PALMER STATION
SCIENCE SITREP

DECEMBER 1999

William R. Fraser, SSL

NEWS FROM THE LAB. Ken Doggett, Sr. Asst. Supervisor, Laboratory Operations

Field operations have increased substantially during December.  Brash ice 
was present for the first several days but cleared quickly.  Currently 
there are 17 grantees on Station and a total population of 40.

Palmer Station laboratories received two new analytical instruments this 
month: An HPLC and a scanning spectrofluorometer.  The new Hewlett Packard 
HP1100 HPLC was purchased as a replacement to the Water's system on 
Station.  The system cam complete with UV/Vis, fluorescence and diode array 
detectors.  A thermostatted autosampler and column compartments and an 
auto-solvent-degasser module were also purchased with the system.  The SPEX 
FluoroMax-2 is a scanning fluorometer selected as a replacement for the 
Perkin Elmer LS-50B.  Both instruments are a welcome addition to Palmer's 
growing analytical capabilities.

A new Zodiac sampling platform was completed and allows BP-016-O (Vernet) 
and BP-032-O (Smith) to combine their sampling operations.  Testing and 
sampling from the platform has been ongoing throughout the month.  The 
winch failed early in the month but was repaired and sampling during the 
later part of the month was very successful.  The new platform should make 
the sampling regime more efficient for both groups.

Daily average temperature is up to the single digits now at +1.1 C.  High 
for the month was +7.6 C and the low -3.4 C.  The snow stake continued to 
read zero throughout the month with an obvious decrease in snow coverage 
throughout Station locales.  There were 24 days of recorded precipitation 
during the month with 6.4 cm of melted accumulation and 9 cm of 
snow.  Average wind speed was 9 knots and the maximum gust was 50 knots on 
the 26th.

Palmer continues to see an increase in wildlife populations.  Wilson's 
Storm Petrels have returned and are often seen 'walking on water' in Arthur 
Harbor.  Penguins are now constant visitors on Station and Elephant seals 
have reoccupied the wallow on the harbor side of BioLab (much to our 
olfactory delight!).  Humpback and Minke whales have been spotted although 
most of the former's sightings have been from a distance.

The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station:

BP-013-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE 
ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (SEABIRD COMPONENT). William R. 
Fraser, Principal Investigator, Biology Department, Montana State University.

Personnel on station: William R. Fraser, Peter Duley, Michelle Rosenshield, 
Erik Chapman, Donna Patterson.

Access to our island study sites improved during December, allowing us to 
get back on schedule in collecting the LTER Seabird Component core data. In 
late November/early December we completed censuses needed to determine 
Adelie Penguin overwinter survival and breeding population status. Access 
to breeding pair sample groups established earlier in the season has also 
allowed us to continue our studies on the causes of variability in breeding 
chronology and reproductive success. During the last week of December we 
set up and tested the Humble Island data link, which permits remote, 
real-time access to data loggers used to record the presence of Adelie 
Penguins instrumented with radio transmitters. These data are used to 
determine the duration of foraging trips, which our studies now reveal are 
extremely sensitive indicatiors of krill availability in the foraging 
environment.

BP-016-0 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE 
ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (PHYTOPLANKTON COMPONENT). Maria 
Vernet, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Personnel on Station: Jill Glass and Karie Sines.

December sampling began on the Legend platform with a full profile water 
collection at both stations E and B on 02 Dec. Surface water from the 
vicinity of the station seawater intake was collected on 07 and 10 Dec 
after ice blew back into the harbor. While iced in, the final touches were 
put on the combined platform for BP-016-O and BP-032-O. On 14 Dec the new 
platform, affectionately known as "Bruiser", was used to sample at Station 
E. A full profile of water was taken for station B on the following day, 15 
Dec. Seawater intake was sampled again on 23 Dec due to problems with the 
electric wench. Full profile water collection was completed the next day, 
24 Dec, at stations E and B. Station E was sampled again on 30 Dec.Core 
LTER measurements are continuing to be taken on all water collected. This 
includes two types of primary productivity experiments (both long term 
simulated in situ and a short term multi- irradiance incubation), water 
collection for pigment analysis with HPLC, filtration for particulate 
Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen analysis, sample collection for nutrient 
analysis of Nitrate, Silicate and Phosphate, and several preservations for 
microscopy.

