EAGER: Are the Dry Valleys Getting Wetter? A Preliminary Assessment of Wetness Across the McMurdo Dry Valleys Landscape

The PIs will document the spatiotemporal dynamics of these wet areas using high frequency remote sensing data from QuickBird and WorldView satellites to document the occurrence, dimensions, and growth of wet spots during the 2010-­11 and 2011-­12 austral summers. They will test their hypotheses by determining whether wet spots recur in the same locations in each season, and they will compare present to past distribution using archived imagery.

They will also determine whether spatial snow accumulation patterns and temporal ablation patterns are coincident with wet spot formation. Broader impacts: One graduate student will be trained on this project. Findings will be reported at scientific meetings and published in peer reviewed journals.

They will also develop a teaching module on remote sensing applications to hydrology for the Modular Curriculum for Hydrologic Advancement and an innovative prototype project designed to leverage public participation in mapping wet spots and snow patches across the Dry Valleys through the use of social media and mobile computing applications.