PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP FEBRUARY 2000 William R. Fraser, SSL NEWS FROM THE LAB Rob Edwards, Supervisor, Laboratory Operations The month of February saw the resumption of the nearshore sampling program of the optics, phytoplankton, and krill components of the Palmer LTER, after their return to Station from the summer research cruise at the end of January. For most of the month there were nine researchers on Station, all from the four LTER projects. Additionally, members of the Raytheon transition team and an NSF Representative were on Station for much of the month. The USAP prime contractor transition from Antarctic Support Associates to Raytheon Polar Services moved into high gear throughout the Program. Here at Palmer we had a short visit by members of the transition team. Although many questions remain about the details, personnel in the field have been assured that the basic mode of operation will continue, and we expect all existing science projects to be fully supported during and after the transition. The visitor program at Palmer Station concluded for the season, with the last of the scheduled cruise ship visits occurring towards the end of the month. All in all there were 13 cruise ship visits, and over 1000 visitors were given tours of station. Additionally, personnel from a number of yachts, and naval vessels from Chile and Argentina were received on station. Feedback from both tourists and researchers was very positive; tourists were able to gain a valuable perspective on USAP research and operations, while researchers were able to continue their work with minimal impact from the visitors. Warm weather continued through February, with average temperatures of 1.8 C and a very balmy high of 8.5C. We had significantly more precipitation (80 mm) than last month, a good bit of it falling as snow, though there was no accumulation on the ground over the month. Not surprisingly, the number of sunny days decreased, with two partly cloudy and just one clear day for the month. Average wind speed was 10 kts, with peak gusts above 50 kts. Boating access continued good, only occasionally being hampered by brash ice from the calving glacier, though storms and wind did have some impacts. Wildlife continued to be abundant in the local area. The young of most penguins and other seabirds were well on their way to maturity, and it looks like even very sensitive breeders such as South Polar Skuas are having a successful year. The number of fur seals has rapidly increased through the month, they are now abundant on most local islands. In contrast, Humpback whales appear to be less abundant than earlier in the year, and overall are not as apparent as in the past few years. 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, Erik Chapman and Donna Patterson. Peter Duley and Michelle Rosenshield completed the annual January LTER cruise, and along with Erik Chapman, who remained at Palmer during the cruise, departed station in February. This month also saw the completion of all research associated with the foraging ecology of Adelie penguins, including diet studies and the telemetry work associated with the estimation of foraging trip durations. Continued good access to our study sites late into the month also allowed us to get an especially good time series on components of our breeding success studies, including fledging chronology and chick weights. As in past seasons, we continued the acquisition of basic data on the demography, breeding biology and foraging ecology of Giant Petrels, Kelp Gulls, Blue-eyed Shags and South Polar Skuas. These data add to several species- specific time series that began in the mid-1970s. BP-016-0 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (PHYTOPLANKTON COMPONENT). Maria Vernet, Principal Investigator, Scripps Instituteof Oceanography. Personnel on Station: Karie Sines and Meghan Duffy Set up of Labs 4 and 10 was completed at the beginning of February and sampling resumed soon after. The first weeks of the month were used for data analysis from the 1999-2000 LTER Summer cruise and the evacuation of the rad van that was left on the pier after the cruise. All of the core LTER measurements continued with HPLC samples being frozen for analysis in San Diego. Adding to the standard analysis of seawater, Photosynthesis vs. Irradience tests were conducted at multiple temperatures on the samples collected from station E. On 02 February Palmer inshore station B was sampled, because of weather station E was not collected. Complete sampling of Palmer inshore stations B and E was conducted eight times during the month. Weather allowed for both stations to be collected on 05, 07, 10, 21, 24, and 28 February. Water was taken from station E only on 15 and 18 February with the station B components collected on 14 and 19 February. 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: Andrew Altieri and Laurel Coe We finished the annual LTER austral summer cruise and arrived back at Palmer Station on January 26. Our first order of business was unloading necessary equipment from the ship and then setting up the labs and zodiac. To date our efforts have been divided between two activities: 1) use of zodiac acoustic and net towing platform to quantify, and acquire for lab analysis, krill in the Palmer Station vicinity and 2) analysis of krill and salp samples collected on the LTER cruise. We began sampling on February 1, running the two standard acoustic transects, stations A - E and F - J. We have been running these two transects weekly and are supplementing them with krill searches throughout the two mile boating limit. During the first two weeks of the month we saw a number of fairly large schools (though not very dense) but net tows of the schools yielded few krill. Catches of krill and other plankton from the tows have been brought back to station, catalogued, and preserved. Krill have been measured, sexed, and an appropriate sub-sample frozen for