Researchers with Antarctica's McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research Site

National Science Foundation
Office of Polar Programs
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22230

Posted April 25, 2018

Image: Walter Andriuzzi, Colorado State University

The Dry Valleys are almost completely ice-free, but feature frozen lakes and glaciers. Although considered barren by early explorers, NSF funded researchers with the U.S. Antarctic Program study the microscopic worms that thrive in the soils and have discovered microorganisms that live in mineral-rich water beneath a glacier.

The Dry Valleys also are considered by scientists to be one of the most "Mars-like" ecosystems on Earth.

The McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER is one of two sites in Antarctica-the other being the Palmer LTER (http://pal.lternet.edu/) on the Antarctic Peninsula. There also are several LTERs in the Arctic, including the Arctic LTER (https://lternet.edu/site-image-galleries/?site_id=1896); Bonanza Creek LTER ( https://lternet.edu/site-image-galleries/?site_id=1892 ): Northern Gulf of Alaska LTER (https://lternet.edu/site/northern-gulf-alaska/); and the Beaufort Lagoon LTER (https://lternet.edu/site/beaufort-lagoon-ecosystem/).

All are part of the global network of 28 LTER sites: https://lternet.edu/