PALMER STATION
                          SCIENCE SITREP OCTOBER 1996

NEWS FROM THE LAB (Marian Moyher, Supervisor, Laboratory Operations):

While everyone received at least one copy of last month's science report,
many received twenty copies. In the past, we have used a mail alias
maintained on the ATSVAX in Miami, and last month the Palmer/Miami
connection was caught in a repeating loop. Hoping to solve the problem, we
moved the alias from the ATSVAX to Palmer Station. Unfortunately during a
test, the original results were reproduced. While reproducible results are
usually desirable, all that was done in this case was to clog everyone's
email system yet again. Until this problem is straightened out, we will be
sending the science monthly to everyone individually! This is obviously a
time-intensive process, and we will be doing everything we can to fix the
system.

Turning to other news, in July's report, ASA announced plans to certify
frozen cargo (unaccompanied) shipments from Punta Arenas (PA) to grantee
home institutions. Due to the importance of maintaining the integrity of
grantee samples, I'd like to review the procedures here. Test shipments
containing miniature temperature loggers were made in September. The
results were very encouraging, and suggested several improvements. Grantees
should request our largest freeze safes (14X23X24 or 17X17X13" ID ) for
northbound frozen cargo shipments and only plan to fill them half full of
samples to leave enough room for dry and blue ice. Samples not shipped
immediately will be stored in PA's -70 freezer. Copies of all importation
permits required should be left with the MPC on board the ship. A minimum
of 50 pounds of dry ice and 10 to 20 pounds of blue ice will be packed by
our South American agents in PA, and resupplied as needed in Santiago and
Los Angeles. After the samples arrive in Los Angeles and clea r customs,
grantees will be contacted by Port Hueneme personnel to ensure someone will
be present to receive the samples at the home institution. In the future,
miniature temperature loggers will monitor the samples in route, and the
data made available to grantees. Due to tighter adherence by passenger
airlines to dry ice limits, we feel that cargo shipments are the grantees'
best option for sending samples home.

On station, weather and sea-ice conditions continue to be problematical,
with only 15 days of boating allowed since 02 September.


S-007 UV-PHOTOBIOLOGY OF PLANKTONIC DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF ANTARCTIC
BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES
Deneb Karentz, University of San Francisco and Isidro Bosch, State
University of New York, Geneseo.

PERSONNEL ON STATION: Isidro Bosch, Deneb Karentz, Ross Hein, Andy Opett
and Greg Wardle

Studies on the UV-photobiology of early developmental stages of benthic
invertebrates continued with gametes and embryos of Psilaster charcoti
(seastar), Perknaster aurorae (seastar) and Sterechinus neumayeri (sea
urchin). Dose response experiments were conducted with both artificial and
ambient light. Ambient exposures were obtained by suspension of cultures at
fixed depths within the water column on a buoyed array for periods of three
to eight days. Cultures have also been maintained outdoors in various
running seawater tanks with a variety of filters and neutral density
screens. Experimental cultures are being monitored for survivorship and
rate of development by enumerating percentage of embryos at a specific
stage (e.g., hatched blastulas, gastrulas, etc.). In addition to gross
morphology, samples have been collected for quantification of
ultrastructural damage, DNA photoproducts, chromosomal aberrations during
mitosis, the expression of two echinoderm nervous system marker genes (S1
and S2), protein damage and mycosporine-like amino acid concentrations. The
spawning period for the two seastars has come to an end; however, we are
maintaining cultures of later developmental stages for continuing
experiments. This work will allow for an assessment of possible
differential sensitivity during the developmental process. We expect
Sterechinus gametes to be available for the next few weeks and that
spawning in the limpet Nacella concinna will begin within the next week.

Hydrographic data were collected as weather permitted. These included CTD
casts; vertical profiling of UV and PAR; collection of whole water samples
for the quantification of chlorophyll, DNA, phytoplankton cell densities
and stable carbon isotopes; and pumping of water for concentration of
zooplankton samples to enumerate and identify invertebrate larval forms.
Phytoplankton and zooplankton tows have also been made to characterize the
plankton community over time and depth.

