An intensive field campaign was conducted during the 2018-2019 austral summer to assess spectral and biological characteristics of multiple microbial mat types, as well as mosses, across nine ephemeral glacial meltwater streams in the Fryxell Basin of Taylor Valley, located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. In addition to biological sample collection, hyperspectral visible/near-infrared (VNIR) measurements were conducted using an ASD FieldSpec4 spectrometer, corrected and averaged across each mat, moss, and soil type, and downsampled to the multispectral resolution of the WorldView-2 satellite. This package contains a detailed sample archive, associated images, biological characteristics that include ash free dry mass (AFDM), chlorophyll-a, and pigment concentrations, as well as hyperspectral and multispectral reflectance spectra.

An intensive field campaign was conducted during the 2018-2019 austral summer to assess spectral and biological characteristics of multiple microbial mat types, as well as mosses, across nine ephemeral glacial meltwater streams in the Fryxell Basin of Taylor Valley, located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. In addition to biological sample collection, hyperspectral visible/near-infrared (VNIR) measurements were conducted using an ASD FieldSpec4 spectrometer, corrected and averaged across each mat, moss, and soil type, and downsampled to the multispectral resolution of the WorldView-2 satellite. This package contains a detailed sample archive, associated images, biological characteristics that include ash free dry mass (AFDM), chlorophyll-a, and pigment concentrations, as well as hyperspectral and multispectral reflectance spectra.

Long-term ecological field surveys from the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program (MCM LTER) have documented the abundance and diversity of microbial mat types across ephemeral glacial meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. However, field surveys are limited and are incapable of being performed across the entirety of streams within a field season. Therefore, we used remote sensing to examine the distribution of these diverse communities across streams in order to determine whether large scale distribution patterns are similar to those the MCM LTER has already thoroughly studied in situ. As part of our 2018-2019 field campaign, we established two to three 20 x 20 m plots within five different streams (Bowles Creek, McKnight Creek, a relict channel, Canada Stream, and Crescent Stream) in the Fryxell Basin of Taylor Valley. We performed point transect and quadrat field surveys of microbial mat and moss cover within each 20 x 20 m plot. We then used hyperspectral measurements of mat and moss collected in the field, previously archived in “Spectral and biological characteristics of microbial mats and mosses across Fryxell Basin, Taylor Valley, Antarctica (2018-2019),” in linear spectral mixing models to determine mat and moss coverage in the same 20 x 20 m plots within an atmospherically corrected WorldView-2 satellite image from Dec. 12, 2018. We ground truthed our modeled mat and moss abundances with our field survey coverages and determined the limitations of our methods. We then modeled mat and moss coverage across Huey Creek and Von Guerard Stream to apply our methods to streams without ground truthing measurements. Our results demonstrate the spatial distribution of moss and black, orange, red, and green microbial mat across Fryxell Basin streams. Observations of mat and moss coverage at the basin-wide scale are similar to those seen in localized stream areas.

An intensive field campaign was conducted during the 2018-2019 austral summer to assess spectral and biological characteristics of multiple microbial mat types, as well as mosses, across nine ephemeral glacial meltwater streams in the Fryxell Basin of Taylor Valley, located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. In addition to biological sample collection, hyperspectral visible/near-infrared (VNIR) measurements were conducted using an ASD FieldSpec4 spectrometer, corrected and averaged across each mat, moss, and soil type, and downsampled to the multispectral resolution of the WorldView-2 satellite. This package contains a detailed sample archive, associated images, biological characteristics that include ash free dry mass (AFDM), chlorophyll-a, and pigment concentrations, as well as hyperspectral and multispectral reflectance spectra.