The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of snow-free valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ice from nearby glaciers. The rocks here are granites and gneisses, and glacial tills dot this bedrock landscape, with loose gravel covering the ground.
The region is one of the world's most extreme deserts, and includes many features including Lake Vida, a saline lake, and the Onyx River, a meltwater stream and Antarctica's longest river. Although no living organisms have been found in the permafrost here, endolithicphotosynthetic bacteria have been found living in the relatively moist interior of rocks and anaerobic bacteria, with a metabolism based on iron and sulfur, live under the Taylor Glacier.
Climate
The Dry Valleys are so named because of their extremely low humidity and their lack of snow or ice cover. They are also dry because, in this location, the mountains are sufficiently high that they block seaward flowing ice from the East Antarctic ice sheet from reaching the Ross Sea. At 4,800 square kilometres (1,900sqmi), the valleys constitute around 0.03% of the continent, and form the largest ice-free region in Antarctica. The valley floors are covered with loose gravel, in which ice wedgepolygonal patterned ground may be observed.
It’s claimed some parts of Antarctica, such as the aptly named McMurdo Dry Valleys, haven't had a drop of rain or a single snowflake in millions of years ...Satellite image of the McMurdo Dry ...
... lakes, acid mine drainage, cosmic rays, sunlight, Mariana Trench, dry environments such as the McMurdo Dry Valley and Atacama Desert, gold mines, and even underneath ice shelves in Antarctica.
The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are perhaps the driest places on Earth; protected by mountains, they see virtually no precipitation, ever ... Henske was at McMurdo from December into February, which is to say the dead of summer.
The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are perhaps the driest places on Earth; protected by mountains, they see virtually no precipitation, ever ... Henske was at McMurdo from December into February, which is to say the dead of summer.
Europa—an icy Jupiter moon ... In Sept ... Blood Falls, a feature that colors the terminus of Taylor Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica ... "It feels otherworldly to work and camp in the dry valleys," Mikucki said ... Future missions to Europa ... ....
Exclusive experiences include exploring the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a landscape that has been compared to the surface of Mars and is only accessible by helicopter.” AntarcticaHighlights – Perfect for first time visitors.
LYNNE IRELAND for the NeighborhoodExtra. A unique photography exhibit titled “Unseen and Underfoot ... 31 through Sept. 30 at WallSpace-LNK, 1624 S. 17th St ... Listen now and subscribe ... One non-Nebraska site, the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, is included.
Above is Blood Falls, a curious red waterfall that was discovered in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica in 1911 ... Another is Blood Falls, a curious red waterfall that was discovered in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica in 1911.
"Today, the high elevations of the McMurdo Dry Valleys are among the most inhospitable environments on Earth... Most importantly, this finding implies the McMurdo Dry Valleys are not a landscape frozen ...
Since Hannah was looking for a new adventure, she decided to apply for a job at McMurdo Station...There is a summer field camp called Marble Point, a helicopter refueling station outside the McMurdo Dry Valleys, where they do a lot of science research.
...Monument Valley ... Tremblay and her team trekked into Antarctica’s remote McMurdo Dry Valleys to sample rocks and record the weather, temperature and atmospheric conditions at a number of sites.
Waikato University's Ian Hawes has been at a deep field research camp at Lake Fryzell, in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, more than 90 kilometres from Scott Base since early December.
Hastings Tribune
11 Mar 2024
Hastings Tribune
11 Mar 2024