PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP MAY 1997 prepared by Kevin Bliss, Science Technician NEWS FROM THE LAB Marc Pomeroy, Winter Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations This month brought the final cruise of the RV POLAR DUKE to Palmer Station. This was a very busy portcall as final cargo was loaded and preparations for S-200 (Jeffery) cruise were carried out. Departing science groups were S-030 (Davison), S-036 (Sidell), and S-037 (Detrich). Station closing brought about a dramatic change of pace in Laboratory services as a comprehensive inventory of general consumables, chemicals, and equipment spare parts begins. This winter will be dedicated to providing the facilities, instruments, equipment, stores and inventories with much-needed attention. Water sampling for S-024 (DeLong) and S-032 (Smith) continue over winter with samples frozen until the return of these science groups in the spring. Organisms are being kept alive in the inside aquaria for S-007 (Karentz/Bosh) due to the late arrival of research vessels on station this spring. S-085 GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. The system has been monitored by the station science technician. For the month of May, GPS data was collected nearly continuously. Daily data was converted to a Rinex format, compressed, and FTPed to Reston, VA. The average daily data transfer to Reston was 2.2 MB. A slight interruption in data collection occurred on 22 May when the GPS_Base program stopped tracking and required operator intervention to restore data acquisition. 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. Operations continued without interruption throughout the month. 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 01 May, the locations of the VLF antenna loops were precisely measured using the S-085 DGPS system. The GPS data set was then forwarded on to Stanford. On 13 May, the charts failed to print automatically and a reboot of the system computer was required to get the charts printing properly. 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. 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. Operations continued without interruption throughout the month. 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 May, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP and NOAA telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 15-17 passes per day. NOAA and DMSP telemetry were archived for S-032 when the LTER grid was clear. AWS transmissions were monitored from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock. Several high resolution DMSP infrared images of the Lallemand Fjord were produced and provided to Marine Operations in Denver. On 05 May, the Antenna Control Unit (ACU) inexplicably set a ship heading of 9.5 degrees. The ACU was reset and the heading was set back to zero, but several passes were lost before the problem was corrected. 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. Scheduled absolute calibration scans were performed on 07 May and 21 May using lamps 200W007 and M-700 respectively. 0n 20 May, the variable path on the SUV-100 computer was modified to enable the automatic archiving and compressing of the daily UV data sets. --End of Report--