I participated to 2 field expeditions in the McMurdo Dry Valleys with the CryoHoles team, in Dec 2017-Feb 2018 and Jan-March 2019. Our project was divided between field work in the Taylor Valley and lab work in the Crary lab at the McMurdo Station. McMurdo is the biggest Antarctic station, located on Ross Island and can host more that 1000 people in the summer season. It looks like a small industrial town, where the sun never sets for about 3 months a year. To reach McMurdo you take a military plane in Christchurch, New Zealand and the flight can take 5-7 hours to get down to the station. The last stretch of the flight is over the magnificent Transantarctic Mountains, a view that takes your breath away when it’s your turn to enter the cockpit. McMurdo station is the start point to reach multiple field research sites. A helicopter ride of about 45 minutes takes you from the station to the camp at Lake Hoare, in the middle of the Taylor Valley and our home while working in the valley. Exploring the Taylor Valley is quite an incredible experience, as you walk by immense glaciers, mummified seals, mountain peaks and seasonal rivers. Every time you walk along the valley, glacier or frozen lake you wonder at the magnificence and vastness of the pristine landscapes surrounding you.
We investigated microbial diversity of the natural cryoconite holes in the largest glaciers of the Taylor valley and we set up artificial cryoconite holes where we added different mat sources in different order to investigate the importance of priority effect in the community assembly. In addition, we performed microcosm experiments on supraglacial sediments to investigate the role of nutrient limitations and we sampled a number of different habitats within the valley to get a better understanding on microbial spatial distribution and potential microbial sources for cryoconite communities.
We investigated microbial diversity of the natural cryoconite holes in the largest glaciers of the Taylor valley and we set up artificial cryoconite holes where we added different mat sources in different order to investigate the importance of priority effect in the community assembly. In addition, we performed microcosm experiments on supraglacial sediments to investigate the role of nutrient limitations and we sampled a number of different habitats within the valley to get a better understanding on microbial spatial distribution and potential microbial sources for cryoconite communities.