SGER: Temporal Variability in Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances at McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Texas A&M Research Foundation, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research will focus on the collection of the crucial next set of observations that will aid in establishing natural and human induced environmental variability in terrestrial and marine systems at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Under the Antarctic Treaty, nations are required to document the impacts of human activity in Antarctica. The exploratory nature of the current project results from the recent synthesis of results from a pilot project that required extensive time and effort to develop a statistically robust program design. The project has extreme urgency in order to access the austral summer season at McMurdo Station to evaluate an environmental monitoring program to be implemented for the U.S. Antarctic Program. One year of sampling has already been missed and further gaps will compromise the ability to detect trends over time. Thus, the unavoidable delay put the continuity of the time series data in jeopardy; therefore, a one season sampling effort is critical for a final assessment of the study design. Monitoring provides the objective information needed to make timely and informed management decisions regarding support and science operations. A basic precept in understanding human induced changes in natural systems is that they occur against a back drop of natural variability that would occur whether or not there was an anthropogenic perturbation. The causes of change cannot be unambiguously determined unless natural variability is defined. Variability occurs across a continuum of space and time that requires long-term observations to identify changes in system attributes. Previous studies of the spatial variability of the McMurdo Station environment provide an opportunity to establish the extent of temporal variability in terrestrial and marine systems. A series of 163 terrestrial samples will be collected for hydrocarbons, trace metals and carbon analyses at fixed point and random sample locations. Three transects of three stations offshore of the station will be sampled for chemical contaminants, sediment properties, benthic infaunal assemblages, and assayed for toxicity. The data will be analyzed by multi-variate statistics to establish temporal variability and test the design elements of a longer term program of observations. These studies will increase our understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that are critical in defining system variability over space and time. The broader impacts of the project are multi-faceted. The study will fulfill both national and international requirements for environmental protection under domestic law and the Protocol on the Environment of the Antarctic Treaty. The conduct of the field activities and the analysis of samples will be used to train undergraduate and graduate students in the laboratory. The project will be a part of the College of Geosciences' "Adopt a School Program" that allows K-12 students to interact with and follow the program from initiation to completion, especially during the field activities. The field activities are chronicled in near real-time on the World Wide Web.