NSF Org:	OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Initial Amendment Date:	June 25, 1998
Latest Amendment Date:	August 13, 1998
Award Number:	9813061
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Polly A. Penhale OPP  Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO  Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date:	June 15, 1998
End Date:	September 30, 2000 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$649,274.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$649,274.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 1998 = $649,274.00
History of Investigator:	W. Berry Lyons (Principal Investigator) lyons.142@osu.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Alabama Tuscaloosa 801 UNIVERSITY BLVD TUSCALOOSA AL  US  35401-2029 (205)348-5152
Sponsor Congressional District:	07
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Alabama Tuscaloosa 801 UNIVERSITY BLVD TUSCALOOSA AL  US  35401-2029
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	07
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	RCNJEHZ83EV6
Parent UEI:	TWJWHYEM8T63
NSF Program(s):	LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH, ANT Organisms & Ecosystems, ANT Earth Sciences
Primary Program Source:	app-0198  0100CYXXDB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	9169, 9177, EGCH, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	119500, 511100, 511200
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.078

ABSTRACT

9813061 LYONS The extreme environment of the McMurdo Dry Valleys will be the focus of a Long Term Ecological Research(LTER)project located approximately 100 km west of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The dry valleys are among the most extreme deserts in the world. The perennially ice-covered lakes, ephemeral streams, and extensive areas of soil within the valleys are subject to low temperatures, very limited precipitation, and salt accumulation. The biological systems in the valleys are relatively simple, with no vascular plants or vertebrates and very few insects. Trophic interactions and biogeochemical nutrient cycles are largely limited to microbial populations and micro- invertebrates. Species diversity and abundance are low as would be predicted for such extreme environments. Despite this simplicity, complex interactions among species and between the biological and physico-chemical environment exist in the lakes, streams and soils. Furthermore, interactions between various components of the ecosystem enhance the overall productivity of the dry valley landscapes. All ecosystems are shaped to varying degrees by climate and material transport, but nowhere is this more apparent than in the dry valleys. The obvious effects of an extreme environment coupled with the general simplicity of ecosystem structure makes the dry valleys an ideal location to study these basic relationships. Two central hypotheses will be the focus of this research: 1) The structure and function of dry valley ecosystems are primarily controlled by physical constraints, and 2) The structure and function of dry valley ecosystems are modified by material transport. The dry valley LTER will address these hypotheses and the five core areas of LTER research emphasis through a program of systematic environmental data collection, long-term experiments, and model development. Efforts will focus on the integration of the biological processes within and material transport between the lakes, streams and terrestrial ecosystems comprising the McMurdo Dry Valley landscape.

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