The History of Antarctica's Heroic Era Contributes to Contemporary Ecological Research in the McMurdo Dry Valleys | Environment and History
The 1911 Taylor Expedition into Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys produced six photographs and less than a week’s worth of journaled sketches and observations. While sparse, these Heroic Era sources provide evidence that a century ago the valleys experienced a period with significant amounts of meltwater, enhancing connectivity within the valleys -- very similar to what scientists are seeing in the region today. The Taylor Expedition records represent the sum total of scientific study in the region until 1957– and the only basis scientists have for understanding what the landscape might have looked like.
Adrian Howkins argues that this relatively spare human history, along with the simple structure of the Dry Valleys’ ecosystems, offers a perfect opportunity to explore how to best use historical data to inform and enrich contemporary ecological research. He proposes a three-dimensional model for understanding historical sources: historians must evaluate historical observations in a context that considers the interplay between (1) human activities at the time, (2) people’s ideas about the environment and how those might color their observations, and (3) the material environment itself.
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What impacts does winter weather have on temperate and semiarid systems? A recent study suggests that winter climate may be a crucial driver of growing season dynamics across a range of taxa and ecosystems. Using data from 11 LTER sites, researchers found that, in many of the sample ecosystems, winter weather correlates with biotic responses as or more strongly than growing season weather. Winter’s influence on overall nutrient, carbon, and water cycling, as well as plant and animal community composition in arctic and boreal regions is well-documented, but the extent of its role in temperate ecosystems has remained unclear – which in turn has limited scientists’ ability to project the impact of warming winters in these areas. Though its correlations were variable among sites and biotic variables, the study indicates the importance of further research into winter’s role in temperate ecosystems.
A remote sensing analysis of seven undeveloped Virginia barrier islands over 27 years revealed a 29% reduction in overall vegetation and a 40% increase in woody vegetation. Immediate causes for these dramatic changes are unknown, though sea level rise and storm erosion are possible factors.
