FEB93 Palmer SITREP - W.Fraser Posted: Tue, Mar 9, 1993 2:56 PM EST Msg: GGJD-5586-8959 From: PALMER.STA To: PALMER.SCIENCE Subj: PSDN-649 SCIENCE SITREP SEND PLM455.MAR MSG%"PALMER_SCIENCE",ASAHQ PSDN-649 SCIENCE SITREP R 091815Z MAR 93 FROM: Dr. William R. Fraser, 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 !TO MCM ASASAT, ASALABM, ASASUP, NSFMGR 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,MANAGER S-013 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. FIELD TEAM: Bill Fraser, Donna Patterson, Wayne Trivelpiece, Brent Houston, Elise Stephens, and Lucy Keith Calm weather conditions continued in February, allowing access to all study sites on a daily basis. Adelie chick banding related to long-term demographic studies was completed on 2/3; 1000 bands were applied to 5-6 week old chicks at four colonies on Humble Island. Adelie fledgling censuses, weights and measurements began on 2/5 after the sighting of the first fledglings on the beaches and continued until 2/25. Peak fledging occured on 2/13; 330 chicks were weighed and measured to determine growth and development. Adelie reproductive success studies were concluded on 2/5 with the onset of fledging and decreased attendance at nest sites by adults. Radio telemetry on Humble Island was completed on 2/13; scanning with portable recieving equipment is continuing to recover transmitters still deployed. Adelie diet sampling continued weekly until 2/19, after which the numbers of adults returning to feed chicks diminished and samples could not be obtained. A Chinstrap chick census on Dream Island was completed on 2/18 to determine reproductive success. South Polar Skua study sites on Shortcut island were sampled at three day intervals as part of continuing chick growth, diet and survivability studies. Diet samples were collected during each sampling period and are currently being analyzed for prey content. Brown Skua nesting activity on Christine, Litchfield, Humble, Dream and Cormorant Islands continue to be monitored for chick development and survivability. Skua chicks were banded as part of long term demographic studies. Nesting Blue-eyed Shags at two sites on Cormorant Island were sampled on a weekly basis basis to determine the rate of chick dispersal and adult reproductive success. A daily nest check of Giant Petrels on Humble Island (n=10) began on 2/1 to determine attendance patterns by adults in relation to Adelie fledging patterns and will continue throughout the month of March. A census of marine mammals on all islands in the two-mile boating limit was completed on 2/27 to examine long term population changes on vegetation and seabird nesting areas. Lab work has consisted of data entry, and skua diet sample analysis. Four members of the S-013 field team departed Palmer Station on 2/8 (W. Trivelpiece, B. Houston, E. Stevens, and L. Keith). B. Fraser (SSL) gave a slide show and lecture on the World Discoverer on 2/24. Six distinguished visitors were escorted into the field on 2/13 to familiarize them with S-013 long-term research in the Palmer area in relation to the ongoing LTER. 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: February field team members were Tim Newberger, Karen Haberman, and Vance Vredenburg. The four week LTER cruise finished on Feb. 8th, soon after sampling in the Palmer vicinity via zodiacs began again, including acoustic surveys, standard zooplankton tows, and targetted net tows. A collaborative study with s-013 on penguin diets was completed this month, and all samples have been preserved and packed for shipment back to the states. Samples from the LTER cruise were sorted for larval fish; otoliths from Pleuragramma antarcticum caught on the cruise were dissected out and compared to otoliths we have been collecting from skua guano on Bonaparte Point. Collection of the guano has continued on a weekly basis throughout the month, Electrona antarctica continues to be the predominant fish species found in the samples. The last part of the month has been spent packing for retrograde and an upcoming spring cruise. In the lab grazing experiments by Euphausia superba on Nitschia and Phaeocystis have been conducted, new monocultures have been established for further grazing work, and water samples have been collected and analyzed in collaboration with s-016. S-032 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Ray Smith, Optics Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. FIELD TEAM: Mike Hearne, Sharon Stammerjohn, Tim Newberger The research cruise on the Polar Duke was concluded on 12 February and unloading for the