BP-016-O would like to thank ALL the people on station who have helped in 
the past months to get Bruiser on line and keep her there! Thank you so much.

BP-028-0 LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE 
ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED SYSTEM (PREY COMPONENT). Robin M. Ross and 
Langdon B.Quetin, Principal Investigators, Marine Science Institute, 
University of California at Santa Barbara.

Personnel on station: Tracy Shaw and Andrew Altieri.

Trawls at the beginning of the month netted few krill but quite a few 
larval fish (mostly N. gibberfrons). Krill from these trawls were all 
subadults and were used for chemical composition/condition factor analyses. 
Ice conditions and high winds prevented us from sampling between December 
4-13. We took advantage of this time to catch up on data entry and begin 
preparing for the LTER cruise. Acoustic sampling between December 14-21 
showed no krill schools in our transect areas. On December 22 there was a 
lot of brash ice in the area and we sampled to see if there were krill 
present when the ice was around. We found a big school of adult and 
subadult krill at the first place we looked and caught enough for 
experiments that kept us busy through the holiday weekend. Acoustic surveys 
for krill during the last week of December (after the brash ice was gone) 
showed a return to no krill schools in our transect areas.

Dan Martin, who arrived on station in October, left Palmer on the R/V 
LAURENCE M. GOULD on December 9. It was very helpful to have him overlap 
with his replacement, Andrew Altieri, who arrived at Palmer in late 
November. Giving Andrew the chance to learn our sampling routine while Dan 
was still here allowed for a smooth and efficient transition and avoided 
the delays associated with changing from an experienced field team member 
to a brand new one.

During the last week of December we began preparing in earnest for the LTER 
Cruise. We greatly appreciate the assistance from ASA staff at Palmer and 
on the LMG during this process.

BP-032-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE 
ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (OPTICS COMPONENT). Raymond C. 
Smith, Principal Investigator, ICESS, University of California at Santa 
Barbara.

Personnel on Station: Lauri Burke and John Milner.

In cooperation with BP-016-O, sea water samples have been collected twice 
weekly, weather permitting, from Station B, Station E, Bonaparte Point, and 
Gammage Point. Surface water as well as water from five different depths 
has been collected from Station B and Station E. Sea water samples were 
filtered for chlorophyll-a in a darkened laboratory. The filters were 
dissolved in 10 mL of 90% acetone and are stored in scintillation vials in 
the freezer. We currently have approximately 300 sample vials.

The completed zodiac platform has enabled us to cast the CTD from the 
electric winch on the davit. The PRR and CTD have been cast twice weekly, 
weather permitting, at Station E and Station B. The raw data files from 
these casts are converted and FTPd to the Institute for
Computational Earth System Sciences at the University of California, Santa 
Barbara on a weekly basis.

BO-200-O BACTERIOPLANKTON IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. II. PHOTOCHEMICAL AND 
TROPHIC INTERACTIONS AND SEASONAL PATTERNS OF UV RESPONSE. Wade H. Jeffrey, 
Principal Investigator, University of West Florida.

Personnel on Station: J. Dean Pakulski, Jarah Meador , Jason P. Kase, 
(12/1- 12/8), Jill Peloquin (12/1-12/8), Jennifer Fritz (12/1- 12/8), David 
Mitchell (12/8), Karen McCrery (12/22 - 12/31)

The Smithsonian component of our group (J. Fritz, J, Peloquin) successfully 
completed their work examining the spectral effects of UV radiation on 
phytoplankton and bacteria on 1 December. Most of our field team (J. Kase, 
J. Peloquin, J. Fritz, D. Mitchell), departed in
early December, leaving only two of our group (J D. Pakulski, J. Meador) to 
continue field work and laboratory experiments. During December our 
diminished field team completed four 28-hour experimental incubations 
-including one at summer solstice - designed to investigate the influence 
of sunlight on bacterial production over complete day-night cycles. We also 
completed 4 experiments measuring the diurnal effects of natural UV- B, 
UV-A and PAR on bacterial production, the expression of Rec A, and 
UV-induced DNA damage during exposure to full spectrum sunlight.

