PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP JUNE 2001 H. William Detrich, Station Science Leader NEWS FROM THE LAB Brett C. Pickering, Winter Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations June was a busy month at Palmer Station bringing in both Antarctic research vessels, researchers and other activities. The site visit by NSF and RPSC FEMC personnel aboard the R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER occurred in the middle of the month. The engineers inspected the completed GWR remodel and on-going projects on the GWR first floor. Plans for the Bio Lab remodel were discussed and the labs were inspected to further assist in planning. A bathymetric survey of Hero Inlet was conducted to begin planning of a pier renovation project. Lab personnel assisted the surveyor by operating a zodiac during the mapping of the inlet. The area around the Arthur Harbor seawater intake was also mapped. The groups BO-036-O (Sidell) and BO-037-O (Detrich) arrived on station with five Xatic tank-loads of fish and started working as soon as they arrived. The fish were mostly notothenioids, although there were several skates brought in as well. The Station Aquarium was full of these fish and activity. In addition to the fish, the trawls also brought in various invertebrate species that were added to the tourist aquaria. The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD paid a good will visit to Vernadsky Station the first Sunday after the grantees' arrival. Freshies and other supplies were taken to the Ukrainian station. The 20+ grantees, station and ship personnel were treated to a tour of the station, a meal as well as plenty of home-made vodka. Reports of the visit were all very positive as everyone enjoyed her/himself during the short trip. The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD departed Palmer Station twice during the month to fish in the waters of Dallman Bay near Brabant Island. In addition to otter trawls, fish pots were used to catch species of interest. Station personnel were able to provide assistance during one of the fishing efforts. The RPSC Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist was on station during the month to install a general use GIS computer. The new system will enable station personnel to create area maps for various scientific and operational needs. Station personnel assisted the GIS specialist in creating Palmer area boating maps, which include islands with in the boating limits. During a storm the large pier fender broke free and was blown into Hero Inlet. Lab and other station personnel assisted in the retrieval and re-installation of the fender using Zodiac Mark Vs. Two evenings of work were needed to set the fender in place and then subsequently placing additional weight on the chains to keep the fender in between the pier and the vessel. Midwinter's day at Palmer Station was shared with the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD. Everyone was treated to a fine meal prepared by station and ship cooks. Many people took the traditional midwinter's plunge into Hero Inlet to celebrate this turning point of the season. Fauna sighted during the month were: Adelie Penguins, Antarctic Terns, Blue-eyed Shags, Elephant Seals, Fur Seals, Gentoo Penguins, Giant Petrels, Kelp Gulls, Pintado Petrels, Sheathbills, Snow Petrels, and Weddell Seals. The month's weather was "typical" with 25 overcast days and the sun remaining very well hidden. The ground remained covered for an entire month for the first time this year; snow stake measurements from 13 to 30 cm. The average temperature was 3.7 C with an unexpected high temperature of 2.7 C (day 29) and a low of 12.5 C (day 22). The winds prevailed from the north with an average speed of 11 knots during June. The peak gust was 59 knots occurring on the 19th. BP-032-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Raymond C. Smith, ICESS, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. The Laboratory Supervisor conducts the weekly sampling. Water was sampled weekly from Palmer Station's seawater intake. The samples were then filtered in a darkened laboratory and stored in a 70 freezer for subsequent processing. BO-036-O PROTEINS OF OXYGEN-BINDING AND ENERGY METABOLISM IN MUSCLES OF ANTARCTIC FISHES: EVOLUTIONARY ADJUSTMENTS TO LIFE AT COLD BODY TEMPERATURE. Bruce D. Sidell, Principal Investigator School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine Personnel on station: Joseph Eastman, Theresa Grove, Leonardo Magnoni, Victoria Metcalf, and Bruce D. Sidell All personnel departed Punta Arenas on 11 June aboard the ARSV L.M. Gould. After crossing the Drake Passage, approximately a half-day of fishing operations using benthic Otter Trawls were conducted in Dallman Bay prior to an early AM arrival at Palmer Station on 16 June (Please see LM Gould SITREPS for details of catch.) The next two days were spent in setting up the laboratory space for our work at Palmer Station. On 18 June, the L.M. Gould departed Palmer Station