APR91 Palmer SITREP - R.Ross SEND PLM160.APR MSG%"PALMER_SCIENCE" PSDN-554 SCIENCE SITREP R 070414Z APR 91 FROM: ROBIN ROSS <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< P A L M E R S T A T I O N A N T A R C T I C A TELEMAIL::PALMER.STA PHONE/FAX: 011-874-150-3157 SPAN::PALMER@ATSVAX.SPAN TELEX: 5841503157 PNHG INTERNET::PALMER@ATSVAX.RSMAS.MIAMI.EDU CC E-MAIL::ANTARCTIC.OPS, NSF.DPP.OCEANOPS, P.PENHALE, T.DELACA, R.HANSON, ASA.MCMURDO, ASA.DENVER, NSF.MCMURDO, ASA.CHCH, E.HOFMANN, NSF.CHCH, R.BOOTH, O.HOLM.HANSEN, G.MITCHELL, M.VERNET, M.HUNTLEY, R.WHRITNER, D.KARL, D.AINLEY, W.FRASER, B.SIDELL, W.DETRICH, VLF@STAR.SPAN, M.KENNICUTT, K.DUNTON, W.STOCKTON, L.QUETIN, R.ROSS, R.BERNSTEIN, ABENNETT@27867.SPAN, ZEPPLEY@27867.SPAN, POLAR.DUKE, SOUTH.POLE, J.PROSPERO, W.TRIVELPIECE, R.SMITH.UCSB, T.HOLLIBAUGH, GMCC.BOULDER (pass to B.Mendonca), F.AZAM, R.RADTKE, DENEB@RADLAB.UCSF.EDU, CHAPPELL@UCRACC.SPAN, DALLUGE@ATMOS.OGI.EDU, TFOSTER@UCSCC.UCSC.EDU, ENELSON%MINES.BITNET@SDS.SPAN S-014 ENERGETICS OF THE ADULTS AND LARVAE OF THE ANTARCTIC KRILL, EUPHAUSIA SUPERBA. L. Quetin and R.Ross (PI AT PALMER STATION), University of California, Santa Barbara. Personnel at Palmer Station this month included: R. Ross, M. Amsler, D. Carlini, T. Frazer, T. Martinez, J. Shinbashi, C. Wyatt. J. Shinbashi departed Palmer Station 4 March 91, and M. Amsler and T. Martinez departed Palmer Station 12 March 91. R. Ross and T. Frazer arrived at Palmer Station 29 March 91. Cruise 91-3: The objective of this 3.5 day cruise (6-10 March 91) was to collect larvae and adults to use in experiments back in the laboratory at Palmer Station. Force 6 winds and above prohibited trawling in any area but the Gerlache Strait for the first two days of the cruise. Larvae were scarce in these areas, but adults with pale green digestive glands, indicating that they had been eating, were collected in the Schollaert Channel. Winds moderated late in the cruise, and larvae were collected in Palmer Basin just south of Anvers Island. Calyptopis 2 larvae dominated the catch, with few older larvae present, indicating that spawning may have been delayed this season. Cruise 91-4: We also collected larvae and adults during a 3.5 day cruise late in the month (2200-29 March to 0700-2 April 91) for experiments in the laboratory. The weather was kinder and seas were nearly flat during this cruise; we were able to search for larvae on the northern side of Smith Island, at the western end of the South Shetland Islands chain. Larvae, again calyptopis 2 stage, were abundant in this area, but scarce or non-existent in both Palmer Basin and the Gerlache Strait. Adults were found in several areas within the Gerlache Strait, but not in the southern Bransfield. Phytoplankton concentrations were substantially higher near Smith Island than within the Gerlache. Experimental work at Palmer Station: Progress on the experimental work planned was slow due to continued problems with the environmental room. In mid-March, the environmental room was shut down again after two more failures. However, during this interval the combined skills of R. Frederick, M. Butler and A. Oxton appear to have solved this season-long problem. The environmental room came on line on 21 March 91, and has held temperature now for nearly two weeks. We appreciate the perserverance of these three people. Prior to the shut down of the coldroom, the last of a series of experiments to compare the assimilation efficiency of adult krill on four species of phytoplankton were completed. Krill were fed Phaeocystis, and readily ingested it. Experiments were completed on only one concentration for this species, but on 4 to 5 for the other three. The objective of the various experiments planned for the larvae is to "ground truth" our measures of the nutritional status of larvae collected in the field. Measures of condition and nutritional status vary during the same season, but laboratory experiments are necessary to determine the values for larvae on the verge of starvation and those well fed during their entire development. An experiment was conducted to estimate the time taken for half of an experimental population of larvae to starve to death, and the carbon content of the larvae at that point (LD50 for starvation). The LD50s for calyptopis 3 larvae at two temperatures (-1.5 and +1.5 C) were measured on newly molted larvae isolated and maintained in water baths. The LD50 at +1.5 C was only 7 days, but 14 days at -1.5 C. Larvae collected during the late March cruise are now being maintained in the environmental room on three different types of stirring machines to determine the one best suited