Dr. Dale Andersen Curriculum Vitae: 
The exploration of the Antarctic continent readily conjures up images of desolation. But for humans to survive there, they must be members of carefully planned, integrated teams. As the American leader of a joint US/Soviet expedition to Antarctica, biologist Dale Andersen spent six months with a multinational, multicultural crew in this remote, hostile environment, carrying out research relevant to the search for life on Mars. “In addition to the rigors of the local environment,” says Andersen, “we had to address the challenges of our differing cultures and languages.” Andersen's research takes him to such diverse environments as Chile’s Atacama Desert, the ancient permafrost of Siberia, the world's northernmost lakes and springs in the Canadian high Arctic, and the depths of the polar oceans. “My work in the polar regions has involved a lot of underwater time in remote areas,” says Andersen, “and over the years I have made close to a thousand dives beneath thick ice of lakes and oceans.” Andersen’s team has learned that beneath the thick ice-cover of the lakes reside robust microbial communities, similar in many ways to life on Earth billions of years ago. “To our surprise,” he recounts, “we found microbial communities living beneath ice more than twenty feet thick. Initially, we did not think enough light would penetrate the ice cover to support photosynthetic life forms." The Mars Exploration Rovers show compelling evidence that water once flowed freely on Mars. As the temperature on Mars cooled, ice-covered lakes may have formed, similar to the lakes Andersen studies in Antarctica and the High Arctic. And if life existed on early Mars, it may have continued to live even as the Martian lakes froze over. By investigating the ice-covered lakes of Antarctica, Andersen hopes to learn more about the history of water--and perhaps life--on Mars Check out Dale Andersen's website. A note from Dale Sometimes people envision science as a dreary process of working with complex mathematical equations and solving abstract problems. In fact, it’s a fascinating process of exploration and discovery, whether it be working on a penetrating set of equations that depict the formation of a neutron star or witnessing the unfolding of a small flower in the dry expanse of the Atacama desert. Mathematical models have their own abstract beauty. But the scientific process of exploration and discovery can also reveal great beauty in a profoundly visual way. The world around us is filled with beauty from pole to pole. My work takes me to regions that are typically not visited by the average person, and I strive to take the time to appreciate and record their beauty as I conduct my studies. For me, part of the enjoyment of exploration is being able to share the natural wonders I encounter. The visual world of photography plays a very important role in my work. It allows me to capture the fleeting glimpse of an animal, depict a landscape as it was at that instant, or catch the expressions and emotions of colleagues at work during difficult moments as well as the less intense relaxed periods. It’s important to use the right tools - ones that are reliable even under the most grueling circumstances. I am proud to say that Nikon, Inc., has provided me with its flagship camera, the D3, to enable my ongoing efforts of scientific field photography. This camera is capable of standing up to the punishment that it will be subject to whether it be in cold, dusty conditions or in climates with wet snow. I also plan to take this camera underwater and below the ice in polar regions. Using the camera this way will require a protective housing that provides access to all the controls of the camera, an appropriate high-quality lens port that accommodates a variety of lenses, and two high-powered flash units coupled to the camera to illuminate the scene and highlight the details and variations in colors and textures. The Carl Sagan Center is seeking sponsorship for this highly specialized equipment.
Projects
Deep Water Microbialites in a Perennially Ice-covered Lake
Award Number: NNX08AO19G
We will propose a robust, interdisciplinary scientific effort to
investigate the benthic microbial ecosystem in Lake Joyce, a
perennially ice-covered lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys with the goal
of further understanding factors that control the morphology of ancient
microbialites. Understanding the early evolution of life depends on
inferring triological properties from the remnants of fossilized
microbial communities. Most of our understanding of microbialite
formation comes from tropical or subtropical locations. We propose to
add to our understanding of microbialite formation by investigating
modern calcifying microbial communities in Lake Joyce, Antarctica.
Previous work on uncalcified mats in Lake Hoare, Antarctica,
demonstrates that microscale gradients in water chemistry are directly
related to both mat morphology and metabolic activity. Previous
laboratory experiments with filamentous cyanobacteria demonstrate that
specific motility patterns create networks of ridges and peaks that
have been observed in Lake Joyce. We will propose to develop a
predictive understanding of what underlies both the development of the
ridged and peaked morphology in microbial mats at extreme low
temperature and irradiance and how organisms forming these structures
interact with water chemistry to form intricate microbialites. While of
interest in its own right, when combined with existing research on
microbialite formation, this new data from an extreme environment will
help set limits for the types of community and environmental conditions
that are prerequisites to their formation. We will propose to fully
characterize carbonate precipitation in the lake, specifically
evaluating the roles of lake chemistry and microbial processes. We will
produce the second characterization of benthic mats in MCM lakes, with
a new focus on mats with significant morphological complexity. We will
use these data to constrain the origins of mats with intricate
topography, specifically evaluating the role microbial properties on
the development of topography. We will place results into the context
of other modern and ancient microbialites with a strong emphasis on
identifying key structures that reflect microbial behaviors. Thus,
results from this highly collaborative research effort will provide
innovative and novel insights into MCM lacustrine processes and
microbial ecology as well as the controls on morphology in
microbialites of any age.
IceBite: An auger and sampling system for ground ice on Mars
Award Number: NNX09AE77A
We propose to develop an ice auger and sampling bit that can sample
subsurface ice-cemented ground on a mission to Mars that would follow
up on the Phoenix lander. Ice on Mars is an important target for
Astrobiology because ice-rich locations could have been sites of liquid
water activity during periods of high obliquity and because ice may
preserve organics. Phoenix will reach the ground ice but is not capable
of sampling below the surface to any significant degree. A follow on
mission would drill several meters into the ground ice to collect
deeper, older ice and search for signs of organics and life. We propose
to test the ice auger and sampling bit ("IceBite") in under Mars-like
conditions (pressure and temperatures) in the laboratory and field test
it in University Valley, Antarctica. In University Valley the level of
the ground ice (ice table) drops from the surface to a depth of more
than 35 cm as a function of distance away from the small, unnamed
glacier at the head of the valley. We propose to demonstrate a septic
sampling with IceBite, and conduct a qualitative and quantitative
analysis study of the microbiology microorganisms that occur upon the
surface of the ice table as a function of depth. Deeper ice tables see
lower maximum summer temperatures. When the ice table is at the surface
the summer temperature reaches 0ºC but when the ice table is 35 cm
below the surface the maximum summer temperature is -10ºC. Previous
work has demonstrated that microorganisms in ice-sediment mixtures can
metabolize and reproduce a t -10ºC. We will test t he hypothesis that
the number and diversity of microorganisms a t the ice table reflects
adaptation to the maximum summer temperature.
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