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The ice mass on Antarctica is the largest body of frozen water in the world so it is unsurprising that our drinking water is melted glacier ice. Our camp is near Canada Glacier and for several days some of us go over to Canada Glacier to collect chunks of ice that have fallen off the glacier. These chunks of ice are called glacier berries by the locals.
Trip to Canada Glacier to collect glacier berries
Standing among the glacier berries
Today we went to an area that is classified as Antarctic Specially Protected Area or ASPA. These are sites that are of special historic or ecological significance and a permit is required for entry.
The area comprises sloping ice-free ground with summer ponds and small meltwater streams draining from the Canada Glacier to Lake Fryxell. It is is on the other side of the Canada Glacier and the hike took ca 1.5 hours including the crossing of Canada Glacier.
The Canada Glacier stream area has high biomass accumulations in comparison to most other regions of the Dry Valleys. Several moss species (Bryum argenteum, Hennediella heimii and Bryum pseudotriquetrum), lichens (Lecanora expectans, Caloplaca citrina) and freshwater algae (Prasiola calophylla, Tribonema elegans) have been described from the stream area (Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 131).
Canada stream and Lake Fryxell
Cyanobacterial mats are also abundant. Oscillatoria, Leptolyngbya, Phormidium, Calothrix, Nostoc and Gloeocapsa are the common cyanobacterial genera the mats growing in the streams.
Cyanobacerial mats
Nostoc and other cyanobacteria growing on moss
After 10 days at Lake Vanda and collection of many fascinating samples, it was time again to pack and move on. This time half of our team would go back to McMurdo station as they were finished with their field work and three of us would move on to Lake Hoare. Lake Hoare is in the Taylor valley next to the Canada Glacier. Lake Hoare is part of the US Long Term Ecological Research Program (LTER). The LTER does important long-term research on for example glacial systems and the ecology of streams and soils in the Dry Valleys.
Lake Hoare camp
Lake Hoare is one of the bigger camps in the Dry Valleys and run by Rae and Sandra . It has a main hut with a huge kitchen, computer area and some bunk beds, several small laboratories and even shower facilities (Sunday is shower day). Rae and Sandra cook the most delicious food and fresh cookies keep appearing everyday in a magical way. It was a real treat after being in the field with only a small kitchen tent and no shower or proper toilet facilities for several weeks.
My tent site
The tents are nestled between the wall of Canada Glacier and Lake Hoare – the most beautiful place I have camped. My tent is right next to the glacier and I could hear the meltwater running of the glacier in small waterfalls during the night.
Canada Glacier
I'm Anne Jungblut from the Botany Department. Join me as I head to Antarctica to study cyanobacterial diversity in ice-covered lakes of the Dry Valleys and Ross Island where already scientists on Scott's and Shakleton's expeditions made many discoveries.
Michelle
on
Getting ready for our next adventure in Antarctica: Lake Joyce
RichardF
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Cyanobacterial mats in the Labyrinth, Wright Valley, Antarctica
Gary Oberts
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Antarctica 2012 - Back to the McMurdo Dry Valleys
Anne D. Jungblut
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Antarctica 2012 - Back to the McMurdo Dry Valleys
Gary Oberts
on
Antarctica 2012 - Back to the McMurdo Dry Valleys
