PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP MAY 1998 NEWS FROM THE LAB. Diane Wetterlin, Winter Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations The lab is still a busy place. This time things are coming together instead of apart. After a short hiatus to work on the kitchen, the carpenters are back in lab 6 putting on the finishing touches. I expect to be able to move in this week. This has freed up space in the Aquarium and eventually Lab 3 where the equipment is stored. Medical has also moved back into their facilities clearing even more area in Labs 2, 3 and 5. Lab 5 was empty long enough for me to clean it before the Computer Tech moved in. He is using the space to stage computers for diagnoses and maintenance. It was getting to look quite roomy and deserted on the ground level, so it is nice to have the company. >From my desk in the SSL office I can hear the sounds of approaching plumbers as they work their way down the hall toward Bio Lab Stores. They are roughing in a sprinkler system and will only need the top shelves of Bio Lab Stores cleared. They will cover the rest of the shelves with plastic and sheets. Third floor is still under construction so living conditions continue to be cramped. Everyone is trying not to focus on a completion date as not to get too anxious or disappointed. I have been working on my strategy for moving the Bio Lab Stores down to the Mechanical room for the upcoming remodel. Organization is my first priority. I separated the electrophoresis power supplies into those that will be stored in PA and the Warm Storage Milvan. Next I will pack up things that need to stay in the Lab Managers office and see what can be done with the spare parts section. I have also been doing inventory on the 701 Lab Van back by the manta deck. It is almost completed, I am waiting for some shelving to be put up in the tubing section, and then I can finish. Time for my favorite part, the critter report. Elephant and Fur seals are still around but it looks like the E-seal may have dwindled in number or just moved off elephant rocks. There have seen many more Crabeater seals on ice flows this month, I saw five on a flow the other day. I saw my first Cape Pigeon (AKA Cape Petrel, Pintado petrel) from land and so did anyone I encountered in the next 10 minutes. The Baby Giant Petrels have fledged but they can be seen flying by quite often. I spent a few days at sunset counting Antarctic Terns, first time out I counted 482 birds. About the same time the Terns return to the roost, just before sunset, the Giant Petrels are going home too. Their path homeward brings them over the glacier from the east, just above the Tern colony, across the front of the Marr Glacier and off toward Boneparte Point. It just doesn't get any better than this. The occasional lone penguin is still spotted now and then. Can't remember the last time I saw a Skua but plenty of Kelp Gulls still around. Many of us tonight spent about an hour just after dusk watching Snow Petrels flying around station. Since it was dark it was hard to keep track of their numbers but there had to be forty or fifty of them. Icebergs are still abundant out front of the station. Just today one of them thundered as it lost a section on the far side resulting in a forty-five degrees roll. Palmer Station started May with no snow on the ground, a week later we hit our high at 29 cm but another week later we were back down to zero. June was started with 15 cm of ground cover leftover from May. The average wind speed was down to 9 knots from 16 last month. The average temperature took a big dive this month to -2.7 C, 2.2 degrees colder than April. Twenty-nine centimeters of snow, falling over 17 of the 22 days we got precipitation, contributed to the total of melted precipitation of 50.7 mm for May. The station was blessed with four times as many clear days as any of the past three months had, for a grand total of 4 days in May, aren't statistics fun. To make up for so many clear days and get an average of 86% cloud cover for the month it was overcast 25 day and partly cloudy 2 days. The light from the rising sun doesn't creep over the glacier until about 9:00AM and by 2:30PM the sky is already turning colors from the setting sun which disappears in another hour. When I arrived in March the sun was setting between Janus and Torgerson islands. It is currently setting over the glacier at about the point Author Harbor starts. S-085 GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. Geological Survey The station science technician has monitored the system. During the month GPS data was collected continuously, converted daily to a RINEX format, compressed, and transmitted to the US Geological Survey in Reston, VA. S-091 GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) The station science technician has operated the system. Seismic events were recorded throughout the month. A new Global Positioning System (GPS) and a corresponding software upgrade were installed, and the system is operating normally. S-106 STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE. U. Inan, Stanford University The station science technician has monitored the system. The Stanford receiver records very low frequency (VLF) radio waves for studying ionospheric and magnetospheric natural phenomena. This month the antenna orientation was adjusted, and cable support posts were installed on the glacier leading up to the antenna. The 24-hour continuous recordings requested by Stanford for the months of April and May were concluded. S-204 MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography 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 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 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 The station science technician has operated the system. One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. The RAMP system is part of a global network seeking to characterize the quantity and distribution of radionuclide particles occurring both naturally and artificially in the atmosphere. T-312 TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Scripps Institution of Oceanography The station science technician has operated the system. Throughout the month of March, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP and NOAA satellite pass telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 17-19 passes per day. NOAA and DMSP telemetry was archived for S-032 when the LTER grid was clear. AWS transmissions were monitored from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock. These observations revealed that the AWS (project S-283) at Bonaparte Point failed early in the month, most likely due to a poor connection with the solar panel and failed batteries. Repairs are pending favorable weather and sea ice conditions suitable for travel to Bonaparte Point. T-513 UV MONITORING NETWORK. C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. The station science technician has operated the system. Throughout the month, raw irradiance data scans were collected daily and transmitted to BSI, and preliminary irradiances and spectral integrals were produced in support of Science. Scheduled absolute calibration scans were performed on 05 May and 22 May, with the latter being a double scan for intercomparison between calibration lamps. The bird deterrent device failed and was repaired. PALMER SYNOPTIC WEATHER OBSERVATIONS (No P.I.) The station science technician has been the chief observer. Synoptic weather observations were conducted at 6 hour intervals throughout the month. Training sessions with the other observers were conducted on several occasions to standardize the observational data, and the instruments were maintained and calibrated with the assistance of the communications department. It has been determined that most of the synoptic observations reported by the Palmer staff have not been reaching the intended destination, the World Meteorological Organization. Additionally, other groups who are interested in the weather observations have not been receiving them either, most notably the National Climactic Data Center. The actual extent of the missing data is difficult to judge due to conflicting information, but the most optimistic assessment puts the success rate at 28 percent or less for the past year. After the observations are transmitted, Palmer has no visibility into the use or distribution of the data; outside assistance is required to provide feedback into the process and correct problems. It appears that until this year no such assistance has occurred. Due to staffing constraints, the chief observer has proposed that the late-night observation be automated. All the necessary weather recording instrumentation is available, and the synoptic schedule could transition smoothly into this methodology -- with an increase in data accuracy and less disruption to station operations.