Concept information
Preferred term
EBESA
Definition
- Short Title: EBESA Proposal URL: http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=452 In spite of its remoteness and isolation, Antarctica is inextricably linked to global processes and exposed to the impact of human activities in the rest of the world. Climate changes are expected to produce faster and greater changes in high-latitude regions, because they are likely to be amplified by alterations in albedo, atmospheric precipitation and permafrost. These changes will affect Antarctic life forms, from the individual and population scale to whole communities. A better knowledge of interactions among climate, geomorphological, geopedological and hydrological features, biological and genetic diversity, and functioning of Antarctic ecosystems across broad scale gradients, is necessary to point out weak points of these interactions and to achieve a better understanding of climate-induced changes in ecosystems at lower latitudes, where responses of biotic communities to external forcing are buffered by more complex interactions and feedback processes. Through the involvement of a selected number of Italian and Czech research groups on Antarctic biology and ecology, and an ad-hoc improvement of scientific and logistic integration and exchanges between Italy and other (SCAR) countries, our intent is to study the effects of climatic and environmental changes, as well as the impact of anthropogenic contaminants on organisms and ecosystems of northern Victoria Land, James Ross Island (Antarctic Peninsula), and Patagonia. As Antarctica receives pollutants from local sources (e.g., research stations, tourism) and acts as a cold trap for atmospheric mercury and persistent organic pollutants from other continents and secondary local arising organic photo-pollutants, our aim is to establish possible sources, deposition patterns, and biological effects of persistent pollutants, through the collection and analysis of widely distributed species of uni- and pluricellular organisms. Key species of organisms will also be collected across the latitudinal transect to study their origin, evolutionary responses to different climatic and environmental conditions, genetic links and interactions with relatives in the rest of the world. Through a functional genomic approach, the evolution of structural modifications of genes responsible for adaptations to cold, dry and salty environments, will be investigated to identify biochemical markers, which can provide means to study reactions to climate and environmental changes. In selected dominating moss and lichen species, the rate of photosynthesis and respiration will be measured and the acclimation/adaptation to long-term and short-term action of stress factors such as radiation, dehydration and low temperature will be studied. We propose internationally coordinated expeditions in northern Victoria Land, James Ross Island and Patagonia, with exchange of researchers and logistic support among Italian, Czech, and other national polar operators (austral summer 2007/08) to study: (1) soil formation processes and soil organic matter, (2) long-range transport and deposition of persistent contaminants, (3) Antarctic ecosystem biodiversity and functioning (4) the phylogeny and genetic variability of bacterial, protozoan, cryptogamic, and invertebrate populations. (en)
Broader concept
- D - F (en)
URI
https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/e75ce80a-a51d-4b24-af6f-d0b37f8c6112
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