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High-frequency, hourly, and daily measurements from the Lake Fryxell "Blue Box" (LFBB), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1997-2024, ongoing)

As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program, continuous measurements have been collected from a network of automated lake monitoring platforms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. These lake-based stations, commonly referred to as “blue boxes” due to their historically blue instrument enclosures, provide high-frequency observations of key limnological variables essential for understanding physical drivers of aquatic ecosystem dynamics in the perennially ice-covered, meromictic lakes of this polar desert environment. This data package includes measurements from the Lake Fryxell “blue box” lake monitoring platform (LFBB), established during the 1996-1997 austral summer in Lake Fryxell, Taylor Valley. Parameters include air and water temperature, surface and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), continuous stage (lake level), ice surface ablation, and, beginning in the 2022-2023 austral summer, dissolved oxygen (DO), reported as percent saturation due to the unavailability of continuous salinity measurements required for computing concentration. Data are provided at high frequency (typically 15-minute intervals), along with hourly and daily summaries. Users should note that summary statistics may be affected by periods of missing data. As there is no universally accepted standard for handling gaps in time-series data, users are encouraged to use the high-frequency data and establish their own criteria for acceptable data completeness to minimize potential bias.

High-frequency, hourly, and daily measurements from the Lake Hoare "Blue Box" (LHBB), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1997-2024, ongoing)

As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program, continuous measurements have been collected from a network of automated lake monitoring platforms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. These lake-based stations, commonly referred to as “blue boxes” due to their historically blue instrument enclosures, provide high-frequency observations of key limnological variables essential for understanding physical drivers of aquatic ecosystem dynamics in the perennially ice-covered, meromictic lakes of this polar desert environment. This data package includes measurements from the Lake Hoare “blue box” lake monitoring platform (ELBBB), established during the 1996-1997 austral summer in Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley. Parameters include air and water temperature, surface and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), continuous stage (lake level), ice surface ablation, and, beginning in the 2022-2023 austral summer, dissolved oxygen (DO), reported as percent saturation due to the unavailability of continuous salinity measurements required for computing concentration. Data are provided at high frequency (typically 15-minute intervals), along with hourly and daily summaries. Users should note that summary statistics may be affected by periods of missing data. As there is no universally accepted standard for handling gaps in time-series data, users are encouraged to use the high-frequency data and establish their own criteria for acceptable data completeness to minimize potential bias.

High-frequency, hourly, and daily measurements from the Lake Miers "Blue Box" (LMBB), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2011-2019)

As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program, continuous measurements have been collected from a network of automated lake monitoring platforms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. These lake-based stations, commonly referred to as “blue boxes” due to their historically blue instrument enclosures, provide high-frequency observations of key limnological variables essential for understanding physical drivers of aquatic ecosystem dynamics in the perennially ice-covered, meromictic lakes of this polar desert environment. This data package includes measurements from the Lake Miers “blue box” lake monitoring platform (ELBBB), established during the 2011-2012 austral summer in Lake Miers, Miers Valley. Parameters include water temperature, surface and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), continuous stage (lake level), and ice surface ablation. Data are provided at high frequency (typically 15-minute intervals), along with hourly and daily summaries. Users should note that summary statistics may be affected by periods of missing data. As there is no universally accepted standard for handling gaps in time-series data, users are encouraged to use the high-frequency data and establish their own criteria for acceptable data completeness to minimize potential bias. This station was decommissioned during the 2019-2020 austral summer.

High-frequency, hourly, and daily measurements from the West Lake Bonney "Blue Box" (WLBBB), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1996-2024, ongoing)

