Snow-patch influence on soil biogeochemical processes and invertebrate distribution in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

• Main Authors: Gooseff, Michael N., Barrett, J. E., Doran, Peter T., Fountain, Andrew G., Lyons, W. Berry, Parsons, Andrew N., Porazinska, Dorota L., Virginia, Ross A., Wall, Diana H.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: LSU Digital Commons 2003
• Subjects: Austral; McMurdo Dry Valleys; Taylor Valley; Polar Plateau; Antarc*; Antarctica; polar desert
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/geo_pubs/667; https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2003)035[0091:SPIOSB]2.0.CO;2; https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/context/geo_pubs/article/1666/viewcontent/667.pdf

The McMurdo Dry Valleys is the largest of the ice-free areas in Antarctica. Precipitation events in excess of 1 cm of snow accumulation are rare. During the winter, snow is transported by strong katabatic winds blowing from the polar plateau, and deposited into the lee of topographic features (e.g.,...