TY - JOUR
T1 - Estimating microbial mat biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica using satellite imagery and ground surveys
AU - Power, Sarah N.
AU - Salvatore, Mark R.
AU - Sokol, Eric R.
AU - Stanish, Lee F.
AU - Barrett, J. E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge Helen J. Peat and two anonymous reviewers whose feedback improved this manuscript. This project was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant #1637708 to the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research Project and Grant #1745053 to M. Salvatore, Barrett, Sokol, and Stanish. We acknowledge the Polar Geospatial Center for geospatial support, DigitalGlobe, Inc. for access to satellite imagery, and UNAVCO of Boulder, CO, for assistance with high-resolution GPS. We also appreciate the logistical and helicopter contractors, Antarctic Support Contractors and Petroleum Helicopters Inc., for providing operational support in the field. We’d also like to thank Bobbie Niederlehner for her assistance with pigment analysis.
Funding Information:
Permission to enter the Canada Glacier Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 131) and sample microbial mat was given by the National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs through Antarctic Conservation Act Permit ACA 2016-018. The authors declare no competing interests.
Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge Helen J. Peat and two anonymous reviewers whose feedback improved this manuscript. This project was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant #1637708 to the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research Project and Grant #1745053 to M. Salvatore, Barrett, Sokol, and Stanish. We acknowledge the Polar Geospatial Center for geospatial support, DigitalGlobe, Inc. for access to satellite imagery, and UNAVCO of Boulder, CO, for assistance with high-resolution GPS. We also appreciate the logistical and helicopter contractors, Antarctic Support Contractors and Petroleum Helicopters Inc., for providing operational support in the field. We’d also like to thank Bobbie Niederlehner for her assistance with pigment analysis.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - Cyanobacterial mat communities are the main drivers of primary productivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. These microbial communities form laminar mats on desert pavement surfaces adjacent to glacial meltwater streams, ponds, and lakes. The low-density nature of these communities and their patchy distribution make assessments of distribution, biomass, and productivity challenging. We used satellite imagery coupled with in situ surveying, imaging, and sampling to systematically estimate microbial mat biomass in selected wetland regions in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. On January 19th, 2018, the WorldView-2 multispectral satellite acquired an image of our study areas, where we surveyed and sampled seven 100 m2 plots of microbial mats for percent ground cover, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and pigment content (chlorophyll-a, carotenoids, and scytonemin). Multispectral analyses revealed spectral signatures consistent with photosynthetic activity (relatively strong reflection at near-infrared wavelengths and relatively strong absorption at visible wavelengths), with average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values of 0.09 to 0.28. Strong correlations of microbial mat ground cover (R2 = 0.84), biomass (R2 = 0.74), chlorophyll-a content (R2 = 0.65), and scytonemin content (R2 = 0.98) with logit transformed NDVI values demonstrate that satellite imagery can detect both the presence of microbial mats and their key biological properties. Using the NDVI—biomass correlation we developed, we estimate carbon (C) stocks of 21,715 kg (14.7 g C m−2) in the Canada Glacier Antarctic Specially Protected Area, with an upper and lower limit of 74,871 and 6312 kg of C, respectively.
AB - Cyanobacterial mat communities are the main drivers of primary productivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. These microbial communities form laminar mats on desert pavement surfaces adjacent to glacial meltwater streams, ponds, and lakes. The low-density nature of these communities and their patchy distribution make assessments of distribution, biomass, and productivity challenging. We used satellite imagery coupled with in situ surveying, imaging, and sampling to systematically estimate microbial mat biomass in selected wetland regions in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. On January 19th, 2018, the WorldView-2 multispectral satellite acquired an image of our study areas, where we surveyed and sampled seven 100 m2 plots of microbial mats for percent ground cover, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and pigment content (chlorophyll-a, carotenoids, and scytonemin). Multispectral analyses revealed spectral signatures consistent with photosynthetic activity (relatively strong reflection at near-infrared wavelengths and relatively strong absorption at visible wavelengths), with average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values of 0.09 to 0.28. Strong correlations of microbial mat ground cover (R2 = 0.84), biomass (R2 = 0.74), chlorophyll-a content (R2 = 0.65), and scytonemin content (R2 = 0.98) with logit transformed NDVI values demonstrate that satellite imagery can detect both the presence of microbial mats and their key biological properties. Using the NDVI—biomass correlation we developed, we estimate carbon (C) stocks of 21,715 kg (14.7 g C m−2) in the Canada Glacier Antarctic Specially Protected Area, with an upper and lower limit of 74,871 and 6312 kg of C, respectively.
KW - Antarctica
KW - Microbial mat
KW - Multispectral imagery
KW - NDVI
KW - Nostocales
KW - Remote sensing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091153679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85091153679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00300-020-02742-y
DO - 10.1007/s00300-020-02742-y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091153679
SN - 0722-4060
VL - 43
SP - 1753
EP - 1767
JO - Polar Biology
JF - Polar Biology
IS - 11
ER -