POLAR ROCKS: Monitoring of microclimatic conditions on lithic substrates on Livingston Island

Long-term monitoring of microclimatic conditions on lithic substrates, covering multiple orientations as well as distribution and coverage levels of the cryptogamic flora.

39 DS1923 iButton data loggers (Maxim IntegratedTM, USA) were installed in various lithic microhabitats spread across three areas located in the vicinity of the Spanish Antarctic Station Juan Carlos I on Livingston Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica), following an environmental-pressure gradient along an altitudinal cline within the South Bay: 21 in Punta Polaca (50 m.a.s.l.), 4 in Mount Reina Sofía (278 m.a.s.l.), and 14 in El Castillo Nunatak (449 m.a.s.l.). For a year, the instruments recorded temperature (ºC) and relative humidity (%) at rock-surface level with a 2-hour resolution.