Project Grant 2046260

Northern Arizona University received a $387,675 project grant award from the National Science Foundation on April 1, 2021 to conduct research titled "COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MOVING BEYOND THE MARGINS: MODELING WATER AVAILABILITY AND HABITABLE TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS IN THE POLAR DESERT OF THE MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS." The research is funded through the NSF's Polar Programs (CFDA 47.078) and aims to strengthen fundamental knowledge and understanding of polar regions by encouraging basic research best conducted in or only possible to conduct in the polar environments. Specifically, the three-year award will support collaborative research modeling water availability and habitable terrestrial ecosystems in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys, the largest ice-free region south of the Antarctic Circle, to expand knowledge of this polar desert environment.