Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 04:51:08 -0500 To: mpc@lmg.usap.gov From: Hugh Ducklow Subject: SITREP 2 LM GOULD Cruise 05-01 Palmer LTER January Cruise 2005 Situation Report 2 5-12 January 2005 During the first week of this year's cruise we conducted routine hydrographic operations in the Palmer Station - Bismarck Strait - Renaud Island region of the West Antarctic Peninsula. Heavy summer sea ice has slowed some operations and continues to provoke interesting discussions as we plan our cruise activities. We attempted to reach the penguin colony near the southern tip of Renaud to place satellite tags on penguins, but were forced to abort the attempt due to heavy sea ice. The LTER 600 and 500 lines of grid stations were occupied and completed successfully. We also conducted a water column Process Station at LTER Station 600.060 and an ice station near 565.026. At the latter, divers were able to briefly investigate the under-ice habitat in this unusual year. We also collected samples of sea ice containing biota for further experimental observations aboard the vessel. The surface water under the ice was -1.5 C to 20-30 meters depth. At this point we speculate that much of the remaining sea ice along the Peninsula will persist until winter and form second-year ice. The past 4 days (12-15 January) saw us in calm seas under clear skies and afforded several useful ice images to help our planning. Thanks to Johan Booth (RPSC/Palmer Station) for providing ice and ocean color imagery to guide our work, Capt Scott Flanagan and the officers and crew of the LMG, and Andy Nunn and the RPSC techs who support all our efforts with unstinting professional and friendly help. Special thanks to ECO First Mate Kevin Leboeuf for football pool support. Detailed reports follow. Hugh Ducklow B-045 and Chief Sci. >>B-013-L PAL LTER Seabird Ecology >>Principal Investigator: Bill Fraser >>Field Team: Peter Horne and Brett Pickering During the past week our group monitored sea bird abundances along the 500 and 600 lines of the LTER Cruise grid. Sea bird and marine mammal numbers were monitored by counting all individuals encountered while moving between stations. Once a station was reached a stationary census was conducted. An attempt was made to reach the Armstrong Reef colonies on the south side of Renaud Island on the 5th so that we could deploy satellite transmitters on Adelie penguins. However, the LMG met sea ice that would not allow Zodiac operations. The sea ice consisted of small, thick floes that were covered by snow and under some pressure. During the 13th the high-density grid was conducted. This grid consists of nine, 10-kilometer lines spaced 2.5 km apart. Our group continuously monitors sea birds and marine mammals, while the 028 group (see below) conducts an acoustic measurements of krill and other zooplankton. Due to sea ice conditions we were unable to reach penguin colonies on the north side of Renaud Island while the process station was conducted. We would like to the Captain and mates of the LMG for their help on the bridge. A special thanks to Chris, Markus and Romeo for all of their hard work in the galley, their food has been outstanding. >>B-016-L PAL LTER Phytoplankton Ecology >>Principal Investigator: Maria Vernet >>Field Team: Karie Sines, Eli Loomis, Austen Thomas, Jessica Spence The goals of our project are to characterize the ecology of phytoplankton including daily primary production rates and photosynthetic pigments in relation to environmental parameters. During this first week we sampled two transects, the 500 and 600 lines, performed 3 microzooplankton grazing experiments and obtained 16 successful Profiling Reflectance Radiometer casts. Ice conditions did not interfere with visiting all stations in the two transect lines. To date, phytoplankton biomass and the rates of primary production are average to low for this area in January. We thank personnel on the ARV LMG Gould, Palmer Station and Punta Arenas for logistical support of this project. >>B-028-L PAL LTER Zooplankton and Micronekton >>Principal Investigators: Robin Ross (on LMG) and Langdon Quetin (at >>Palmer Station) >>Field Team: Lyndon Valicenti, Gregory Quetin, Kelly Moore, Stephen >>Holloway, Katie Davis, Diane Chakos During the past week we have conducted simultaneous acoustic transects and net tows at standard stations along the two northern Palmer LTER transect lines. After preliminary processing, there are clear differences in the distribution and abundance of several of the major macrozooplankton. The ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias) occurred at both inner and mid-shelf stations, whereas in most previous years the ice krill was only found at the stations behind the Biscoe Islands and inside Marguerite Bay. In addition, the pteropod Limacina, generally found in