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Palmer Station Antarctica LTER

Studying the ecology of the Antarctic Peninsula for over 30 years

The Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) study area is located to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula extending South and North of the Palmer Basin from onshore to several hundred kilometers off shore. Palmer Station is one of the three United States research stations located in Antarctica. It is on Anvers Island midway down the Antarctic Peninsula at latitude 64.7 South, longitude 64.0 West.

The Palmer LTER studies a polar marine biome with research focused on the Antarctic pelagic marine ecosystem, including sea ice habitats, regional oceanography and terrestrial nesting sites of seabird predators. The Palmer LTER is one of more than 26 LTER research sites located throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Tahiti; each focused on a specific ecosystem, that together constitute the LTER Network.

News from Palmer LTER

Antarctic Long-Term Ecological Research site turns 30

The Long-Term Ecological Research site at Palmer Station, Antarctica, celebrates its 30th field season this year. Thanks to this long-running research program, scientists have consistently tracked environmental changes taking place along the…
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New Publication from Graduate student (VIMS) Andrew Corso

Graduate student (VIMS) Andrew Corso with co-authors used a novel 25-year time series to model the effects of environmental variability on larvae of a keystone species, the Antarctic Silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica). Antarctic Silverfish…

Graduate Student Adventures in Antarctica

Rutgers has been participating in the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project at Palmer Station Antarctica for over 30 years. During the fall of 2021, graduate students Quintin Diou-Cass and Joe Gradone…

Congratulations Tricia Thibodeau who recently published exciting work in the journal Aquatic Microbial Ecology

Congratulations Tricia Thibodeau who recently published exciting work in the journal Aquatic Microbial Ecology. The pteropod (pelagic snail) Limacina helicina antarctica is a dominant grazer along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and plays…
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Blooming Antarctica

story by Helen Hill for MITgcm The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle by acting as a major sink for CO2. In particular, coastal regions around Antarctica can be understood to play an outsize role, with…

Great work and Congratulations to the 2021 Palmer LTER field team

The COVID pandemic has been extremely challenging for field science.  Despite the challenges the Palmer LTER team was able to conduct a field expedition aboard the RV Nathaniel Palmer in November and December along the West Antarctic Peninsula.…

Palmer LTER Resources

The buildings of Palmer station a dusk
PAL Research Groups
Penguins on the beach near Palmer
PAL Datasets
Two people standing in front of a laptop on a stand with glaciers and water behind them
Education & Outreach