NOV92 Palmer SITREP - B.Houston SEND PLM026.DEC MSG%"PALMER_SCIENCE",ASAHQ PSDN-832 SCIENCE SITREP R 020101Z DEC 92 FROM: Brent Houston, S-013, Science Leader 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 !TO ASA SHEPHERD !TO SPOLE NSFREP CC E-MAIL::ANTARCTIC.OPS, NSF.DPP.OCEANOPS, P.PENHALE, T.DELACA, R.HANSON, E.HOFMANN, R.BOOTH, O.HOLM.HANSEN, G.MITCHELL, M.VERNET, M.HUNTLEY, R.WHRITNER, D.KARL, W.FRASER, B.SIDELL, W.DETRICH, M.KENNICUTT, K.DUNTON, W.STOCKTON, L.QUETIN, R.ROSS, Sea.Space, W.TRIVELPIECE, R.SMITH.UCSB, GMCC.BOULDER(pass to B.Mendonca), F.AZAM, R.RADTKE, S.WEILER, SPOLE, DUKE, NATPALMER, ASAHQ, VLF@STAR.STANFORD.EDU, NSFMCM (includes all McMurdo addresses) KARENTZD@ALM.ADMIN.USFCA.EDU, CHAPPELL@UCRACC.SPAN, J.PROSPERO, TFOSTER@UCSCC.UCSC.EDU, DALLUGE@ATMOS.OGI.EDU, N.SWANBERG, ENELSON%MINES.BITNET@SDS.SPAN, R.BIDIGARE, SRCFNSF@CMV.DSIR.GOVT.NZ (includes all CHCH addresses. Responding: Please insert in message, all CAPS, with the ! in column 1: !TO PAL SCIENCE, LABMANAGER, ADMIN S-013 THE BAHIA PARAISO OIL SPILL: IMPACTS ON A SOUTHERN OCEAN SEABIRD COMMUNITY. William R. Fraser, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. William R. Fraser and Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Seabird Component, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. Personnel at Palmer Station this month: Brent R. Houston and Elise Stephens. Access to islands and study sites was fairly consistent this month, and all of our studies are proceeding as expected. High winds (30-40 knots) prohibited us from gathering field data for the period from the 13th to the 15th. Pack ice was restrictive on only three occasions, November 3rd, 11th and 12th. We continued to monitor arrival dates, territory establishment, and overall numbers of Adelie penguins until all birds had arrived for nest building and breeding. Reproductive study sites for Adelies were also established on Torgersen and Humble Islands, and banding of these birds was completed. Known- aged birds were also located (n=22), and their nests are being monitored daily on Humble Island. We continue to weigh 25 adult Adelie penguins at 3-6 day intervals to determine weight loss while fasting during the periods of pair bond formation, egg laying, and incubation. Peak egg laying occurred around the 19th, and complete nest counts of all colonies in the Palmer area were completed by the 27th. We also obtained adult weights of both males and females and measurements of their egg (at egg 1) for 50 sites on Torgersen Island. At egg 2, we obtained measurements for both eggs on an additional 50 sites. Torgersen colony 23 (oil spill study site) was mapped, and all birds are banded and being followed daily for nesting success. South polar and brown skua study sites are being visited periodically to determine arrival dates of birds, pair formation, territory establishment, and egg laying. To date, only 2 brown skua nests have eggs; south polar eggs are expected around December 16th, as adults continue to arrive. Diet samples from skuas are being collected on an opportunistic basis. Cormorants continue to be monitored weekly on two sites. All eggs have been laid, and the first chicks were observed on the 30th. Kelp gull reproductive studies began on the 27th as eggs began to appear at all of our five study sites. We mapped nest locations and obtained diet samples from these nests; marked, weighed and measured eggs as we found them, and will continue to monitor these sites weekly. Marine mammal observations (whale and seal sightings) continue to be taken daily. Lab work has consisted of compiling and entering data as it is collected. S-016 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Barbara Prezelin, Primary Productivity Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. FIELD TEAM: Mark Moline Keith Seydel Sandra Roll Intensive water column sampling of the LTER inshore stations A-E continued. Stations were sampled 5 times per week to determine the spatial and temporal variability of primary productivity, nutrient dynamics, phytoplankton biomass, and phytoplankton community dynamics. This sampling schedule was conducted in conjunction with S-032 in order to correlate the physical and optical characteristics of the water column with the