As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program, continuous measurements have been collected from a network of automated lake monitoring platforms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. These lake-based stations, commonly referred to as “blue boxes” due to their historically blue instrument enclosures, provide high-frequency observations of key limnological variables essential for understanding physical drivers of aquatic ecosystem dynamics in the perennially ice-covered, meromictic lakes of this polar desert environment. This data package includes measurements from the West Lake Bonney “blue box” lake monitoring platform (WLBBB), established during the 1996-1997 austral summer in West Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley. Parameters include air and water temperature, surface and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), continuous stage (lake level), ice surface ablation, and, beginning in the 2022-2023 austral summer, dissolved oxygen (DO), reported as percent saturation due to the unavailability of continuous salinity measurements required for computing concentration. Data are provided at high frequency (typically 15-minute intervals), along with hourly and daily summaries. Users should note that summary statistics may be affected by periods of missing data. As there is no universally accepted standard for handling gaps in time-series data, users are encouraged to use the high-frequency data and establish their own criteria for acceptable data completeness to minimize potential bias.

openCC (other)Dec 2025View details →

Limno run codes, dates, and locations associated with vertical lake profile data collected in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1991-2025, ongoing)

This data package provides a summary of "limno runs" performed each season in lakes located throughout the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica as part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program. Each limno run is identified by unique code that allows one to compile a complete set of limnological data from a particular lake and location at specific time points. There are usually two or three limno runs performed per lake per austral summer field season, although the number of runs may vary by lake and by season depending on site access, site conditions, and other external factors.

Soil biota counts from the Elevational Transect (ET) experiment, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1993-2024, ongoing)

Investigation of the effect of elevation and topography on soil biota and soil properties was part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project. The number of soil organisms (nematodes, rotifers and tardigrades), divided by species, sex and maturity was monitored at 3 elevations, initially in Taylor Valley (1993) then Garwood and Miers Valleys (2012) in order to accomplish this.

Soil biota counts from the Biotic Effects Experiment (BEE), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1999-2024, ongoing)

Increases in soil temperature and moisture may change the bioavailability of essential elements by altering solubility and diffusion rates in soils, or by changing the amounts of organic compounds. Long-term experiments in the Bonney, Hoare and Fryxell basins have been established with three treatments: 1) increased moisture, 2) soil warming (ITEX chambers), and 3) soil warming + increased moisture. The identification and abundance of soil biota are reported. Only control treatments have been measured since the 2014-2015 austral summer.

openCC (other)May 2025View details →

Elevational Transects (ET): Soil temperature depth profiles from Garwood, Miers, and Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2019-2024, ongoing)

As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project, the Elevational Transects (ET) study was established in 1993 to investigate how elevation and topographic variation influence soil biotic communities and associated soil properties in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Transects consisting of low-, mid-, and high-elevation sites were initially established in the Bonney, Hoare, and Fryxell basins of Taylor Valley, with additional transects added in Garwood and Miers Valleys during the 2012-2013 austral summer. This data package contains year-round soil temperature measurements recorded at four depths (0, 5, 10, and 20 cm) by HOBO dataloggers installed at the mid-elevation sites of each valley during the 2018–2019 austral summer.

Soil biota data from the Pulse-Press Project (P3), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2010-2020)

Climate warming in polar regions is associated with thawing of permafrost, resulting in significant changes in soil hydrology, biogeochemical cycling, and in the activity and composition of soil communities. While ongoing, directional climate warming can elicit such responses over decadal time scales, their manifestation typically occurs as discrete thawing pulses. Indeed, in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica abrupt changes in community structure and biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems following a summer warming event (Jan. 2002) exceeded the influences of a decadal cooling trend in both magnitude and rate of response. Thus, we anticipate that climate-mediated permafrost changes and their associated impacts on soil communities and biogeochemical cycles may occur over seasonal time scales. Our objective is to simulate different frequencies of permafrost thawing events in Antarctic permafrost soils. Since the top horizons of most Antarctic soils are dry permafrost (i.e., there is insufficient water content to generate ice-cement), with ice-cement or massive ice typically below 30 cm, permafrost thawing events are likely to result in subsurface movements of water that may manifest as groundwater seeps down gradient.

openCC (other)Jul 2023View details →

Phytoplankton primary production measurements from discrete water column samples collected from lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1993-2022, ongoing)

An important part of the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) is monitoring of spatial and temporal patterns, and processes that control phytoplankton production in perennial ice-covered lakes. This dataset addresses this core area of research and quantifies carbon production at specific depths in McMurdo Dry Valley lakes.

