Glacial meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica: Resilient ecosystems that abide through climate extremes

In the summer of 2001/02, an ozone-whole associated cooling period in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica was interrupted by several warm and sunny summers that created “flood events” in the valleys. The floods caused much greater ecological connectivity. Dr. McKnight’s research group has continued to monitor streamflow in dozens of first-order streams in adjacent valleys to study the linkages between hydrology, biogeochemistry and microbial ecology in streams through a period of climactic extremes.

Speaker:
Diane McKnight, Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder