Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island
Temperatures within soil and plant habitats on Signy Island in the maritime Antarctic were measured during 1987. Four sites were monitored using minithermistors attached to a data logging system. Three main periods within the annual temperature cycle were identified. In spring/summer (November–March...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1992
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000567 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102092000567 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102092000567 2024-09-15T17:44:24+00:00 Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island Davey, M. C. Pickup, J. Block, W. 1992 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000567 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102092000567 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 4, issue 4, page 383-388 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 journal-article 1992 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000567 2024-06-26T04:04:27Z Temperatures within soil and plant habitats on Signy Island in the maritime Antarctic were measured during 1987. Four sites were monitored using minithermistors attached to a data logging system. Three main periods within the annual temperature cycle were identified. In spring/summer (November–March) there was much inter-day variation in maximum temperatures, but minimum daily temperatures were always close to 0°C. However, there were very few freeze-thaw cycles extending below the −0.5°C threshold during this period, and those that occurred were not severe. It is considered that freeze-thaw cycling is unlikely to be a significant factor in organism survival during summer. All sites showed a long period of relatively mild subzero temperatures during autumn (March–May). This may be of importance in promoting cold-hardiness of organisms living in these ecosystems before the decline to lower winter temperatures. Minimum winter temperatures varied markedly between sites; lowest temperatures occurring in areas where there was little insulating snow cover. Within site temperature variation was generally small, confirming the validity of the use of small numbers of probes to monitor environmental temperatures in such habitats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Science Signy Island Cambridge University Press Antarctic Science 4 4 383 388 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Temperatures within soil and plant habitats on Signy Island in the maritime Antarctic were measured during 1987. Four sites were monitored using minithermistors attached to a data logging system. Three main periods within the annual temperature cycle were identified. In spring/summer (November–March) there was much inter-day variation in maximum temperatures, but minimum daily temperatures were always close to 0°C. However, there were very few freeze-thaw cycles extending below the −0.5°C threshold during this period, and those that occurred were not severe. It is considered that freeze-thaw cycling is unlikely to be a significant factor in organism survival during summer. All sites showed a long period of relatively mild subzero temperatures during autumn (March–May). This may be of importance in promoting cold-hardiness of organisms living in these ecosystems before the decline to lower winter temperatures. Minimum winter temperatures varied markedly between sites; lowest temperatures occurring in areas where there was little insulating snow cover. Within site temperature variation was generally small, confirming the validity of the use of small numbers of probes to monitor environmental temperatures in such habitats. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Davey, M. C. Pickup, J. Block, W. |
spellingShingle |
Davey, M. C. Pickup, J. Block, W. Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island |
author_facet |
Davey, M. C. Pickup, J. Block, W. |
author_sort |
Davey, M. C. |
title |
Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island |
title_short |
Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island |
title_full |
Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island |
title_fullStr |
Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime Antarctic island |
title_sort |
temperature variation and its biological significance in fellfield habitats on a maritime antarctic island |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000567 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102092000567 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Science Signy Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Science Signy Island |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 4, issue 4, page 383-388 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000567 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
383 |
op_container_end_page |
388 |
_version_ |
1810491964491038720 |