| Description |
Since 2007, long-term research of structure and function of Antarctic terestrial ecosystems has been carried out on northern part of James Ross Island (JRI). We present an overview of field activities of Antarctic expedition crew in Jan-Feb 2015. Main attention was devoted to the directions: Climatology, Glaciers and pemafrost, Hydrology and limnology, Terrestrial Biology, Environmental Science, Medical Science, and Technical and Material Science. In Jan-Feb 2015, vegetation cover and microclimate in 12 OTCs, located in 3 contrasting localities of JRI, were investigated. Photosynthesis of Bryum sp. was evaluated by effective quantum yield of PS II using field instalations of fluorometers. Since 2012, heavy metal contents, mercury in particular, have been analysed in different JRI ecosystems In Jan-Feb 2015, 150 samples from lakes, ponds, streams, soils, sediments, and lichens were collected. Measurements of permafrost depth along a 6-km-long profile and on permanent research plots was done using a probe approach. Soil samples in vertical profile of some probes were taken for analyses of grain structure and mass/volume soil characteristics. Using a field system (oxygen electrodes, thermocouples, PAR sensors, and data loggers), in situ long-term (1 month in 5 min step) monitoring of dissolved oxygen concentration (DOC) was carried out in 2 ponds. Samples of soil, mosses and microbiological mats, seepages, wet rock walls, cryoconites from more than 120 sampling sites located on deglaciated part of JRI were taken to estimate biodiversity of Antarctic terrestrial diatoms, algae, cyanobacteria, and soil nematodes. Special attention was devoted to colonization of seal carcasses. Microorganisms were isolated from the samples and cultivated on a Z and WC agars. Colonization of seal carasses by lichens and mosses was studied as a species richness in a close neighbourhood of the carcasses as dependent on liquid water availability and stage of dissintegration of seal remnants.
|