Taylor Valley Photos Browse through the photo album to view some of Taylor Valley's most striking features.
The Mars Connection Here is a five part movie series exploring how NASA has used the dry valleys as part of its Mars exploration program.
Welcome to Taylor Valley.
The dry valleys of Antarctica represent some of the most fascinating areas on the continent. Explore Taylor Valley here and discover what makes it so unique.
Early Exploration and Research
The first expedition to Taylor Valleys was The British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-04,67 however the first science conducted was geomorphological studies by Griffith Taylor, Wright and Priestley of Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition, in 1911.68
The area was not visited again until 1957/58 during the International Geophysical Year. It was then that extensive research and exploration began in the valley. Since that time nearly twenty camps have been built, half of which have been decommissioned and removed. 69
Current Research
One of the area's most extensive and comprehensive research projects is the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Research (MCM LTER) project. It is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary study of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of the dry valleys. Broad areas of study in the MCM LTER project are meteorology, glaciers, streams, limnology, and soil ecology.70
Click to enlarge the photos.
Other current research projects in Taylor Valley include:
New Zealand Antarctic program - studies soil moisture, temperature and lake sediment in the dry valleys.76
The University of Colorado's "stream team" - focuses on stream ecology issues such as long term changes.77
Portland State University Glacier Research - long term study that measures glacier mass balance.78
NASA's Presence
NASA has focused attention on the area in order to help prepare its probes for missions to Mars. The organization has had a presence in the area since the 1970s, conducting analog studies between the environments of Antarctica and Mars. More recently, NASA has been testing exploratory equipment in Taylor Valley.79
During the 2007 International Polar Year, scientists tested duplicates of the Phoenix Mars Lander's equipment in preparation for the robotic probe's planned landing in 2008.80 In 2009 NASA conducted tests of its underwater robotic probe, ENDURANCE (Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer) in Lake Bonney.81 The robot mapped the lake producing three dimensional images and renderings. Ultimately, it is hoped that ENDURANCE will serve as a prototype for a submersible vehicle that will become part of the Europa Jupiter System Mission.82
Click to enlarge the photos.
Tourism
Taylor Valley opened to tourists in 1995 with helicopter visits to Canada Glacier's snout. These visits are limited to a few hours at a time.88
Helicopter on Canada Glacier.
(Click on thumbnail to enlarge.)89
The first expedition to Taylor Valleys was The British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-04,67 however the first science conducted was geomorphological studies by Griffith Taylor, Wright and Priestley of Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition, in 1911.68
The area was not visited again until 1957/58 during the International Geophysical Year. It was then that extensive research and exploration began in the valley. Since that time nearly twenty camps have been built, half of which have been decommissioned and removed. 69
Current Research
One of the area's most extensive and comprehensive research projects is the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Research (MCM LTER) project. It is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary study of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of the dry valleys. Broad areas of study in the MCM LTER project are meteorology, glaciers, streams, limnology, and soil ecology.70
Click to enlarge the photos.
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| Lake Bonney camp. 71 | Lake Fryxell camp. 72 | Lake Hoare camp. 73 | Drilling sampling hole on Lake Fryxell. 74 |
Research at Von Guerard stream. 75 |
Other current research projects in Taylor Valley include:
New Zealand Antarctic program - studies soil moisture, temperature and lake sediment in the dry valleys.76
The University of Colorado's "stream team" - focuses on stream ecology issues such as long term changes.77
Portland State University Glacier Research - long term study that measures glacier mass balance.78
NASA's Presence
NASA has focused attention on the area in order to help prepare its probes for missions to Mars. The organization has had a presence in the area since the 1970s, conducting analog studies between the environments of Antarctica and Mars. More recently, NASA has been testing exploratory equipment in Taylor Valley.79
During the 2007 International Polar Year, scientists tested duplicates of the Phoenix Mars Lander's equipment in preparation for the robotic probe's planned landing in 2008.80 In 2009 NASA conducted tests of its underwater robotic probe, ENDURANCE (Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer) in Lake Bonney.81 The robot mapped the lake producing three dimensional images and renderings. Ultimately, it is hoped that ENDURANCE will serve as a prototype for a submersible vehicle that will become part of the Europa Jupiter System Mission.82
Click to enlarge the photos.
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| Icy planets in the solar system. 83 |
NASA Endurance. 84 | The entrance hole for ENDURANCE. 85 |
Endurance entering Lake Bonney. 86 |
Artistic rendering of the Phoenix Mars Lander.. 87 |
Tourism
Taylor Valley opened to tourists in 1995 with helicopter visits to Canada Glacier's snout. These visits are limited to a few hours at a time.88
Helicopter on Canada Glacier.
(Click on thumbnail to enlarge.)89