Vostok has a temperature of -15 Fahrenheit with winds are 8 mph. There is no frigid air over Antarctica and the ice at all levels including the terrances that support the 'Blue Ice' is subliming.
Palmer Station is 36 Fahrenheit (above 0). The winds are 2 mph. The barometric pressure across the entire continent is below 29.49, as low as 28.28. The continent is shrouded in fog or clouds with some ice crystal mist and snow grains at the higher elevations.
CSU team takes worm-herder skills to Antarctica (click title to entry - thank you)
By Erin Frustaci
efrustaci@fortcollinsnow.com
...They certainly aren’t your average researchers, donning white lab coats and oversized goggles. That’s not their style. No, they are more extreme than that. After all, it takes a special kind of researcher to travel to the bottom of the earth to study nematodes — which are commonly known as roundworms. It takes a researcher who will proudly wear the name “worm herder.”...
...One might wonder why someone would have an intense desire to study nematodes, but Wall knows just how important the work of a worm herder is. Her lab conducts a series of long-term experiments that measure the effects of climate on the highest level of animals found in the Dry Valleys. They measure and assess where the different species of nematodes are distributed and track declining populations. “We talk about losing endangered species above ground all the time,” Wall said. “We want to know if we lose soil species, does it matter?” Her answer thus far is yes, particularly when it comes to the decomposition of organic matter and the processing of carbon. She said nematodes account for less than 1 percent of the carbon in the ecosystem but turnover 5-7 percent from one useful form to another. The research has shown a 65 percent decrease in Scottnema, a bacterial feeder, which Wall said has a sizable effect on soil carbon.“It’s like measuring the metabolism of the earth,” Wall said...
