Terrestrial ecosystems in ARctic and ANTarctic: Effects of UV Light, Liquefying ice, and Ascending temperatures. (TARANTELLA, IPY project no. 59)
IPY project page
TARENTELLA website

Predicted changes in climate and ozone concentrations in Polar regions, make it critically important to understand how changes in key environmental factors influence Polar terrestrial ecosystems via the modification of their individual but interconnected components.
Observational and experimental research on the effect of climate change and ozone depletion is affiliated to international research programmes to the EBA project (Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic) affiliated to SCAR in the Antarctic and to ITEX (International Tundra Experiment) affiliated to IGBP-GCTE in the Arctic.

TARANTELLA aims to coordinate these studies by focusing on the experimental approach in the Antarctic in collaboration with ITEX, which will focus on the Arctic region.
A common methodology is used, the so-called Open-Top Chambers (OTC) or small greenhouses for temperature manipulations; for UV-B field research, UV-B supplementation (lamps) and/or UV-B exclusion (foils), are used to experimentally establish varied UV-B levels.

The research objectives of TARANTELLA are:

1. Compile existing data on the effects of different warming treatments in the Antarctic on the biota. Synthesize and locate major gaps.
2. Compile existing data on the effects of different warming treatments in the Antarctic on the microclimate. Synthesize, locate gaps and problems and compare with ITEX publications.
3. Identifying gaps in our understanding of climate change and ozone depletion.
4. Establish extra field experiments.

The following task are currently executed:
1. Meta analysis of warming treatments on biota in the Antarctic (Objectives 1 and 3).
2. Meta analysis of warming treatments on microclimate conditions in the Antarctic (Objective 2).
3. Compare warming treatments in the Arctic and Antarctic on potential decomposition rates at different field sites which already have (long-term) warming experiments and control sites that also have microclimatic data (Objective 2 and 3).
4. Do experiments to compare similarities and differences and respective responses of (different) warming treatments (objective 4).
a. Comparison of effects of warming treatments on decomposition rates at existing field sites
b. Comparison of effects of warming treatments on moss growth
c. Comparison of the response of mosses with bipolar distribution to UV-B using similar UV-B filters
d. Chemical profiling of mosses

Field sites
Site Position Scientists (Nationality)
Ile de la Possession 46ºS 51ºE Van de Vijver, DeSmet (Belgium), Lebouvier(France)
Falkland Islands 52ºS 59ºW Huiskes, Aerts, Kowalchuk (Netherlands)
Signy Island 61ºS 46ºW Convey, Newsham (United Kingdom), Huiskes, Aerts, Kowalchuk (Netherlands)
Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island) 63ºS 61ºW Quesada (Spain)
James Ross Island 64oS 58oW Bartak/Prozek (Czech Republic)
Anvers Island 65°S 64°W Day (United States of America)
Anchorage Island 67ºS 68ºW Convey, Newsham (United Kingdom)
Huiskes, Aerts, Kowalchuk (Netherlands)
Yukidori Valley 69°S 39°E Kanda (Japan)
Mars Oasis 72ºS 68ºW Convey, Newsham, Worland (United Kingdom)
Taylor Valley 78ºS 163ºE Wall (United States of America)

Members of the TARANTELLA group also carry out similar studies in the Arctic

Site Position Scientists (Nationality)
Abisko, 68ºN 18’E Aerts, Cornelissen, Rozema (Netherlands), Gwyn Jones (United Kingdom)
Svalbard 79ºN 16’E Cooper (Norway), Rozema (Netherlands)