@article {4844, title = {Causes and characteristics of electrical resistivity variability in shallow (<4 m) soils in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica}, journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface}, volume = {128}, year = {2023}, month = {02/2023}, pages = {e2022JF006696}, abstract = {

Airborne electromagnetic surveys collected in December 2011 and November 2018 and three soil sampling transects were used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of shallow (\<4 m) soil properties in lower Taylor Valley (TV), East Antarctica. Soil resistivities from 2011 to 2018 ranged from \∼33 Ωm to \∼3,500 Ωm with 200 Ωm assigned as an upper boundary for brine-saturated sediments. Elevations below \∼50 m above sea level (masl) typically exhibit the lowest resistivities with resistivity increasing at high elevations on steeper slopes. Soil water content was empirically estimated from electrical resistivities using Archie\&$\#$39;s Law and range from \∼\<1\% to \∼68\% by volume. An increase in silt- and clay-sized particles at low elevations increases soil porosity but decreases hydraulic conductivity, promoting greater residence times of soil water at low elevations near Lake Fryxell. Soil resistivity variability between 2011 and 2018 shows soils at different stages of soil freeze-thaw cycles, which are caused predominantly by solar warming of soils as opposed to air temperature. This study furthers the understanding of the hydrogeologic structure of the shallow subsurface in TV and identifies locations of soils that are potentially prone to greater rates of thaw and resulting ecosystem homogenization of soil properties from projected increases in hydrological connectivity across the region over the coming decades.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, active layer, airborne electromagnetic surveys, McMurdo Dry Valleys, permafrost dynamics}, issn = {2169-9003}, doi = {10.1029/2022JF006696}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JF006696}, author = {Gutterman, William S. and Peter T. Doran and Ross A. Virginia and John E. Barrett and Myers, Krista F. and Tulaczyk, Slawek M. and Foley, Neil T. and Jill A. Mikucki and Hilary A. Dugan and Grombacher, Denys and Bording, Thue S. and Auken, E.} } @article {4714, title = {Barotropic seiches in a perennially ice-covered lake, East Antarctica}, journal = {Limnology and Oceanography Letters}, volume = {7}, year = {2022}, month = {02/2022}, pages = {26 - 33}, abstract = {

Water movement in ice-covered lakes is known to be driven by wind, sediment heat flux, solar radiation, saline density flows, and advective stream discharge. In large ice-covered lakes, wind-induced oscillations have been found to play a major role in horizontal flows. Here, we report recurrent, wind-driven, barotropic seiches in a small lake with a thick (4 m) permanent ice-cover. Between 2010 and 2016, we recorded 10.5- to 13-min oscillations of the hydrostatic water level in Lake Hoare, McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica, using pressure transducers moored to the lake bottom and suspended from the ice cover. Theoretical calculations showed a barotropic seiche should have a period of 12.6 min. Barotropic seiches were most frequent during high wind events (\> 5 m s-1) in winter months (February\–November). The period increased during summer months (December\–January) when fast ice thinned and melted along the shoreline.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, issn = {2378-2242}, doi = {10.1002/lol2.10226}, url = {https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lol2.10226}, author = {Castendyk, Devin and Hilary A. Dugan and Gallagher, Hugh A. and Pujara, Nimish and Peter T. Doran and John C. Priscu and W. Berry Lyons} } @article {4647, title = {Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey}, journal = {The Cryosphere}, volume = {15}, year = {2021}, month = {08/2021}, pages = {3577 - 3593}, abstract = {

