Field Update - Project 3 - Dry Valleys

Event number K882

A collaboration with the US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) group saw a team at Lake Fyxell in the Taylor Valley studying how microbial mat communities respond to rising lake levels. The research focuses on community dynamics between the transitional zone between land and lake. The team dived in the lake, carrying out experiments and deploying instruments that will help quantify the contribution of these dynamic zones to lake and soil ecosystems. The aim is to see if these communities will retain their unique Antarctic characteristics in a changing climate.