Although, at times, hampered in our ability to collect water offshore 
during early December, we were able to sample water from LTER Stations B 
and E on 2 and 4 occasions, respectively, during the month. Water samples 
obtained from these stations were exposed to different wavelengths and 
intensities of light in a solar simulator to measure photoinhibition of 
bacterial leucine, thymidine and uridine incorporation. The data collected 
using our "standard sun" will allow us to examine seasonal changes in the 
susceptibility of bacterioplankton to growth inhibition by UV-B, UV-A, and 
PAR. We also collected samples from the LTER stations for bacterial 
abundances and phylogenetics (to examine seasonal changes in 
bacterioplankton commnity structure), chlorophyll, and particulate DNA. CTD 
and light profiles were also measured on at Stations B and E on 12 
December. In addition our ongoing seasonal investigations of the response 
of marine bacteria to UV radiation, J Meador and D. Mitchell have also 
isolated bacteria from glacial ice and have visualized them using DAPI 
staining and epifluorescence microscopy. These bacteria have been cultured 
and will be used for nucleotide excision repair (NER) and photoenzymatic 
repair (PER) studies following irradiation using the solar simulator. NER 
and PER studies were also conducted on 4 strains of bacteria isolated from 
Arthur Harbor to determine if some strains are more efficient at DNA repair 
than others. Our preliminary results suggested that there is a substantial 
difference in repair capabilities among the different isolates. Using water 
collected by Karie Sines (BP-016-O), we were able to isolate and culture 
bacteria isolated from water collected from LTER Stations B and E at depths 
corresponding to 1%, 5%, 10%, 30%, 60% and 100% incident light. These 
experiments will examine the DNA repair capabilities of bacteria existing 
under a wide range of ambient light intensities. A plasmid dosimeter study 
was also performed during summer solstice. A plasmid dosimeter consists of 
2 different plasmids (circular double stranded DNA) in equimolar 
concentrations contained within a UV-transparent quartz cuvette. Plasmid 
dosimeters were exposed to direct sunlight at 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 meters in 
the water column and collected at intervals over a 24 hour period. The 
plasmids will be used to quantify specific types of DNA damage such as 
cyclobutane dimers, (6-4) photoproducts, and oxidative damage which are 
induced by intense doses of UVB.

The newest member of our group, Karen McCrery, joined us on 21 December. 
Karen will investigate the influence of UV radiation of marine bacteria 
using a differential display technique. She conducted several diel 
experiments during the last week of December. Her work will enable us to 
quantify bacterial mRNA fragments transcribed in response to ambient UV 
radiation.

Without the support of Palmer Station ASA personnel, this work would not 
have been possible. In particular we would like to thank Ken Doggett and 
Howard Tobin for lab support, Andy Sutton and Lora Folger for ensuring that 
our equipment and computers were Y2K compatible, and Ross Hein for 
maintaining our zodiac and assistance in sample collections. We would also 
like to acknowledge the help of the ASA personnel and crew of the R/V 
LAURENCE M. GOULD in collecting water for us at LTER station E during 
periods where zodiac operations were not possible due to weather or ice 
conditions.

BO-279-O SURFACE UV IRRADIANCE AND PAR VARIABILITY OVER ANTARCTICA. Paul 
Ricchiazzi, UCSB, Principal Investigator, Catherine Gautier, UCSB, 
Co-Principal Investigator, Dan Lubin, SIO, Co-Principal Investigator.

Personnel on station: Dan Lubin.