Additional work has been continuing on the MAA content of various tissues
of Nacella concinna. Weekly collections of adults are being analyzed for
the presence of specific MAAs. This monitoring program will help to
determine if previously observed seasonal variations in MAA content are an
annual occurrence and if the observed changes are related to the spawning
cycle.


S-013 CHANGES IN ADELIE PENGUIN POPULATIONS AT PALMER STATION:EFFECTS OF
LONG TERM HUMAN DISTURBANCE AND ENVIRONMETAL CHANGE
William R. Fraser, Montana State University

PERSONEL ON STATION: John C. Carlson

I arrived on Station on September 29. Field work commenced the following
day. Field work for the rest of the month was limited to nine days due to
pack ice in the area and/or high winds. All fieldwork was conducted in
cooperation with S-035 personel. We were able to conduct Adelie arrival
counts on all selected colonies in the area. The first Adelies were
recorded on Oct. 4 and numbers on the colonies have increased steadily
since. We also documented snow deposition patterns on three islands in the
area through low level aerial photographs. Snow depths surrounding selected
colonies were also recorded.

Due to weather related limitations on field time, lab work was extensive.
Skua fecal analysis and limpet size distribution in kelp gull diets were
the main focus, with analysis of weather records for Palmer also conducted.



S-016 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE
ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. PHYTOPLANKTON COMPONENT
Maria Vernet, Marine Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

No personnel were on station.

Station personnel collected and filtered weekly water samples for later
analysis of chlorophyll content.


S-019 REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY OF FREE-LIVING ADELIE PENGUINS ON
TORGERSEN ISLAND, ANTARCTICA
Carol Vleck and Theresa Bucher, Iowa State University

PERSONNEL ON STATION: Theresa Bucher, David Vleck, Asrun Krismundsdottir,
and Lori Ross

The four members of our team arrived at Palmer Station on Sept. 29, 1996.
We proceeded to set up our lab and assemble our field gear, and ASA
personnel put up our tent on Torgersen Island on Oct. 5, 1996 when wind and
ice conditions permitted access to the island.

By Oct 16, 1996 colonies of Adelie Penguins were beginning to form on
Torgersen. We did a census of the colonies in which we work and began our
blood sampling. To complete studies we began last year, we did serial
sampling in some birds to measure the hormonal response to handling stress
in new arrivals, and we continued deuterium studies combined with blood
sampling to assess body condition in other arrivals. Also, we began
sampling from faithful mated pairs (those birds with the same mate as they
had last year) and from unfaithful pairs (those with different mates). In
total we banded 12 "new" birds and collected a total of 21 blood samples
from returning banded and new banded birds. By the end of the month we
noted the presence of 216 returned banded birds. The total number of blood
samples we collected was severely constrained by weather conditions (high
winds and/or pack ice) which limited our access to Torgersen Island to six
days (Oct. 16-18, 22, 30 and 31).


S-035 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE
ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (SEABIRD COMPONENT)
William R. Fraser, Montana State University

PERSONNEL ON STATION: Eric Holm, Peter Duley

We arrived on station on September 29 and made the first trip to the
surrounding islands on September 30. The first Adelie arrivals were
recorded on October 4 on Torgersen Island. Due to heavy ice or high winds
in the Palmer vicinity we were only able to access the islands nine times
during the month. Throughout these visits we were able to get good arrival
counts for Adelie penguins as well as record six elephant seal pups born in
the area, two on Humble Island and four on Elephant rocks.

The first south polar skua was spotted October 29 in Hero Inlet and more
are arriving as the week progesses. The first two brown skuas were sighted
on October 31 on Torgersen Island.

The lab work this month has been extensive due to the heavy ice and poor
weather conditions with intertidal limpet size distribution analysis and
diet analysis of skua scat being the main focus.


