On behalf of the steering committee, I wish to invite you to participate in a National Science
Foundation sponsored workshop on the:
VICTORIA LAND, ANTARCTICA, COASTAL BIOME: MARINE-TERRESTRIAL
BIOCOMPLEXITY ACROSS A HIGH LATITUDINAL ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENT
which will be convened at the Byrd Polar Research Center in Columbus, Ohio, on 26-29 April 2001
(please see Figure 1).
This Victoria Land workshop will build on discussions that have been ongoing in the United States
and abroad since early 1999 (please see Box 1). Moreover, this workshop will complement research
planning activities within the New Zealand and Italian Antarctic programs. Additional international
coordination will be facilitated by a subsequent workshop at the Scientific Committee on Antarctic
Research (SCAR) Biology Symposium in the Netherlands on 25-26 August 2001 (please see Box 1).
The principal objectives of the Victoria Land workshop in April 2001 are to: (a) integrate Antarctic
marine and terrestrial environmental and ecosystem research along the Victoria Land Coast; and (b)
develop an interdisciplinary science plan for future field activities that can be coordinated through the
National Science Foundation. To accomplish these objectives, the workshop will be organized with
topical keynote presentations and discussions that are intended to stimulate research integration
(please see Table 1).
In preparing for the workshop, please consider:
1. Modern environmental components, processes and experimental approaches that can be
integrated over time and space with paleo-environmental analogs (e.g. sea-ice extent or lake
levels) that are preserved from earlier periods during the Holocene.
2. Modern ecosystem components, dynamics and experimental approaches that can be integrated
over time and space with paleo-ecological analogs (e.g. marine diatoms, foraminifera or molluscs
as well as terrestrial algae or lichens) that are preserved from earlier periods during the Holocene.
3. Sensitive indicators of ecosystem and environmental change at different spatial and temporal
scales.
4. Events and processes that are recorded in marine, terrestrial and glaciological systems with a view
toward a unified interpretation of environmental and ecosystem variability (flow-through from
ocean, atmosphere and land processes).
5. Datasets that can be generated across the Victoria Land Coast to assess latitudinal gradients
and/or transition zones that affect environmental and ecosystem variability.
6. Historical datasets, databases, data-collection platforms or other materials (e.g. maps, species
censuses, automatic weather stations) that will facilitate development of the recommendations,
priorities, hypotheses, experimental approaches and logistics for the science plan.
Funding is available from National Science Foundation for participant support (travel and lodging)
with an anticipated attendance between thirty and forty persons. Participants will include United
States scientists from a wide range of disciplines along with key personnel from the New Zealand and
Italian Antarctic programs. Appropriate NSF and Raytheon personnel also will be in attendance.
Please let me know me if you will be able to attend the Victoria Land workshop at the Byrd Polar
Research Center from 26-29 April 2001. Thank you and I look forward to working with you.
With best regards,
Paul
Paul Arthur Berkman, Ph.D.
Earth Scientist
Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University
108 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1002
TEL: 614-292-3670 FAX: 614-292-4697 E-MAIL: berkman.1@osu.edu
Workshop Steering Committee
Paul Arthur Berkman (Chair - Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University)
W. Berry Lyons (Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University)
Walker O. Smith (Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, College of William and Mary)
John C. Priscu (Department of Biological Sciences, Montana State University)
Edwin D. Waddington (Geophysical Program, University of Washington)
Ross D. Powell (Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences, Northern Illinois University)
FIGURE 1: Glaciological, oceanographic, meteorological, geological and
geochemical processes associated with the dynamics of marine and terrestrial
ecosystems over diverse temporal and spatial scales across the latitudinal environmental
gradient in the Victoria Land Coastal Biome of Antarctica. Stars indicate locations of
national research stations which have been occupied along the Victoria Land Coast at
various time since the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58
BOX 1
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT A VICTORIA LAND COASTAL GRADIENT PROGRAM
JANUARY 1999 Discussions begin between Paul Berkman (US), Riccardo Cattaneo-Vietti (IT), MariachiaraChiantore (IT) and Clive Howard-Williams (NZ)
MARCH 1999 Clive Howard-Williams (NZ) - Annual New Zealand Antarctic Science Workshop.