with Bruce Sidell, Joe Eastman and Victoria Metcalf aboard for a more extensive fishing effort that included experimental fishing with baited fish pots. Graduate students Theresa Grove and Leonardo Magnoni remained on-station to pursue their work. Grove's work during our very short season at Palmer is focusing on preparation of subcellular fractions of oxidative skeletal muscles from Antarctic fishes that are enriched with mitochondria. These fractions are being frozen on-site and will be transported back to our CONUS laboratory for further purification of the enzyme, fatty acyl CoA synthetase, which may be the primary determinant of the very pronounced tendency of these fishes preferentially to oxidize of monoenoic fatty acids. Magnoni is making measurements of key enzyme activities and metabolite concentrations that are related to gluconeogenic activity from various tissues of Antarctic fishes. One key objective of this part of the work was to confirm the frozen stability of several enzymes in tissues from these fish. Unfortunately, due to apparent communication failure, many reagents necessary to perform these measurements were not ordered by RPSC, thus compromising this set of objectives. The L.M. Gould returned on the AM of 21 June, after a successful fishing effort (see LM Gould situation reports). Eastman, Metcalf and Sidell disembarked the LMG and proceeded with laboratory work, including many measurements of buoyant mass of notothenioid fishes in seawater. These determinations are related to the amount of corporeal lipid found in Antarctic fish species, which are known to accumulate fats to confer static lift (buoyancy) to some species, permitting exploitation of niches in the water column. Additionally, vascular casts of both white-blooded and red-blooded Antarctic fishes are being performed by perfusion of the animals with a silicone-based Microfil solution). These casts will be used for both quantitative and qualitative assessment of vascular systems in these animals. Several specimens were fixed in buffered formalin for subsequent analyses. Additional tissue and blood samples were harvested from several species and frozen for later analyses at our CONUS laboratory. As is the norm for our project, laboratory work (as described above) was interspersed with additional fishing effort on the L.M. Gould, again from 25-28 June. This pattern will continue until our departure from Palmer Station on 11 July. We wish to thank RPSC personnel, both at Palmer Station and aboard the L.M. Gould and Master, officers and crew of the L.M. Gould for their exceptional support this season. They have made critical contributions to both the scientific success and the personal enjoyment of our work in Antarctica this year. BO-037-O: Structure, Function, and Expression of Tubulins, Globins, and Microtubule-Dependent Motors from Cold-Adapted Antarctic Fishes H. William Detrich, Principal Investigator Dept. of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA Personnel on Station: H. William Detrich, Ennio Cocca, Guido di Prisco, Steven Hann, Sandra K. Parker, and Donald Yergeau Project BO-037's 2001 field season began on 11 June with the departure of all field team members from Punta Arenas, Chile, on board the ARSV Laurence M. Gould at the start of Cruise LMG01-05. After a smooth crossing of the Drake Passage and 11 hours spent fishing in Dallmann Bay, we arrived at Palmer Station on 16 June and subsequently set up our laboratory facilities in two days. Two fishing trips to Dallmann Bay (18-21 June and 25-28 June) were conducted in conjunction with Project BO-036 (Sidell). Both conventional bottom-trawling operations and the newly implemented baited-trap fishing method were successful, yielding the following total specimens of red- and white-blooded Antarctic notothenioid fishes: 110 Gobionotothen gibberifrons, 7 Dissostichus mawsoni, 28 Notothenia coriiceps, 13 N. rossii, 94 Lepidonotothen larseni, 18 L. nudifrons, 14 Parachaenichthys charcoti, 2 Gymnodraco acuticeps, 103 Chaenocephalus aceratus, 47 Chionodraco rastrospinosus, 68 Champsocephalus gunnari, 6 Chaenodraco wilsoni, and 12 skate spp. The trap method was selective for N. coriiceps and N. rossii, probably due to their highly developed olfactory senses; no icefishes were captured by this method. Conversely, the trawling operations produced all of the icefishes but very few specimens of N. coriiceps. Thus, the two methods appear to be complementary rather than interchangeable. Compared to fishing in the Austral Fall (March-May), the abundance of icefishes and the relative paucity of G. gibberifrons are striking. At Palmer Station we focused our early work on three studies: 1) the separation and characterization of white blood cell populations from N. coriiceps and from C. aceratus; 2) the expression of globin genes by N. coriiceps; and 3) the analysis of globin gene switching as a function of age in juvenile and adult specimens of L. larseni, L. nudifrons, and P. charcoti. Study 1 has been completed successfully, but