During December 1999, the turnover between the first field party 
(Ricchiazzi/Payton) and its relief (Lubin) went smoothly. Before departing, 
Paul Ricchiazzi and Allison Payton accomplished one final balloon flight 
for surface albedo mapping, which was sufficient to characterize the 
regional surface albedo for most of December. Between 09 and 22 December, 
regular noontime all-sky and sea ice digital photography was carried out 
with the kind assistance of John Milner (LTER). As of 22 December, Dan 
Lubin has taken over all of the project's data collection duties. During 
late December, weather and local ice conditions finally permitted a regular 
data collection strategy from GUV radiometers deployed on Janus and Outcast 
Islands. This experiment was modified from that originally planned. Early 
in December it was found that the Zodiacs give too choppy a ride through 
the water for acceptable radiometry along transects (even with the 
radiometers in gimbals), and we switched to a strategy of static 
deployments on the two islands, to be periodically serviced by battery 
replacement. With a total of three static deployments (Palmer, Janus, 
Outcast), we encompass exactly the required geographical range for maximal 
UV/PAR variability, as expected from our published radiative transfer 
calculations. The logistical challenge with this experiment remains battery 
endurance in the cold environment. The station has lent our project 6 deep- 
cycle wet cells of approximately 100 ampere-hour capacity, until our own 
extra batteries arrive on January 7. Presently we must make boat trips out 
to the islands every third day, and then every second day, to keep the 
radiometers running for most of the time. The long daylight hours help to 
offset the battery endurance issue: the radiometers provide useful data 
nearly all the time that they are running, because the radiative effects we 
are attempting to measure are expected to be independent of sun elevation. 
The TeraScan data collection protocol has been updated after consulation 
with the station Science Technician (Dan Lubin is the Principal 
Investigator for the SIO Arctic and Antarctic Research Center, the 
satellite data processing facility to which the Palmer
TeraScan data are eventually sent for archival and distribution). NOAA-14 
overpasses are now to be preferred over NOAA-12 (when two orbits conflict), 
because the former benefit from monthly radiometric calibration information 
distributed by NOAA/NESDIS. For DMSP data,
F-13 is preferred over F-14 (again for resolving orbit conflicts), because 
the former has all of its sensors working. For the benefit of S-279, at 
least one and possibly 2-3 daylight NOAA-15 passes are also collected. At 
least 2 SeaWIFS overpasses are collected per day near
mid-day, for direct distribution to NASA (NASA has the ultimate 
responsibility for archiving and distributing SeaWIFS data). Overall, 
TeraScan data collection strategy remains to prefer overpasses that 
encompass Anvers I. and the Peninsula (for the benefit of LTER), with an 
occasional overpass (typically 1-2 per day) that is orthogonal to the 
Peninsula and misses Anvers I. but which has greater coverage over the 
Pole, the Bellingshausen, or Weddell Seas. This way the Palmer TeraScan 
system provides a combination of good support for ongoing science programs, 
and also maximizes geographical coverage for long-term archival purposes. 
The GUV, GIR, and MFRSR radiometer systems at T-5 have remained operational 
with only minimal interruption during the Y2K transition (their older 
datalogging computers had to be manually reset). All-sky digital 
photography continues at mid-day, with additional photographs taken at the 
times of some satellite overpasses.

WO-004-O ANTARCTICA 2000, ARTISTS AND WRITERS PROGRAM.

Personnel on station: Doug Quinn and Steve Dunbar.

Since Steve Dunbar and I arrived at Palmer Station, we have been busy 
making sound recordings and broadcasting a series of radio programs from 
our "production studio" in the Bio Lab. The Antarctica 2000 website was 
launched in the first week of December (from aboard the Gould) and has 
received more than 130,000 hits. The URL is: www.antarctica200.net. The 
site includes daily journal entries, science reports, MP3 audio clips and a 
photo gallery. We have been successful in making high quality, digital 
audio recordings of a wide variety of fauna and other sounds including, 
elephant seals, leopard seals, Adelie penguins, skuas, blue-eyed shags, 
Antarctic terns, wind, glacier and iceberg calving, etc. The following list 
is a summary of the radio broadcasts to date, and a few planned for the 
coming week. December 18, 1999. The NICC (New International Cultural 
Center), Antwerp, Belgium. Live telephone interview from Palmer Station for 
the exhibition, "LES OCCASIONS DU TRAVAIL", Legend, Myth, Magic, 
Evidences/Anachronismes, Tafels en Stoelen, Occasions and Conditions in the 
Image and Work of the Artist (December 2, 1999-February 19, 2000). December 
31, 1999 (Time: Between 11:30am and 12:00pm). VRT - Vlaamse Radio- en 
Televisieomroep (Flemish Radio and Television), Radio-3: Het Pak van 
Sjaalman, with host Bart Stouten. A live report from Palmer Station. 
December 31, 1999 (Time: Between 6-7pm EST). National Public Radio, USA: 
All Things Considered. A report from Palmer Station. January 1, 2000 (Time: 
11:00pm). Akustische Kunst, "The Millennium...Live from Antarctica!" A live 
soundscape/sound art broadcast from Palmer Station. January 2, 2000 (Time: 
2:05pm). Radio New Zealand. A soundscape report from Palmer Station. 
January 7, 2000 (Time: TBA). The City Radio, Wake Up and Smell the Moon, 
with host Ed and CG. A live telephone/Internet interview from Palmer 
Station. In addition, the Antarctica 2000 project was featured in a series 
of daily television news broadcasts in Santa Barbara on KEYT called, "Great 
News!", during the week before Christmas and a front page feature article 
was written for the Santa Rosa NY Times affiliate, The Press- Democrat on 
December 29, 1999. Other press included a feature for a Cologne, West 
Germany newspaper, in their Arts section. The plan for the rest of January 
is to continue making sound recordings in the Palmer Station area.

