Project Title

Antarctica as a model system for responses of terrestrial carbon balance to warming

Summary

Event Number:
B-086-P
NSF / OPP Award 1947562

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Allison Barden / Jamee Johnson

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Natasja van Gestel
natasja.van-gestel@ttu.edu
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

Project Web Site:
https://www.nvangestel.com/antarctica

Location

Supporting Stations: Palmer Station
Research Locations: Palmer Station and Litchfield Island

Description

This study will investigate carbon transformation processes and the microbial communities that are responsible for such transformations in soils of the Antarctic Peninsula. Researchers will examine net ecosystem carbon balance among soils with different exposure ages that have been uncovered by retreating glaciers. Researchers will identify individual members of the soil microbial community that are active versus those that are not active. This will create a better understanding of the fundamental processes of community succession in the Antarctic environment and whether continued warming could lead to community shifts in the active portion of the communities.

The overarching objective of this project is to link warming-induced shifts in ecosystem carbon balance in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems to plant and microbial responses to warming. Specific goals are to determine 1) How carbon balance shifts in response to warming along a plant productivity gradient; 2) Whether a shift in this balance is related to stronger responses in carbon update or losses; and 3) The mechanisms responsible for these responses.

Field Season Overview

This is the third of four field seasons. This upcoming 2024/2025 field season two people will deploy to Palmer Station from late October to March. The science party will deploy 15 open-top chambers (OTC) on land behind Palmer Station and five OTCs on Litchfield Island. These will remain in place only during the austral summer to simulate field warming along a latitudinal productivity gradient. Dataloggers are used in the chambers to record infrared gas measurements. During the field season the science team will take weekly carbon flux measurements and take photographs for vegetative cover analyses in all plots. Soil cores will be sent back to the United States for analysis. Additionally, to evaluate microbial responses to warming, the science team will use two growth chambers for a lab incubation experiment on field-collected plant and soil samples. The growth chamber settings will be the same as during the 2022/2023 field season.

A film crew of two people will deploy for approximately ten days to document the research for media/outreach. They plan to use cameras and Uncrewed Aerial Systems to obtain footage for a future documentary and other outreach media.

Deploying Team Members