for mass rearing of larvae. After development into the later furcilia stages, these larvae will be used for LD50, respiration and starvation tolerance experiments. S-036. METABOLIC AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL ADAPTATIONS OF ANTARCTIC FISHES TO CHRONICALLY COLD BODY TEMPERATURE. B.D. Sidell, University of Maine. For R/V POLAR DUKE Cruise 91-3, our field team consists of B.D. Sidell (P.I.), E.L. Crockett and N. Desaulniers, all from the University of Maine. After a delay of 3 days in Punta Arenas awaiting delivery of a replacement motor for the deep-sea winch, we sailed for the Antarctic Peninsula on 25 March 1991. Fishing operations (bottom trawls) were conducted enroute to Palmer Station at Low Island and Dallman Bay locations in conjuction with project S-037 (see below). Capture of specimens was very successful and we arrived at Palmer Station on 29 March 91 with specimens of Notothenia gibberifrons, Trematomus newnesi, Chaenocephalus aceratus, Champsocephalus gunnari and Parachannithys charcoti to support our work. Fish were transferred to aquarium facilities at Palmer for maintenance until needed in experiments. During the remaining days of March, we completed laboratory setup and preparations for initial experiments. During this field season, our project will pursue four different lines of experimental effort: 1) measurements will be made to ascertain whether oxygen solubilities in oxidative muscle tissues correlate with the tissues' content of neutral lipids; 2) the ability for two subcellular organelles cap-able of beta- oxidation of longchain fatty acids, peroxisomes and mitochondria, to catabolize fatty acids of varying chain length and degree of unsaturation will be determined; 3) tissues and partially purified intracellular fatty acid binding protein (FABP) will be prepared and stored for return to our CONUS laboratory for structural and binding studies of the protein; 4) during cruise 91-4, we will conduct pilot experiments to extract total mRNA from oxidative muscle of icefish, Chaenocephalus aceratus, as an initial step toward isolation and cloning of the gene for icefish FABP. Data from these lines of experiments will contribute toward understanding physiological significance of the very high lipid content of tissues characteristic of polar fishes. S-037. ASSEMBLY AND STABILITY OF MICROTUBULES FROM ANTARCTIC FISH AT LOW TEMPERATURES. H.W. Detrich, Northeastern University. Project S-037's 1991 Antarctic field research season began with the departure of H. Detrich (P.I.), S. Parker, S. Marchese- Ragona, R. Williams, and W. Singer from Punta Arenas, Chile, on R/V POLAR DUKE cruise 91-3 (25 March 1991). Our scheduled departure was delayed by three days due to repairs needed by the main oceanographic winch. En route to Palmer Station, we collected specimens of two Antarctic cods (Notothenia gibberifrons and N. coriiceps neglecta) and an ice fish (Chaenocephalus aceratus) by bottom trawling from the R/V POLAR DUKE near Low and Brabant Islands (28-29 March 91, total trawl time of 19 hours, trawling conducted in conjunction with S-036 and S-041). Fishes were transported alive to Palmer Station where they have been maintained in the seawater aquaria (0-1.5 deg C). Following our arrival at Palmer on 29 March 91, laboratory set-up was accomplished during the remaining three days of the month. The long-range goal of our studies is to determine the structural and functional adaptations that permit the microtubule proteins (i.e., tubulins and microtubule-associated proteins, or MAPs) of Antarctic fishes to assemble and to function efficiently at their low body temperatures (-2 to +2 deg C). To support our experiments during the current field season, we are preparing tubulin and MAPs from the brain and gonadal tissues of the three fish species by methods that we developed during previous field seasons. Studies planned for this season include evaluation of the role of the acidic carboxy-terminal tails of the tubulins in microtubule polymerization and examination of the functional properties of Antarctic fish MAPs. The results of our work will contribute to an understanding of the biochemical mechanisms of cold adaptation in Antarctic marine poikilotherms. S-034 EARLY LIFE HISTORY OF ANTARCTIC FISHES. R.Radtke, University of Hawaii. A report is unavailable, as the entire field team is on board the R/V POLAR DUKE for a 7 day cruise (3-10 April 91). S-041 SOURCES, DISTRIBUTION AND FATE OF HYDROCARBONS IN THE VICINITY OF THE BAHIA PARAISO, ARTHUR HARBOR, ANTARCTICA. M.C. Kennicutt and S. J. MacDonald, J. Jobling, E. Haubold, T. Tripp and T. Wilkinson. Texas A&M Universtiy, College Station, Texas. The study and field objectives of this project are three-fold. First, this year's sampling will document the presence, if any, of Bahia Parasio spill-related contaminants in intertidal and subtidal sediments and organisms two years after the accident. One year after the spill, DFA was only detected sporadically in the vicinity of Arthur Harbor and appeared to be due to the occasional release of small quantities of fresh DFA from the wreck. This portion of the program included reoccupation of 33 intertidal sites for limpet collections, 28 grab-sample locations in the deeper portions of the bays for sediments, collections of sand at 15 beach sites, sampling of fresh water ponds, and diver sampling transects at Palmer Station and DeLaca Island for limpets and sediments. A second goal is to more fully document the input of contaminants from Palmer Station to the harbor. Previous samplings have documented a low level chronic input of primarily hydrocarbon- based contaminants (DFA, lube-oil, etc.). Intensified sampling of transects directly off Palmer Station will delineate the type, amounts, and areal extent of the Palmer Station input to the harbor. Soil samples from around the station proper will also be sampled to establish the Station "signature". Equivalent on- and offshore sampling will also be conducted at Old Palmer Station. The third objective is to follow-up and confirm last year's detection of hydrocarbon metabolites in Antarctic fishes. These studies will include additional sampling of fish bile immediately after capture to eliminate possible storage and transport artifacts, time series sampling of fishes maintained in tanks, and intra-muscular injections of fishes to DFA to determine the ability of these fishes to detoxify aromatic hydrocarbons. Progress to date has been good. Under objective one: 26 of 33 intertidal sites have been sampled, 25 of 28 grab samples were collected from the R/V POLAR DUKE, and three of seven diving transects have been occupied at Palmer Station. Objective two has been addressed by collecting twelve onshore samples at Palmer Station and completing 3 of the diver transects. Fishing efforts went well and the metabolite studies are under way. Immediate sampling of fresh fish was conducted at Lowe Island and Dallmann Bay providing samples of 3 species and 32 individuals for inter- site comparisions of fish bile. Routine fish sacrifices at the Station have been sampled twice to monitor storage effects. Two dose/response experiments were initiated on 2 April 91. Sixty-eight Notothenia gibberifrons were injected with either 0.1 or 0.5 ml of DFA. Five specimens from each experiment will be sacrificed at 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours after injection. Bile, liver, stomach, gonad and muscle is sampled from each fish. Bile will be analyzed to determine the concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) metabolites and liver, stomach, gonad and muscle tissues will be analyzed to determine the concentrations of PAH. These experiments will determine: 1) if PAH metabolism can be induced in Antarctic fishes in response to PAH exposure and 2) the relationship between PAH exposure and metabolite production. We anticipate conducting another set of exposure experiments in the next fish collection trip. We will also be collecting fish around Palmer Station to monitor the concentrations of PAH and PAH metabolites to ascertain if the fish in Arthur Harbor are exposed to hydrocarbon contamination. S-106 -- VLF TRIMPI STUDIES AT PALMER STATION. -- VLF REMOTE SENSING OF THUNDERSTORM AND RADIATION BELT COUPLING. U.S. Inan (P.I.) No personnel are on station. Equipment is being monitored and maintained by station science technician Ned Wilson. The usual weekly printouts of Trimpi data summary charts were faxed to Stanford University. In addition, daily Trimpi summary charts were faxed to Stanford from 22 March 91 through the end of the month at the request of the principal investigator, Dr. Umran Inan. This was done so that equipment performance could be more closely followed, as this is the prime time of the year for monitoring the phenomenon being studied, and due to concern over a previous VLF reception problem. The above mentioned problem was partially solved on 6 March 91, by swapping transmission lines for the N/S and E/W loop antennas. This restored gain on channels 1 - 6, 12 and 15 in the trimpi system. On 20 March 91, a bad connection was discovered in the transmission line that had been switched to the E/W loop antenna. The problem was corrected and full service was restored to the remaining three radio