continuation of the Palmer area field work was completed. The local operations were up and running within the week and we completed two weeks of the routine zodiac operations (optics, ctd and chlorophyl) at the 10 local sampling stations. Preparations are underway for concluding the Palmer area work and for the fall cruise (March - May) aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer. S-200 REPRODUCTIVE EFFORT IN ADELIE PENGUINS FIELD TEAM: D. Janes and C. Peterson We continued our collections of urine, feces, salt gland secretion, and spilled regurgitated krill from Adelie penguin chicks of various sizes and ages on Torgersen Island. We also continued our weekly growth measurements of 20 marked, known age chicks. As chicks began to gather on the beaches of Torgersen Island, preparing to fledge, we began daily walks around the beaches of the island to count the number of chicks seen, and to catch, weigh, and measure any banded chicks. Of 100 chicks banded, we obtained fledging weights and measurements of 38 chicks. Almost all chicks had fledged by 22 February, and no banded chicks were seen after that date. We analyzed our regurgitated krill samples for water content and lipid content. We analyzed the urine samples for total solute concentration, and urea and ammonia concentrations. After analysis, samples were bottled in glass ampules and packed for shipment to UCR. All liquid samples were sent frozen, and dried samples were retained for shipment in March. C. Peterson departed Palmer Station on 9 February, leaving D. Janes as the sole field team member. Betty Carlisle, the station physician, assisted the field team every day by going to Torgersen Island and helping to catch, weigh and measure penguin chicks. We thank Dr. Carlisle for her outstanding and invaluable efforts. We also thank A.C Hitch, J. Pierce, R. Cotten, C. Speidel, S. Roll (S-016), and V. Vrendenberg (S-028) for assisting us with our field work this month. S-106 Stanford VLF. U. Inan, Stanford University. No personnel on station, system is operating normally. System is being operated by ASA science technicians Bill Hassel and Andy Archer. Daily data continues to be collected. Supporting antenna guy cables were tensioned and excessive slack was removed from antenna loops as necessitated by glacial melt. Because of increasingly frequent tape errors, the digital Pertec tape drive was swapped out with a replacement Pertec drive. S-254 CHLORINE- AND BROMINE-CONTAINING GASES IN THE ANTARCTIC. ---------- R.A.Rasmussen, P.I., Oregon state University. No S-254 personnel are on station; the project is being monitored and maintained by the station physician. Current canister inventory includes 117 empty, 26 full and 24 delivered to cargo for retro. 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. Current flask inventory includes 12 empty, 14 full and _14 delivered to cargo for retro. 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 technicians Bill Hassel and 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. On 2 FEB 93 system power was found to be off as a result of a tripped breaker caused by construction equipment. The system was down for approximately 24 hours until the outage was discovered. Normal system operation was promptly restored. T-312 Terascan satellite imaging system. R. Whritner, Scripps Institute. No personnel on station. System being run by ASA science technicians Bill Hassel and Andy Archer. The system had been unable to archive data as a result of failure of digital tape drives. Replacement drives exhibited similar problems, but operation of one of these was eventually restored. Satellite passes have been successfully and continuously archived since 16 FEB 93. System graphics suffered hardware failure on 27 FEB 93. This problem, which precludes image processing such as the generation of ice images for the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer, has not yet been remedied. While the primary function of the system, satellite pass archival, continues, the almost total lack of spare components and technical/service documentation unquestionably compromises continuing system performance. T-313 UV Monitoring Experiment. C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments. No personnel on station. System being run by ASA science technicians Bill Hassel and Andy Archer. Daily data packages are sent to Biospherical via E-Mail. An absolute calibration scan was performed 25 FEB 93. Normal system operation continues. The building addition at T-5 for the T-313 UV monitor is complete. W.FRASER/NESS 09153755.325 PLM455.MAR Action? r