analysis of studies 2 and 3 must await further work at our home institutions. We have also prepared for microtubule and kinesin isolations to be performed during July. We thank the ship and station personnel for their help in the successful initiation of our field and laboratory work. GO-052-P GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, Principal Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The 'gogps.bat' file was edited on the GPS server to bypass the zip drive. The zip drive is known to be bad, and an upgrade to the system has been planned. Z12-Rover was tested during June. It seems to be working well. The tests are being run to make sure all is working when the summer season starts. GO-091-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Principal Investigator, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The system has been operating smoothly. AO-106-P STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE. U. Inan, Principal Investigator, Stanford University. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. CD-writer on EWVLF has been failing part way through writes. Found workaround until problem can be resolved. Acquisition software on the same computer crashed. Problem was resolved. The Broadband computer acquisition software crashed. Seems to be an isolated incident. The system was rebooted and has been running smoothly. The antenna was in good shape after multiple days of high winds. OO-275-O DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM. C. Sanderson, Principal Investigator, Department of Energy, Environmental Measurements Laboratory. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Weekly filter changes and monthly disk change were completed. Monthly control filter cartridge was prepared. OO-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin. The Science Technician monitors data transmissions for the project. Automated Weather Station (AWS) transmissions from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock were monitored using the TeraScan system. The Bonaparte Point unit continued to send an invalid wind speed, presumably due to a CPU failure. The Hugo Island and RACER Rock units have not been broadcasting data. Repair of the AWSs is contingent on the arrival of new parts and on vessel scheduling. R-035 TIDE GAUGE. Tony Amos, Point of Contact, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The system has been operating normally. TO-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM R. Whritner, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The system has been operating normally. The new computer has arrived, and will be set up next month. Telemetry tapes (pal1970 pal1976) have been sent to the grantee. TO-513-O UV MONITORING NETWORK. C. Booth, Principal Investigator, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Systems have been running smoothly. The UV collectors have been off line for the Annual Site Visit. The auto FTP script has been updated with new host names. OO-204-O MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. Ralph Keeling, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Air samples are collected on a semi-weekly basis by the station physician. The goal of this project is to resolve seasonal and interannual variations in atmospheric O2 (detected through changes in O2/N2 ratio), which can aid in determining rates of marine biological productivity and ocean mixing. The results are also used to help determine the terrestrial and oceanic distribution of the global anthropogenic CO2 sink. The program involves air sampling at a network of sites in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Palmer Station is especially well situated for resolving signals of carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. Samples taken from the station are return-shipped to Scripps where the analysis of O2 and CO2 content takes place. OO-254-O CHLORINE-AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN ANTARCTICA. R.A. Rasmussen, Principal Investigator, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and Technology. Air samples are collected on a weekly basis by the station physician. Samples are returned to the Oregon Graduate Institute for analysis of a number of trace components, mostly chlorine-and bromine-containing gases. These elements in particular 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. David Hofmann, Principal Investigator, Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Air samples are collected on a weekly basis by the station physician. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory team continues its long-term measurements of carbon dioxide and other climate-relevant atmospheric gases. The Palmer Station air samples are returned to the NOAA laboratory for analysis as part of NOAA's effort to determine and assess the long-term buildup of global pollutants in the atmosphere. Data from this experiment will be used in modeling studies to determine how the rate of change of these parameters affects climate.