S-024 ANTARCTIC MARINE ARCHAEBACTERIA; BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND ECOLOGICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
Edward DeLong, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara

PERSONNEL ON STATION: Alison Murray, Christina Preston
PERSONNEL ON RV POLAR DUKE: Ramon Massana, Trent Taylor

Palmer station activities during the month of October were a continuation
of those performed in August and September, including field sampling,
monitoring archaeal abundance by in situ hybridization, assaying
physiological activity, and experimentation with picoplankton microcosms.
We sampled when weather and ice conditions allowed, totalling seven days
throughout the month. During these sampling excursions we visited as many
stations (out of 5 total) as was possible. Also as a continuation of the
sampling program initiated in August, we collected samples from the Palmer
Station pumphouse on 5 day intervals throughout the month. For all samples
collected we determined bacterial abundance by DAPI staining and
epifluorescence microscopy, measured chlorophyll concentration, and
collected samples for nutrient analyses. In situ hybridizations were
performed with samples from sites A, LBC and samples from the pumphouse.

Picoplankton microcosm experiments were designed to assess conditions that
might be favorable to the archaeal component of the picoplanktonic
community. Many different enrichments and treatments were tested, including
inorganic and organic substrates, algal lysates (both natural and cultured)
and combinations of these enrichments with antibiotics. Experiments were
conducted typically in the dark, though a couple treatments were conducted
in light, and in outdoor incubators to assess the UV affects on deep
prokaryotes collected from 30m water. Growth in these exeriments was
monitored by cell counts (DAPI staining, and epifluorescence microscopy).
Biomass was subsampled at regular intervals for analysis by RNA
hybridization to assess archaeal abundance, and by phylotype profile
analysis by PCR/DGGE to study the dynamics of diversity and evolution of
the picoplankton community over time in the experiments.

Two members of the S-024 field team boarded the Polar Duke on 27 September
to join S-200. Sampling began immediately at the Palmer Basin stations
visited at the beginning of September. The deepest of these stations
(1200m) was sampled also at the end of the month, giving us 3 profiles to
1200m sampled at 4 week intervals. The majority of sampling by S-024 on the
cruise was at the site in the North of the Gerlache occupied by S-200 in
1995, and again on this cruise. Sampling on 4 day intervals, a total of 7
casts to a depth of 500m were collected over the cruise duration. Seawater
fractionation experiments were also conducted three times, to distinguish
between diversity and abundance in different picoplanktonic size classes.

Prokaryotic activity (both archaeal and bacterial) experiments were
conducted on picoplanktonic biomass concentrated with a Amicon hollow fiber
filtration system. Seawater for these experiments was collected by multiple
hydrocasts with Go Flo bottles on the CTD rosette at depths of 5, 75, 150
and 250 meters over the course of the month. The concentrated biomass (250
- 350 times natural) was incubated with radiolabeled precursors of protein
and lipid biosynthesis and antibiotics specifically inhibiting these
pathways.

The field season for S-024 has been very successful, both at Palmer Station
and on the Polar Duke. We sincerely acknowledge the help of both ASA and
Rieber personal for aid in keeping all instruments and equipment integral
to our studies in operable condition.


S-091 GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION
R. Butler, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)

No personnel were on station.

The system has been monitored by the station science technician. Following
a period of unusual stability in the vertical mass position, the vault was
entered on 02 October to verify the presence of vacuum in the three bell
jars. A solid vacuum was present in all three jars, which was gratifying in
light of the fact that they were installed and evacuated nearly three
months before. The Z and N masses were recentered during the vault visit.
On 05 October, the system failed to record 4-6 hours of data due to a
communications problem between the DA and DP. This was a recurrence of a
problem seen on 15 June. The cause of this glitch has not been identified.


S-106 STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE
U. Inan, Stanford University.

No personnel were on station.

The system has been monitored by the station science technician. On 14
October, four adjustments were made to the IF gains on the narrowband
receiving system. After two days of recording with the new settings,
summary charts were scanned and emailed to Stanford to allow the grantees
to observe the results of the changes. Several adjustments were made to the
sideband offset on one narrowband channel on 25 October, and charts
displaying the resulting changes were also scanned and emailed to Stanford.
The narrowband recording session on 30 October was abnormally short, and
static discharge, possibly due to high winds, was again the suspected
culprit.


S-204 MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE
Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

No personnel were on station.

