Dale Andersen’s 1996 Antarctic Field Research Photo Album Volume 3
Editor’s note: This is a revised version of the original website that was first posted – from Antarctica – in 1996.
The Astrobiology Web: Your Online Guide to the Living Universe TM An Antarctic Photo Album, Volume 3 by Dale Andersen About these images Text and Photographs ©copyright 1996 Dale T. Andersen. All Rights Reserved. Reproduced with permission. Last update: 20 December 1996
Terrestrial Lithophytic Communities – Battleship Promentory, Alatna Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys Antarctica 76° 55’S, 160°55’E
Last update: 15 January 1997
[256, 47K, jpeg] Epilithic Cyanobacterial Community
The dark patch that can be seen on this sandstone boulder is the result of an epilithic cyanobacterial community colonizing the surface. There are four major lithic (rock) habitats found in the Antarctic: epilithic, the exposed surface of rocks, chasmolithic, the fissures and cracks within the rocks, cryptoendolithic, the internal airspaces within the rock between crystals and hypolithic, the underneath side of the rocks.
[257, 47K, jpeg] Close-up of the cyanobacterial community.
[262, 47K, jpeg] Dr. Imre Friedmann making a photographic record of the cryptoendolithic community colonizing the Beacon Sandstone (orthoquartzite) at Battleship Promentory.
Imre Friedmann (Dr. E. Imre Friedmann, Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 3206-2043)
[263, 47K, jpeg] Dr. Imre Friedmann making a photographic record of the cryptoendolithic community colonizing the Beacon Sandstone (orthoquartzite) at Battleship Promentory.
Imre Friedmann (Dr. E. Imre Friedmann, Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 3206-2043)
[264, 47K, jpeg] Biogenous Weathering
Biogenous weathering is visible on the surface of the sandstone. The lichen-dominated cryptoendolithic community contributes significantly to the weathering of the sandstone formations. Microbial activity increases the exfoliation of material from the surface of the rocks leading to the mosaic like pattern seen in this photo. A scale bar (each square is equal to 1cm) has been placed next to a section of rock that has been broken with a rock hammer, revealing the life which has colonized the interior of the rock.
[267, 47K, jpeg] Close-up of cryptoendolithic community found within the sandstone rock
[282, 47K, jpeg] Dr. Imre Friedmann, Florida State University.
- Volume 1: Images of Lake Bonney, Lake Vida, and Lake Hoare plus some underwater shots of divers examining microbial mats at the bottom of these ice covered lakes.
- Volume 2: Remote field camp located at Battleship Promontory, Alatna Valley, Antarctica where researchers look for lithophytic communities.
- Volume 3: Images of Dr. Imre Friedmann making a photographic record of the cryptoendolithic community colonizing the Beacon Sandstone (orthoquartzite) at Battleship Promentory, Antarctica.
- Volume 4: Accomodations at Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, Antarctica – Huts, helicopters, tents, and some of the people who work here.
- Volume 5: Research on ponds located on Bratina Island, skua nests, and a visit from the Prime Minister of New Zealand and Sir Edmund Hillary.
Astrobiology