Previous studies of the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have attempted to constrain lake level history, and results suggest the lakes have undergone hundreds of meters of lake level change within the last 20 000 years. Past studies have utilized the interpretation of geologic deposits, lake chemistry, and ice sheet history to deduce lake level history; however a substantial amount of disagreement remains between the findings, indicating a need for further investigation using new techniques. This study utilizes a regional airborne resistivity survey to provide novel insight into the paleohydrology of the region. Mean resistivity maps revealed an extensive brine beneath the Lake Fryxell basin, which is interpreted as a legacy groundwater signal from higher lake levels in the past. Resistivity data suggest that active permafrost formation has been ongoing since the onset of lake drainage and that as recently as 1500\–4000 years BP, lake levels were over 60 m higher than present. This coincides with a warmer-than-modern paleoclimate throughout the Holocene inferred by the nearby Taylor Dome ice core record. Our results indicate Mid to Late Holocene lake level high stands, which runs counter to previous research finding a colder and drier era with little hydrologic activity throughout the last 5000 years.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021}, url = {https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3577/2021/}, author = {Myers, Krista F. and Peter T. Doran and Tulaczyk, Slawek M. and Foley, Neil T. and Bording, Thue S. and Auken, Esben and Hilary A. Dugan and Jill A. Mikucki and Foged, Nikolaj and Grombacher, Denys and Ross A. Virginia} } @article {3707, title = {High-resolution ground-penetrating radar profiles of perennial lake ice in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Horizon attributes, unconformities, and subbottom penetration}, journal = {GEOPHYSICS}, volume = {81}, year = {2016}, month = {01/2016}, pages = {WA13 - WA20}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, issn = {0016-8033}, doi = {10.1190/geo2015-0159.1}, url = {http://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/geo2015-0159.1}, author = {Hilary A. Dugan and Arcone, Steven A. and Maciek K. Obryk and Peter T. Doran} } @article {3012, title = {Deep groundwater and potential subsurface habitats beneath an Antarctic dry valley}, journal = {Nature Communications}, volume = {6}, year = {2015}, month = {Apr-04-2017}, pages = {6831}, abstract = {The occurrence of groundwater in Antarctica, particularly in the ice-free regions and along the coastal margins is poorly understood. Here we use an airborne transient electromagnetic (AEM) sensor to produce extensive imagery of resistivity beneath Taylor Valley. Regional-scale zones of low subsurface resistivity were detected that are inconsistent with the high resistivity of glacier ice or dry permafrost in this region. We interpret these results as an indication that liquid, with sufficiently high solute content, exists at temperatures well below freezing and considered within the range suitable for microbial life. These inferred brines are widespread within permafrost and extend below glaciers and lakes. One system emanates from below Taylor Glacier into Lake Bonney and a second system connects the ocean with the eastern 18 km of the valley. A connection between these two basins was not detected to the depth limitation of the AEM survey (~350 m).}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms7831}, url = {http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/ncomms7831}, author = {Jill A. Mikucki and Auken, E. and Tulaczyk, S and Ross A. Virginia and Schamper, C. and S{\o}rensen, K. I. and Peter T. Doran and Hilary A. Dugan and Foley, N.} } @article {3214, title = {Autonomous Year-Round Sampling and Sensing to Explore the Physical and Biological Habitability of Permanently Ice-Covered Antarctic Lakes}, journal = {Marine Technology Society Journal}, volume = {48}, year = {2014}, month = {Jan-09-2014}, pages = {8 - 17}, abstract = {

The lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are some of the only systems on our planet that are perennially ice-covered and support year-round metabolism. As such, these ecosystems can provide important information on conditions and life in polar regions on Earth and on other icy worlds in our solar system. Working in these extreme environments of the Dry Valleys poses many challenges, particularly with respect to data collection during dark winter months when logistical constraints make fieldwork difficult. In this paper, we describe the motivation, design, and challenges for this recently deployed instrumentation in Lake Bonney, a lake that has been the subject of summer research efforts for more than 40 years. The instrumentation deployed includes autonomous water, phytoplankton, and sediment samplers as well as cable-mounted profiling platforms with dissolved gas and fluorometry sensors. Data obtained from these instruments will allow us, for the first time, to define the habitability of this environment during the polar night. We include lessons learned during deployment and recommendations for effective instrument operation in these extreme conditions.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, issn = {00253324}, doi = {10.4031/MTSJ.48.5.6}, url = {http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article\&issn=0025-3324\&volume=48\&issue=5\&spage=8http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2014/00000048/00000005/art00002}, author = {Winslow, Luke A. and Hilary A. Dugan and Heather N. Buelow and Cronin, Kyle D. and John C. Priscu and Cristina D. Takacs-Vesbach and Peter T. Doran} } @phdthesis {4097, title = {Geophysics, Water Balance, and History of Thick Perennial Ice Covers on Antarctic Lakes}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2014}, school = {University of Illinois}, type = {doctoral}, address = {Chicago, IL}, abstract = {

Antarctic lakes are studied as sentinels of future change, for paleolimnological records contained in the sediments, and as habitats for the simple food webs that can exist in inhospitable environments. Understanding how lakes are formed and are sustained in response to landscape and climate conditions is critical in addressing the aforementioned research themes. This thesis is governed by the overarching hypothesis that an understanding of hydrologic and sediment transport processes associated with lake ice formation and preservation can be used to reveal past climatic changes, and further our awareness of current changes in climate and water balance in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The first chapter focuses on water loss from closed basin lakes in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, and presents updated estimates of sublimation and ablation rates from long-term empirical measurements. The second and third chapters address the formation of Lake Vida, Antarctica. The former investigates the accretion of a 27 m ice cover, and considers the origin of thick sediment layers in the ice cover, and the latter uses two geophysical methods to quantify the extent and volume of the brine network in the subsurface beneath the lake. The results presented herein advance the study of hydrogeology in continuous permafrost, provide additional evidence for fluctuating climate states in the McMurdo Dry Valleys throughout the mid to late Holocene, and provide a case study for the preservation of water in a cold, desert environment analogous to neighboring planets.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, brine, lake ice, McMurdo Dry Valleys, polar lakes, sublimation}, url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10027/19407}, author = {Hilary A. Dugan}, editor = {Peter T. Doran} } @article {1098, title = {Lake ice ablation rates from permanently ice-covered Antarctic lakes}, journal = {Journal of Glaciology}, volume = {59}, year = {2013}, month = {01/2013}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Hilary A. Dugan and Maciek K. Obryk and Peter T. Doran} }