biological parameters. Weekly productivity measurements were made to determine changes in the diel periodicity of productivity. ~200 samples were collected for HPLC determination of phytoplankton pigments. ~150 samples were collected for dissolved nutrient (NH4, Si(OH)4, NO3, and PO4) determination. ~6000 samples were run for determination of primary productivity. All samples that were collected in November have been processed, analyzed, and all data has been entered into computers. M. Moline and K. Seydel conducted two dives in the Arthur Harbor area collecting ice algae. S-028 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin, Prey Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. FIELD TEAM: Karen Haberman Tim Newberger Mark Talcovich Robert Duran Weekly acoustic surveys were conducted along the station A to E transect. Krill swarms have become more abundant through November. All data has been stored on tape for future analyses. The weekly skua guano sampling on Bonaparte Point was started in mid-November with the arrival of the south polar skuas. All samples collected to date have been sorted for fish otoliths, which have been very abundant. All otoliths have been identified to species and have been archived for future analyses. Targeted tows for krill commenced near the beginning of the month, using our trawling zodiac. Krill were also collected using dipnets when drifting pack ice came within our two-mile boating limit. Samples were preserved for size and stage distribution, and frozen for later condition factor and chemical composition analysis. Also, instantaneous growth rate, respiration, and laboratory grazing experiments were conducted. Also, several algal monocultures were established for future grazing experiments. S-032 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Raymond Smith, Optics Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. FIELD TEAM: Tim Newberger Mark Talcovich Robert Duran CTD and optical profiles at the five transect stations continued on a weekly basis and were conducted in conjunction with the S-016 component of the LTER. Additional midday CTD and optics casts were made at station B each week that S-016 was running their diel study. Surface water samples were collected and analyzed for chlorophyll at each station on each sampling date. Additional surface and at depth samples were obtained from S-016 two times per week for chlorophyll analysis. All CTD and optical data has been archived on disk and hard copies of the plotted data have been made. S-106 STANFORD VLF. U. Inan, Stanford University. No personnel on station. System is being monitored by ASA science technician Andy Archer. System is operating normally. Daily data continues to be collected. S-254 CHLORINE- AND BROMINE-CONTAINING GASES IN THE ANTARCTIC. R. A. Rasmessen, P. I., Oregon state University. No S-254 personnel are on station; the project is being monitored and maintained by the station physician. S-257 GEOPHYSICAL MONITORING FOR CLIMATE CONTROL (GMCC). J. T. Peterson and L. Waterman, P. I.'s, NOAA. No S-257 personnel are on station; the project is being monitored and maintained by the station physician. 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 on station. System being run by ASA science technician Andy Archer. System continues to operate with normal weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts, with one sample filter being exposed for the duration of the week. T-312 TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Scripps Institute. No personnel on station. System being run by ASA science technician Andy Archer. The system is nonfunctional due to a hardware failure in the 7959B unit. Station science technician is standing by for a replacement unit. T-313 UV Monitoring Experiment. C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments. No personnel on station. System being run by ASA science technician Andy Archer. Daily data packages are sent to Biospherical via E-Mail. The Palmer monthly weather summaries are now being sent to Biospherical on a regular basis. Station science technician is working on the organization and clean up of Clean Air and T5 buildings. Shelving was installed and the systematic inventory of T5 is continuing. BRENT R. HOUSTON/PEOPLES PLM026.DEC