Air samples are collected on a semi-weekly basis by the station physician.
The samples are return shipped to Scripps for analysis of O2 and CO2
content. The goal of the program is to resolve seasonal and interannual
variations in atmospheric O2 (detected through changes in O2/N2 ratio)
which can aid in the determination of rates of marine biological
productivity and ocean mixing and aid in the separation of the global sink
for anthropogenic CO2 into terrestrial and oceanic components. The program
involves air sampling at a network of sites in the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres. Palmer Station is especially well situated to resolve signals
due to carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean.


S-254 CHLORINE-AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN ANTARCTICA
R.A. Rasmussen, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and Technology

No personnel were on station.

Air samples are taken on a weekly basis by the station physician. The
samples are returned to the Institute for analysis of a number of trace
components, especially chlorine- and bromine-containing gases. These
elements have been implicated in the chemical processes that contribute to
the austral-spring depletion of the ozone layer over Antarctica. This work
will contribute to a better understanding of the buildup of trace
constituents, particularly those of high-latitude marine origin.


S-257C COLLECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR FOR THE NOAA\CMDL WORLDWIDE FLASK
SAMPLING NETWORK
James T. Peterson, Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration

No personnel were on station.

Air samples are taken on a weekly basis by the station physician. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Monitoring
and Diagnostics Laboratory team continue long-term measurements of trace
atmospheric constituents that influence climate. The Palmer Station air
samples are returned to the NOAA laboratory for analysis of trace
constituents, including carbon dioxide. These measurements are part of
NOAA's effort to determine and assess the long-term buildup of global
pollutants in the atmosphere. These data will be used to determine how the
rate of change of these parameters affects climate, particularly by
including them in climate model studies.


S-275 UM/DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM
J. Prospero and T. Snowdon, University of Miami; C. Sanderson, Department
of Energy-Environmental Measurements Laboratory

No personnel were on station.

The system has been operated by the station science technician. One sample
filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of
calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. The clock on the
RAMP computer was advanced by one hour on 11 October in anticipation of
Palmer Station's shift to daylight savings time over the following weekend.
The air intake was examined for moisture on 25 October: none was found.


T-312 TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM.
R. Whritner, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

 No personnel were on station.

 The system has been operated by the station science technician. Throughout
the month of October, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and
processed DMSP and NOAA telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 15-17 passes
per day. NOAA telemetry was archived for S-032 when the LTER grid was
clear. One processed DMSP image of the Palmer Archipelago region was
transmitted to the R/V POLAR DUKE in support of vessel operations. TOVS
total ozone information was extracted from NOAA-12 passes and archived for
S-200 throughout the month.

 Early in the month, SeaSpace, Inc. accessed the Palmer Station TeraScan
computer to install modified files intended to alleviate an ongoing
azimuthal tracking problem. Following the installation of these files, the
system was no longer able to frame data from NOAA satellites, though
capture of DMSP telemetry was unaffected. NOAA capture was unavailable for
three days, during which time the science technician and SeaSpace personnel
worked diligently to isolate and resolve the problem. SeaSpace personnel
then decided to reload the framing code, and after the relevant files were
appropriately distributed, NOAA data acquisition was restored and the
original tracking problem was eliminated.


T-513 UV MONITORING NETWORK.
C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments, Inc.

No personnel were on station.

 The system has been operated by the station science technician. Throughout
the month, raw irradiance data were collected daily and transmitted to BSI,
and preliminary irradiances and integrals were produced in support of
Science. A meeting was held with a grantee from S-024 to discuss her needs
for preliminary UV data during her operation of a UV related experiment. As
a result of this meeting, the science technician provided the grantee with
data summaries covering the period of the experiment. Absolute scans were
performed on 07 and 23 September. HV levels and the scan schedule were
monitored throughout the month and adjusted as necessary to compensate for
rapidly changing daylight conditions. A new GPS module was received and
installed on 04 October. It replaced the one that failed in June, and its
presence obviates the need to keep the system computer clock updated
manually. A replacement WWW deterrent unit was installed on 15 October.