Pinnacle mat located on the bottom of Lake Joyce in Pearse Valley. The depth is approximately 18 meters including 6 meters of ice that is covering the lake. Despite the thick ice-cover, sediment is able to make its way through holes and cracks that develop. The result is a sediment 'dump' on the bottom of the lake (which can be seen in the background of this photograph).

This is my tent just after a small snowfall. We do not sleep in the huts. The tents provide each of us with a bit of personal space to store our belongings and give us a quiet place to relax.

Helicopters such as this Eurocopter AStar operated by PHI under contract to the National Science Foundation, provides the field scientist with their main mode of transportation around the McMurdo Dry Valleys. A Bell 212 also operated by PHI and a Huey operated by the New Zealand military are also used.

Dr. Robert A. Wharton, Jr. of the Desert Research Institute is the lead Project Investigator for the McMurdo LTER. Dr. Wharton is seen in this photo working on one of the numerous meterological stations that have been placed in the dry valleys. The information that these stations provide are useful in understanding the extreme conditions under which life has adapted.

Dale T. Andersen, SETI Institute, Mountain View, California next to the Canada Glacier in Taylor Valley, Antarctica.

Our main camp, located in Taylor Valley on the shores of Lake Hoare. The mountain behind the hut rises very steeply to just over 5000 feet.

Main hut at Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. It is within this hut that we work, eat and socialize. We also have our communication equipment located here including Internet access. Radio telephones are linked by repeaters to McMurdo and are then connected to a satellite station located on Black Island, about 30 miles west of McMurdo.