APRIL 1999
MAY 1999
Ian Goodwin (AU) and Ross Powell (US) - SCAR-IGBP GLOCHANT Meeting
Robertta Marinelli (US) - SCAR-RISCC Workshop in Madrid, Spain
MAY 1999
Paul Berkman (US) - SCAR-ANTIME Antarctic Radiocarbon Workshop, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts U.S.A.
MAY 1999 Clive Howard-Williams and Dean Petterson (NZ) - "Integrating New Zealand's Research Efforts in
Antarctica Using the Concept of a Latitudinal Gradient." A proposal submitted to Antarctica New Zealand's
Science Strategy Theme (Life in Extreme Environments).
JUNE 1999 Roberto Cattaneo-Vietti (IT), Paul Berkman, Mariachiara Chiantore (IT), Francesco Regoli (IT),
David Garton (US) and Marco Nigro (IT) - "The Victoria Land Coastal Transect Project." SCAR-EASIZ
Meeting. Bremerhaven, Germany.
SEPTEMBER Paul Berkman - West Antarctic Ice Sheet Meeting, Sterling, Virginia USA
FEBRUARY 2000 Paul Berkman, Berry Lyons (US), John Priscu (US), Walker Smith (US) and Ed Waddington
(US) - "The Victoria Land, Antarctica, Coastal Biome: Marine-Terrestrial Biocomplexity Across a HighLatitudinal Environmental Gradient." A proposal to the National Science Foundation, Biocomplexity Program.
JUNE 2000
Berry Lyons - SCAR-RISCC Meeting, Johannesburg, South Africa
JUNE 2000
Roberto Cattaneo-Vietti (convener )- "Victoria Land Coastal Program" Meeting, Siena, Italy
JULY 2000 SCAR Biology Working Group, Geology Working Group and Committee of Managers of National
Antarctic Programs - Tokyo, Japan
AUGUST 2000 Clive Howard-Williams and Dean Petterson (conveners) - "The Latitudinal Gradient Project"
Workshop, Christchurch, New Zealand, Supported by Antarctica New Zealand
SEPTEMBER 2000 Paul Berkman (convener) - Workshop planning session at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
(WAIS) meeting in Sterling, Virginia
26-29 APRIL 2001 Paul Berkman, Berry Lyons, Ross Powell, John Priscu, Walker Smith and Ed Waddington
(conveners) - "Victoria Land, Antarctica, Coastal Biome: Marine-Terrestrial Biocomplexity Across a High
Latitudinal Environmental Gradient" Workshop at the Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio U.S.A. - supported by the NSF Office of Polar Programs
25/26 AUGUST 2001 Workshop on "Latitudinal Ecosystem and Environmental Variability Across Victoria
Land" which will be convened at the SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
(http://www.nioo.knaw.nl/cemo/scar)
TABLE 1: PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FOR THE VICTORIA LAND COASTAL
WORKSHOP, 26-29 APRIL 2001, AT THE BYRD POLAR RESEARCH CENTER
Activities
Day 1
Day 2
Days 3-4
Products
Byrd Polar Research Center
Marine environmental and ecosystem
components, events and processes over space and report with:
time (morning presentations / afternoon
(a) preliminary data syntheses;
discussion)
(b) major hypotheses;
Terrestrial environmental and ecosystem
(c) research approaches and
components, events and processes over space and
tools;
time (morning presentations / afternoon
(d) comprehensive
discussion)
bibliography; and
Marine and terrestrial ecosystem-environmental (e) appendices of principal
research products (e.g.
integration, biocomplexity hypotheses and
data, maps, figures, tables
research logistics (morning working groups /
and photographs)
afternoon workshop syntheses)