signal channels that had been compromised by the partial solution on 6 March 91. The anchoring of the vertical antenna was examined and found to be insecure. Appropriate adjustments were made. All transmission line support posts that were in need of being re-set were serviced. On 22 March 91, the continuous broadband VLF system was modified to record data received from the E/W loop antenna, rather than the goniometer. On 26 March 91, the antenna for the ICOM receiver channel 14 (830 khz, RIO Gallegos, Argentina) was re-strung after being taken down by high winds. The power ground of the VLF experiment, which consists of a line of cable secured to a copper pipe submerged in Hero Inlet, was inspected and repaired. Connection between the cable and pipe had been broken. All magnetic tape data collected through 8 March 1991 was shipped on the R/V POLAR DUKE on 12 March 91. S-275 UM/DOE ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING PROGRAM at Palmer Station. T. Snowdon, University of Miami; C. Sanderson/N. Chui, EML/DOE N.Y. No personnel are on station. The system is being run by ASA science technician Ned Wilson. The system continues to operate with a normal weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts, with one sample filter being exposed for the duration of the week. On 12 March 91, all fully exposed filters on station were shipped on the R/V POLAR DUKE to Dr. J. Prospero, University of Miami. The computer data disk for the month of February was sent to Mr. Colin Sanderson of Environmental Measurement Laboratories. A back-up archive of the computer data was made on station before shipping the original. T-312 TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Scripps Institute ARC. No personnel are on station. The system is being run by ASA science technician Ned Wilson. The satellite collection schedule continued with four daily passes: one (1) high elevation pass, one (1) pass to the east of Palmer over the Weddell Sea, one (1) pass to the west over the Bellingshausen and one (1) pass of arbitrary elevation and azimuth. The satellite image data was collected digitally on 8mm video tape. Both HRPT and DMSP satellite data were recorded. Five (5) full 8mm digital tapes of recorded satellite data (PAL092-PAL096) are now on station, pending shipment to Bob Whritner, SIOARC. Orbital elements were received and entered into the Terescan imaging and Telonics tracking systems. Tracking system time continues to be controlled with the Omega clock which maintains accuracy to within one second, calibrated with the GOES satellite clock. The DMSP satellite capture problem persisted, however careful monitoring of the DMSP receiver and Bit-Sync unit allowed capture of about one DMSP pass per day. The capture problem being examined by Bob Whritner, SIOARC, and Telonics Telemetry Electronics Consultants was tentatively solved. A station log of relevent parameters is being kept to support the investigation. A system hardware update is anticipated this August when Bob Whritner will be at Palmer Station. Images processed from data uploaded via the Vectra PC continue to look good. T-313 NSF UV MONITORING EXPERIMENT. C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments. No personnel are on station. The system is being run by ASA science technician Ned Wilson. The NSF UV Spectroradiometer was removed for servicing, following appropriate pre-removal calibration scans. In addition to a general inspection of the unit, a new monochromator was installed, the 45 watt calibration lamp was replaced, the photomultiplier tube was inspected and cleaned, and optical surfaces were inspected and cleaned where neccessary. O-ring seals were inspected and coated with silicone grease. The instrument was reinstalled in the UV/Clean-Air Shack roof enclosure and the appropriate parameters for calibration and UV data collection scans were adjusted. The UV monitoring experiment was resumed with a daily scan schedule composed of 19 data scans, 7 response calibration scans and two wavelength calibration scans. Efforts were made to further stabilize the operating environment of the UV Spectroradiometer. The inner door to the UV facility is now being kept open to observe whether the temperature controlled air mass of the building interior will limit temperature fluctuations in the adjacent entrance vestibule area, which is beneath the UV Spectroradiometer unit. New weather stripping was installed around the outside door entrance to the facility. A continuous temperature chart record of the vestibule area is being maintained. Further modifications are anticipated during the beginning of April. PLMnnn Action?