high abundance, is rare this year. The catches often hold a mixture of Antarctic krill and salps, especially at mid- and outer shelf stations. At one of the deep water stations, about 60 km seaward of the shelf break, we documented a record salp catch of 77 liters for a 30 min tow. Female Antarctic krill are not yet ready to spawn on these northern lines, although the ovaries are in the early stages of maturity. We have conducted 4 in situ growth experiments with Antarctic krill to compare growth on the inner shelf and shelf break. At Process Station 1 near Palmer Basin, we also prepared samples of krill and salps for analysis of a grazing index, and conducted two fecal pellet production experiments with Antarctic krill. We especially want to thank RPSC Electronics tech Fred Stuart who solved several data archival issues for us this past week, but also want to thank all the RPSC and ECO personnel who were so helpful during the Process Station. B-045-L PAL LTER Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry >>Principal Investigator: Hugh Ducklow >>Field Team: Nicole Middaugh, Elizabeth Waterson, Kristen France, Robert >>Daniels, William Ducklow The goals of our project are to characterize several key biogeochemical properties (oxygen, dissolved inorganic and organic carbon, lipid biomarkers) microbial standing stocks and production rates (thymidine and leucine incorporation), and particle sedimentation (using a moored sediment trap) in the full depth of the water column across the PAL regional sampling grid. During the first week we carried out routine sampling operations on the 600 and 500 lines and obtained 2 large-volume samples for lipid biomarker analysis at the first Process Station. Our sampling is primarily conducted with the CTD-Rosette system in close coordination with the 016 (Phytoplankton Ecology) group. Introducing our team: Again this year our group includes a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) fellow, Will Ducklow, a Univ of Virginia third year student. Will is analyzing our oxygen samples and is supervised by Nikki Middaugh, a recent graduate of Oberlin College and one of last year's REUs. This season Nikki was the B-045 Team Leader at Palmer Station for October-December and is the night shift crew chief on our cruise. The REU Program continues to help us introduce undergrads to the Antarctic and provides support for exceptionally talented young scientists. Our team also includes 3 graduate students from the School of Marine Science at The College of Wm and Mary in Virginia: Robert Daniels (MSc, 2003) is an ecological modeler who used LTER data for his Master's Thesis on plankton community structure. Beth Waterson, an MSs student studying organic biogeochemistry of the Mississippi River plume region, has analyzed many of our lipid biomarker samples from LMG Process Stations and Palmer Station during the past 3 seasons. Kristen France is a PhD student working on processes regulating biodiversity of marine sessile invertebrates. Beth and Kristen are on loan from their advisors, Liz Canuel and Emmett Duffy back at the WM-SMS. Special thanks this week to RPSC Science Technician Jeff Morin for fighting fires and helping get various instruments up and running in a short, demanding take-off period. >>B-114 PAL LTER Microbial Ecology and Molecular Microbial Ecology >>Principal Investigator: James T. Hollibaugh >>Field Team: Matthew Erickson and Gary LeCleir Over the past week the project (B-114-L) has been able to conduct numerous experiments looking at the processes of ammonium oxidation and nitrite oxidation in the water column. The experiments have been concentrated in the upper water column at the nitrite maximum (information provided by nutrient auto analyzer data) and right below the photic zone. Large volumes of water at the described depths have been filtered onto Sterivex filters to provide a DNA library to identify any ammonia or nitrite oxidizing bacteria present in the water column. A large size fractionation experiment was conducted at a predetermined station in hopes to isolate the aforementioned bacteria. Initial results show little activity with regards to ammonium oxidation but further analysis of nitrite and nitrate back in the laboratory may provide more insight. Thanks to the crew of the LMG and RPSC for their logistical and technical support. ----------------------------------------------------------- Hugh Ducklow Phone: 804-684-7180 School of Marine Science Fax: 804-684-7293 The College of William and Mary Email: duck@vims.edu Box 1346 Courier: Rte. 1208, Greate Road, Gloucester point, VA 23062-1346 http://www.vims.edu/bio/microbial/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Nunn Raytheon Polar Services Company Marine Projects Coordinator R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD email to: mpc@lmg.usap.gov