (R2\ =\ 0.74), chlorophyll-a content (R2\ =\ 0.65), and scytonemin content (R2\ =\ 0.98) with logit transformed NDVI values demonstrate that satellite imagery can detect both the presence of microbial mats and their key biological properties. Using the NDVI\—biomass correlation we developed, we estimate carbon (C) stocks of 21,715 kg (14.7 g C m\−2) in the Canada Glacier Antarctic Specially Protected Area, with an upper and lower limit of 74,871 and 6312 kg of C, respectively.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, microbial mat, multispectral imagery, NDVI, Nostocales, remote sensing}, doi = {10.1007/s00300-020-02742-y}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007\%2Fs00300-020-02742-y}, author = {Power, Sarah N. and Salvatore, Mark R. and Eric R. Sokol and Lee F. Stanish and John E. Barrett} } @article {4449, title = {Remote characterization of photosynthetic communities in the Fryxell basin of Taylor Valley, Antarctica}, journal = {Antarctic Science}, year = {2020}, month = {03/2020}, abstract = {

We investigate the spatial distribution, spectral properties and temporal variability of primary producers (e.g. communities of microbial mats and mosses) throughout the Fryxell basin of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, using high-resolution multispectral remote-sensing data. Our results suggest that photosynthetic communities can be readily detected throughout the Fryxell basin based on their unique near-infrared spectral signatures. Observed intra- and inter-annual variability in spectral signatures are consistent with short-term variations in mat distribution, hydration and photosynthetic activity. Spectral unmixing is also implemented in order to estimate mat abundance, with the most densely vegetated regions observed from orbit correlating spatially with some of the most productive regions of the Fryxell basin. Our work establishes remote sensing as a valuable tool in the study of these ecological communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys and demonstrates how future scientific investigations and the management of specially protected areas could benefit from these tools and techniques.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, ecology, hydrology, McMurdo Dry Valleys, microbiology, remote sensing, spectroscopy}, doi = {10.1017/S0954102020000176}, url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/remote-characterization-of-photosynthetic-communities-in-the-fryxell-basin-of-taylor-valley-antarctica/8576F6BB1BCFDCA8409F5EA96CA00C6F}, author = {Salvatore, Mark R. and Borges, Schuyler R. and John E. Barrett and Eric R. Sokol and Lee F. Stanish and Power, Sarah N. and Morin, Paul} }