GO-052-O GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. 
Geological Survey.

The station science technician has monitored the system.

During the month, GPS transmissions were collected continuously, converted 
daily to a RInEx format, compressed, and transmitted to the US Geological 
Survey in Reston, VA.

The Z-12 rover was used to survey the glacier terminus, the north side of 
which is now clearly defined. The south side is still snow covered, but an 
estimate of its position was made and will be confirmed when it becomes 
clear. An elevation profile of the lower section of the glacier (along the 
VLF cable run) was also performed to compare with the profile taken a month 
ago.

To be ready for Y2K, GBSS v3.0 was installed on the base station computer, 
replacing GPS-Base as the data-logging software. At the same time, an 
updated position and antenna height were incorporated into the RInEx O-file 
header.

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

The station science technician has operated the system.

Global seismic events were recorded throughout the month. All operations 
were normal.

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

The station science technician has operated the system.

The Stanford receiver records very low frequency (VLF) radio waves for 
studying ionospheric and magnetospheric natural phenomena.

Early in the month the GOES clock lost satellite lock and could not be 
coaxed to reacquire it. As a result, the HAARP narrowband system was unable 
to continue acquiring data. The GPS clock was opened and a jumper inside it 
was set to select the output of a 50% duty cycle 1 Hz signal for use in 
keeping the programmer clock synchronized, replacing the 1 Hz signal from 
the GOES clock.

The make and model of the video card in the broadband PC were ascertained, 
and an appropriate driver was located on the web, downloaded, and installed.

At the request of the grantees, the HAIL system was switched from the N/S 
loop to the E/W loop. Minor adjustments were made to two of the HAIL scale 
factors following this switch.

OO-204-O 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.

OO-254-O 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.

OO-264-O 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. This data will be used to determine how the 
rate of change of these parameters affects climate, particularly by 
including them in climate model studies.

OO-275-O 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.

Following a scheduled change from calibration to sample counting, the "time 
to next transmission" jumped from the normal 0-180 seconds to over 8000 
seconds. Aborting and restarting the count did not improve the situation, 
but after the long wait the normal interval returned.

OO-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns, University 
of Wisconsin.

The station science technician has monitored the local sites.

Automated Weather Station (AWS) transmissions were monitored from Bonaparte 
Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock using the TeraScan system. A visual 
inspection of the Bonaparte Point station revealed that the aerovane prop 
was missing. A new prop was installed, and then a new nose cone, but 
neither repair restored the broadcast of wind speed measurements from the 
station.

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

The station science technician has operated the system.

Throughout the month, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and 
processed DMSP and NOAA satellite pass telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 
19-23 passes per day. Two to three encrypted SeaWiFs passes were also 
collected and archived each day. NOAA, DMSP, and encrypted SeaWiFS 
telemetry were archived for BP-032-O when the LTER grid was clear of 
clouds. 85 GHz SSM/I ice concentration images were sent to BP-032-O on a 
weekly basis.

Specific passes that coincided with experiments were saved to tape for 
BO-279-O. A large scale "weather" image and an ice image were produced and 
emailed to the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD.

After much repetition and a little bit of binary file editing, a proper 
swcrpt "look-up table" was constructed, and a representative sampling of 
previously archived encrypted SeaWiFS passes was successfully decrypted.

Discussions were held with the PI of the AARC tape archive, who is 
currently on station as a field team member for another project, regarding 
pass scheduling strategy.

Discussions were also held with a member of BP-013-O regarding the use of 
the TeraScan to provide real-time position fixes of Argos/DCS transmitters 
that will be used to track giant petrels. The identification numbers of 
these transmitters were added to the relevant databases and processing 
routines.

A Y2K patch cluster was applied to the Solaris operating system.

TO-513-O 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. Absolute calibration scans were performed 
as scheduled.

The WWW avian deterrent unit failed this month and was replaced by a spare, 
and the Syquest data disk filled and was replaced with a blank disk.