later chemical composition analysis. Due to low numbers of krill caught, no Adult Increment Growth Experiments (AIGR) have been conducted since the cruise. Humpback whales, Minke whales, and penguins were seen in the vicinity of the krill schools on several occasions. Acoustic transects and krill searches continued during the last two weeks of the month. Krill schools have been scarce and of low density during this period. The decline in krill abundance over the course of the month has coincided with a decrease in sightings of whales and penguins. All frozen krill and salp samples from the LTER cruise have been weighed and sorted. Pigment extraction from, and quantification of, the frozen krill and salp guts collected during the cruise were completed during the first three weeks on station. Kirk Ireson of BP-032 has been most helpful in providing instruction regarding use of the fluorometer and coordinating for its use between our two groups. We started processing krill egg production samples from the cruise during our first week on station. So far we have finished measuring egg volumes and egg diameters, and started the final step of analysis: incremental egg counts on selected batches of eggs. 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: Kirk Ireson In cooperation with BP-016-O, chlorophyll sampling, and PRR/CTD data collection has continued to occur twice weekly via the 'bruiser' zodiac platform at stations B & E, and surface chlorophyll samples from Bonaparte Point, and Gammage Point. All equipment has been working quite well. Digital ice pictures continue to be taken daily from the top of the stairs at the T5 building. Lab ops supervisor Rob Edwards has been doing weekly chlorophyll sampling from the station's seawater intake. I have just finished the backlog of cruise and overwinter chlorophyll samples, bringing these analyses up to date. Arriving on March sixth, Natacha Bernier from Dalhousie University (N.S. Canada) will assist in data collection/analyses, and we will compare performance of the PRR with a similar profiling radiometer she is bringing. With her arrival comes a group of divers which will necessitate the moving of labs for us. GO-052-P 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. Roving Z-12 surveys were made of the glacier terminus and the VLF cable run in a continuing effort to characterize the seasonal melting of the glacier. As part of a project to unify as many available sources of historical glacier position information as possible, a site plan with glacier position lines dated 1983 and 1985 was "manually digitized". The Z-12 rover was then used to determine accurate positions for several building features on the site plan, in order to allow for coordinate transformation between the site plan and reality. Surveys were made of photo-identifiable ground control points on Torgersen, Christine, and Dream Islands, and candidate survey areas were identified for Biscoe Point as well. Use of the radio-modem repeater to relay real time corrections from the base station at Palmer to Cormorant Island via Shortcut Island was successfully tested. Static GPS surveys were performed on markers TOR1 and HUM1, and repeatedly on PMR1 as a test of precision and accuracy. 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. On 05 February, the DP computer inexplicably switched from acquisition mode to idle mode. An attempt to return directly to acquisition failed, but reloading the software in the DA computer and then initiating acquisition returned the system to normal operation. 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. The guy posts securing the antenna tower were replanted, and the guy ropes were adjusted to return the tower to vertical. The recently activated cathodic protection system on the pier was identified as the cause of a new source of hum on the VLF N/S loop. A digitized sample recording demonstrating the impact of the hum (in comparison to the hum introduced by tying the Hero Inlet ground line to station neutral) was produced and transferred to the grantees. Near the end of the month the cathodic system was switched off for operational reasons. Approximately 15 minutes of data were lost as the result of an unplanned power outage lasting from 00:58:31 to 01:08:05 (UT) on 23 February. 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. 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. The Bonaparte Point unit continued to send an invalid wind speed, presumably due to a CPU failure. 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 produced for BP-032-O on a weekly basis. When clear skies made it worthwhile, at roughly five to seven day intervals, images showing the area north of the Larsen Ice Shelf were prepared and emailed to the PI of GO-096-O to allow him to track conditions prior to his cruise in May. On 27 February, in mid-pass, the system computer stopped properly commanding the antenna. After it was determined that the antenna controller unit was still functional, the computer was rebooted, and operation returned to normal. One DMSP and two SeaWiFS passes were lost. 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. A new data processing program was received and installed. Significant portions of a collector field of view survey were completed during morning and evening twilight hours, limiting the impact on data collection. Severely limited opportunities with acceptable weather impeded surveying progress. On 25 February, a rapidly worsening tendency of the monochromator not to reach the wavelength position requested (either by the scanning routine or by the operator) was determined to be caused by a worn position indicator. After the indicator was removed the monochromator behaved predictably again. On 26 February, a series of AXSS header errors and timeouts resulted in scans being performed at half the normal frequency for approximately half a day. Cycling of the AXSS power returned the system to normal operation.