PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP AUGUST 2000 NEWS FROM THE LAB Brett C. Pickering, Winter Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations. August began with LMG00-7 port call, which brought more materials for the GWR remodel project, lab supplies and more support personnel (including the return of the lab manager). During the port call the lab manager worked with Hazardous Waste personnel to reorganize the HWIS filing system and implemented a new SOP for HWIS approval. The approval system involves submitting all waste documentation to Denver via email or fax, then waiting for confirmation of proper disposal before packaging the waste. The GWR remodel project has continued to be the focus of the Station's work. Finishing touches continue; the TV lounge was moved out of New Medical into the newly finished GWR lounge. The exercise equipment will soon be removed from the Bio Machine Shop and Aquarium. Laboratory space has begun to be utilized for the staging of individual science group materials in their chosen lab areas. Physical inventories of the Bio Machine Shop and Flammable/Corrosive Storage areas were completed. The month of August brought colder temperatures and sea ice to the Palmer area. Sea ice was present in the vicinity for 17 days. The ice in Hero Inlet above the trolley was approved for travel across to Bonaparte Point. The average temperature was -5.4 C with extremes of 2.9 and -13.7 C. Average wind speed was 12 knots with a maximum gust of 58 knots. Precipitation fell 26 days with a melted accumulation of 27.3 mm. However the maximum snow cover was a meager 39 cm. The sun was scarce with only one clear day in the entire month. Wildlife continued to dwindle as the winter conditions set in. The only animals noted in the area were: Leopard Seals, Weddel Seals, Sheath Bills, Giant Petrels, Imperial Shags, Kelp Gulls, Snow Petrels, and Adelie Penguins. BP-032-0 LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIORNMENT (BIO-OPTICAL COMPONENT) R. Brown, University of California, Santa Barbara The lab manager has taken water samples from Palmer Station's seawater intake on a weekly basis. The samples have been filtered for chlorophyll-a analysis in a darkened laboratory and stored in a freezer for subsequent processing. 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. On 20 August, two epochs of CORS data were lost, and about nine hours of data were of substandard quality, for no apparent reason. The problem appeared and disappeared spontaneously and was only noted retroactively during a cursory data quality check. This problem was last seen, in an almost identical form, on 16 April. GO-090-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) The station science technician has monitored the system. Global seismic events were recorded throughout the month. AO-106-P 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. Throughout the month, there were many periods of enhanced activity on the narrowband systems. Virtually every day showed interesting events, and on those days special plots were prepared and sent to the grantees. Scale factors on several narrowband channels were adjusted as needed during the month to avoid saturation. The failure of an indicator bulb on the Ampex tape drive compromised taped synoptic recordings for a few days until it was discovered and the bulb was replaced. A small fan was placed on the A>D2000 signal conditioning unit after its power supply began to smell overheated. When the operation of this fan turned out to increase the rate of narrowband restarts, its power cord was rerouted and the effect was diminished. Starting on 07 August and continuing throughout the rest of the month, extra recordings were made in support of the IMAGE satellite VLF broadcasting campaign. For the first ten days, each pass was recorded in its entirety on both Betamax and digital broadband systems. When the broadcast schedule was extended, digital recordings were reduced to only the most favorable parts of the most favorable passes, though Betamax recordings continued for all passes. New versions of several Matlab processing scripts were received from the grantees and installed on the digital broadband system. These scripts greatly speed up the production of spectrogram "snapshot" plots, and they were used to make a series of spectrograms from periods of IMAGE recording, which were then sent to the grantees. 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. The Hugo Island unit stopped broadcasting on 18 August. 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 18-23 passes per day. NOAA and DMSP telemetry were archived for BP-032-O when the LTER grid was clear of clouds. 85 GHz SSM/I ice concentration images were produced and sent to BP- 032-O on a weekly basis. In order to be ready for the onset of the summer capture of SeaWiFS telemetry, a new tape drive was installed to replace the one that failed in late March. The first SeaWiFS pass was captured on 30 August. While the system was down for the tape drive change, dust was blown out of the computer chassis and the external component enclosures. Upon rebooting, the computer failed to properly identify its router, and it was only after it was rebooted again when the Internet satellite link was active that it was able to properly configure itself for network activities including email and ftp. 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.