openCC (other)Feb 2025View details →

Thymidine uptake rates for estimating bacterial production in lakes, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1993-2023, ongoing)

An important part of the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) is monitoring of spatial and temporal patterns, and processes that control bacterial production in perennial ice-covered lakes. This data set quantifies thymidine (TdR) uptake by bacteria, which can be used to estimate bacterial production.

openCC (other)Oct 2025View details →

Chlorophyll-a concentrations in discrete water column samples collected from lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1993-2025, ongoing)

An important part of the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project is monitoring of spatial and temporal patterns, and processes that control primary production in perennial ice-covered lakes. This data package addresses this core area of research by quantifying chlorophyll-a concentrations within specific depths along the water column of several lakes located across the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica.

Underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) vertical profiles collected from lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1993-2025, ongoing)

As part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, lakes are monitored for photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) levels. This data set exemplifies the vertical profile of underwater PAR profiles in perennial ice covered lakes and ambient PAR measured at the air-ice interface. Profile data can be used to calculate extinction coefficients for the water column and ice layer.

Sediment and organic matter fluxes from the Stream Channel Aeolian Transect (SCAT), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2019-2023, ongoing)

The Stream Channel Aeolian Transect (SCAT) project was established by the McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER during the 2018-2019 austral summer to quantify the seasonal sediment and organic matter flux into stream channels in Fryxell Basin, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Data collection began in 2019, with annual measurements of total sediment, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and associated fluxes of sediment and organic matter analyzed each year. The initial SCAT array was installed along Von Guerard Stream during the 2018-2019 austral summer. It consists of six transects, each with eight collectors spanning the length of Von Guerard Stream, with three placed at the down-valley edge of the stream channel, two in the wetted margins, and three at the up-valley edge. In 2022, additional transects were established in Green Creek and Aiken Creek, each with four collectors placed in the wetted margins. These ongoing data collections provide critical insights into aeolian sediment and organic matter dynamics, highlighting their influence on stream channel processes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

openCC (other)Jan 2026View details →

Ground temperature profiles from DVDP borehole 11 at Explorers Cove, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2020-2025, ongoing)

The Dry Valley Drilling Project (DVDP) drilled multiple boreholes throughout Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys in the early 1970s, several of which remain open and accessible. DVDP borehole 11, with a total depth of 327.86 m, is located adjacent to the Explorers Cove Meteorological Station (EXEM), operated by the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program (MCM LTER). In January 2020, the MCM LTER instrumented this borehole with a string of thermistors to monitor ground temperatures through the permafrost. Sensors were installed at depths of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, and 30 m, providing ongoing measurements of subsurface thermal conditions at Explorers Cove.

Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME): Continuous environmental measurements from the North Shore East Lake Bonney (NELB) Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Station (ALMMS), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2018-2022, ongoing)

The Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME) was developed by the McMurdo Valleys LTER project to investigate the ecological function of lake moats in Antarctica. These moats form during the austral summer when the edges of permanently ice-covered, closed-basin lakes melt, creating open-water zones, or ‘moats,’ between the shoreline and the thick (3-5 m) perennial ice cover. Extensive microbial mats are found across these moatbeds, yet their ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. To study these habitats, we established sampling transects on the north and south shores of Lake Fryxell and the East Lobe of Lake Bonney. At each transect, we manually sample soils, sediments, microbial mats, and the water column during the austral summer. To complement these efforts, Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Stations (ALMMS) continuously measure key environmental variables, including moatbed temperatures, incoming and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR and UW-PAR), subsurface temperatures, soil volumetric water content, and soil electrical conductivity across a moisture gradient from wet (near the lake shore) to dry (further inland). These measurements help us understand environmental and ecological changes as shoreline soils transition between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, whether through inundation from rising lake levels or drying as moatbeds are exposed. The North Shore East Lake Bonney SLIME transect is located approximately 2000 m west of the Priscu Stream inflow to the East Lobe of Lake Bonney. Sensor deployments along the transect follow a wet-to-dry gradient, capturing environmental transitions in real time.

Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME): Continuous environmental measurements from the North Shore Lake Fryxell (NFRX) Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Station (ALMMS), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2018-2022, ongoing)

The Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME) was developed by the McMurdo Valleys LTER project to investigate the ecological function of lake moats in Antarctica. These moats form during the austral summer when the edges of permanently ice-covered, closed-basin lakes melt, creating open-water zones, or ‘moats,’ between the shoreline and the thick (3-5 m) perennial ice cover. Extensive microbial mats are found across these moatbeds, yet their ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. To study these habitats, we established sampling transects on the north and south shores of Lake Fryxell and the East Lobe of Lake Bonney. At each transect, we manually sample soils, sediments, microbial mats, and the water column during the austral summer. To complement these efforts, Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Stations (ALMMS) continuously measure key environmental variables, including moatbed temperatures, incoming and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR and UW-PAR), subsurface temperatures, soil volumetric water content, and soil electrical conductivity across a moisture gradient from wet (near the lake shore) to dry (further inland). These measurements help us understand environmental and ecological changes as shoreline soils transition between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, whether through inundation from rising lake levels or drying as moatbeds are exposed. The North Shore Lake Fryxell SLIME transect is located approximately 500 m west of the Lake Fryxell Camp. Sensor deployments along the transect follow a wet-to-dry gradient, capturing environmental transitions in real time.

Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME): Continuous environmental measurements from the South Shore East Lake Bonney (SELB) Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Station (ALMMS), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2017-2022, ongoing)

The Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME) was developed by the McMurdo Valleys LTER project to investigate the ecological function of lake moats in Antarctica. These moats form during the austral summer when the edges of permanently ice-covered, closed-basin lakes melt, creating open-water zones, or ‘moats,’ between the shoreline and the thick (3-5 m) perennial ice cover. Extensive microbial mats are found across these moatbeds, yet their ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. To study these habitats, we established sampling transects on the north and south shores of Lake Fryxell and the East Lobe of Lake Bonney. At each transect, we manually sample soils, sediments, microbial mats, and the water column during the austral summer. To complement these efforts, Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Stations (ALMMS) continuously measure key environmental variables, including moatbed temperatures, incoming and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR and UW-PAR), subsurface temperatures, soil volumetric water content, and soil electrical conductivity across a moisture gradient from wet (near the lake shore) to dry (further inland). These measurements help us understand environmental and ecological changes as shoreline soils transition between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, whether through inundation from rising lake levels or drying as moatbeds are exposed. Sensor deployments along the transect follow a wet-to-dry gradient, capturing environmental transitions in real time.

Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME): Continuous environmental measurements from the South Shore Lake Fryxell (SFRX) Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Station (ALMMS), McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2018-2022, ongoing)

The Soil Lake Inundation Moat Experiment (SLIME) was developed by the McMurdo Valleys LTER project to investigate the ecological function of lake moats in Antarctica. These moats form during the austral summer when the edges of permanently ice-covered, closed-basin lakes melt, creating open-water zones, or ‘moats,’ between the shoreline and the thick (3-5 m) perennial ice cover. Extensive microbial mats are found across these moatbeds, yet their ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. To study these habitats, we established sampling transects on the north and south shores of Lake Fryxell and the East Lobe of Lake Bonney. At each transect, we manually sample soils, sediments, microbial mats, and the water column during the austral summer. To complement these efforts, Active Layer and Moat Monitoring Stations (ALMMS) continuously measure key environmental variables, including moatbed temperatures, incoming and underwater photosynthetically active radiation (PAR and UW-PAR), subsurface temperatures, soil volumetric water content, and soil electrical conductivity across a moisture gradient from wet (near the lake shore) to dry (further inland). These measurements help us understand environmental and ecological changes as shoreline soils transition between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, whether through inundation from rising lake levels or drying as moatbeds are exposed. The South Shore Lake Fryxell SLIME transect is located approximately 1500 m west of the F6 Camp. Sensor deployments along the transect follow a wet-to-dry gradient, capturing environmental transitions in real time.