Did you know that for nearly 2 million years, this harsh land – the driest desert in the world – has seen almost no rain?
When we think of the driest place on Earth, we often immediately think of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile and a small part of southern Peru. Each year, the average rainfall recorded in Atacama is less than 50mm.
The name “Dry Valley” also comes from the climatic reasons in McMurdo.
However, there is actually a place that is even harsher and drier than Atacama. This is the McMurdo Dry Valleys located in Antarctica, within Victoria Land to the west of McMurdo Sound. This region has conditions that are most similar to Mars. In fact, the terrain of the Dry Valleys makes one feel like walking on another planet beyond Earth.
These valleys are dry valleys that are not covered by white ice and snow.
This desert has extremely low humidity, and the majestic surrounding mountains prevent the sea ice from the Antarctic ice sheet on the Ross Sea from flowing into the valleys.
With a surface area of about 4,800 km2, the McMurdo Dry Valleys account for approximately 0.03% of the continental surface and are the largest ice-free area in Antarctica.
Wind speeds in the valley can reach up to 320 km/h.
Wind speeds can reach up to 320 km/h, which pulls in dense cold air combined with gravity, causing all water, rock, and snow to evaporate.
The only ice found here is located in glaciers along the valley and lakes, including the Vida Salt Lake. This lake lies deep beneath an 18-meter-thick layer of ice and has been completely isolated from the outside world for at least 3,000 years.
Frozen lake in the McMurdo Valley.
So how does life occur in such a harsh place like the McMurdo Dry Valleys?
During his polar exploration, Captain Scott – a commander of the British Navy – first discovered the McMurdo Dry Valleys in 1903.
He believed that no living organisms could survive in such harsh conditions and referred to it as the “Valley of Death”.
In the McMurdo Valley, there are no trees or animals.
In the McMurdo Valley, there are no trees, rodents, or mollusks as found in other parts of Antarctica.
In 2013, Canadian and American researchers conducted a field expedition to the valley to examine the bacterial populations there. They also tested a permanent ice drilling device designed to collect surface samples from points deemed most similar to the Martian surface.
Scientists traveled by helicopter to McMurdo.
After reviewing the results, they concluded that no living organisms were found in the permafrost and recognized this as the first place on Earth without bacterial life.
Due to the terrain and nature of the McMurdo Valley being similar to the surface of Mars, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has conducted numerous experiments in this area.
In addition to focusing on biological research, scientists also assess the average annual temperature and ice melt at McMurdo to provide meteorological evaluations. This enables them to monitor and predict the impacts of global climate change.
