PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP November 2001 Charles Amsler, Station Science Leader NEWS FROM THE LAB Cara M. Sucher, Sr. Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations November was an eventful month this season. After a short detour to Deception Island, The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD was finally able to break through the ice and got to Palmer Station on November 5th. Two grantees from BP-013-O (Fraser) and one from BP-016-O (Vernet) arrived fresh from the LTER Ice Cruise along with six members of BO-022-O (Amsler/Baker/McClintock). Dr. David Hofmann of NOAA (OO-264-O) was also onboard for a site visit of the air-sampling facility. All science personnel from BO-179- O (Murray), one from BP-013-O (Fraser), and one from BP-032-O (Smith) departed on this ship along with the Supervisor of Laboratory Operations. The following week, on November 13th, the R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER made a brief stop at Palmer Station. The vessel transferred one researcher with BO-022-O (Amsler/Baker/McClintock) as well as science cargo and some highly anticipated "freshies". Installation of the new Palmer weather station, PALMOS, is almost complete. The Communications Technician put many hours into getting the system running and overcoming numerous configuration issues. The remote display in the Communications Center now shows current readings and trends for the major weather indicators. Manual weather observations will continue for a while to compare with the automated system. The weather this month continued to keep everyone on their toes. Arthur Harbor and beyond remained ice-covered for the first week and a half of November. In between windstorms, BO-022-O (Amsler/Baker/McClintock) and BP-028-O (Ross/Quetin) were able to conduct many successful diving operations through the ice in Hero Inlet and members of the LTER were able to sample from an ice hole about a tenth of a mile from Station B. On November 12th, a brisk north wind abruptly blew out the sea-ice. This allowed boating operations to finally begin, though heavy brash conditions have limited the number of sampling days and kept our Boating Coordinator quite busy pulling boats in and out of the water. In comparison to October, November's weather seems to be calming down a bit. Maximum wind gusts only reached 67 knots and the average wind speed was 14 knots, mostly from the north. 60cm of snow fell, less than half of what was measured in October, and the temperature ranged from –10.7°C to 5.5°C; the average temperature was –1.1°C. We even saw some blue sky this month, with six partly cloudy and two clear days. There is a strong community interest in the scientific research at Palmer Station and we've had a number of enthusiastically attended science lectures. This month, Dave Hofmann spoke about global climate change and Palmer Station's role in NOAA's monitoring program, Chuck Amsler gave a lecture titled "In Bad Taste: Chemical Defenses of Antarctic Marine Plants", Jim McClintock spoke about "Marine Biology of Sub-Antarctic Kergualen and McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea", and Maggie Amsler presented a slide show called "Ye Olde Palmer Station" with pictures and stories of Palmer Station and the R/V HERO from the 1980's and early 1990's. Wildlife populations around Palmer Station continued to increase throughout November. Skuas, sheathbills, kelp gulls, cormorants, and penguins are now a common sight. The dive teams have also seen more than their fair share of curious leopard seals. We've had quite a few penguin visitors on Station this month, both Adelie and Gentoo, and one Skua has been a regular on the dining room deck. Blondie, the light-colored Adelie penguin, has returned to her colony on Torgersen Island, though the heavy snow on the island in concert with winds and precipitation has buried some of the other nesting penguins with only small air holes to indicate their location. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station this month: BO-022-O: The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-Water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula Dr. Charles Amsler, Principal Investigator, University of Alabama at Birmingham Personnel on Station: Charles Amsler, Margaret Amsler, Katrin Iken, James McClintock, Kevin Peters (University of Alabama at Birmingham); Bill Baker, Chris Petrie (University of South Florida). Most of our team arrived on 5 November after being delayed for 6 days when the L.M. Gould could not make it to the station through heavy sea ice and snow on 31 October. One member (McClintock) arrived on the N.B. Palmer on 13 November. Although most of the group was delayed on the Gould, during that time we were able to complete equipment check out dives and make two collecting dives (for macroalgae and invertebrates) at Deception Island on 3-4 November. Collection dives through land-fast ice in Hero Inlet were performed from 6 November through 11 November. Open water collection dives commenced on 12 November and continued throughout the rest of the month when weather and sea ice conditions allowed. Arrival on station also allowed us to begin laboratory experiments and chemical preparations. Numerous marine macroalgae and invertebrates from field collections were extracted with organic solvents to isolate defensive secondary metabolites. Potential predators of these macroalgae and invertebrates were collected for use as test consumers in feeding bioassays with whole organisms and with chemical extracts in artificial foods. Bioassays with amphipods, sea stars, and sea anemones as test consumers were begun by the end of the month. BP-013-O: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (SEABIRD COMPONENT) Dr. William R. Fraser, Principal Investigator, Polar Oceans Research Group, Sheridan, MT. Personnel On Station: Chris Denker, Heidi Geisz After two lengthy voyages, the field team members of BP-013-0 arrived at Palmer Station on November 5th. Both members were on the R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER's 54 day LTER Ice Cruise followed immediately by a 10 day run to Palmer Station via Deception Island on the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD. Heavy sea ice has played an interesting roll in the transit, and both members were mighty glad to finally step foot on station. Upon arrival, stable sea ice conditions allowed walking access to three local islands (Torgersen, Litchfield, and Humble) where preliminary indicator counts on Adelie Penguins were taken. Snow depth transects, and Brown Skua surveys were also conducted and fifty Adelie Penguin Reproductive Success Sites were established. General observations were made in an effort to gain insight on where the birds were in their breeding chronology. Heavy snowfall and drifting this season has made the availability of nesting rocks extremely scarce, a fine example being a Torgersen Island bird using the flipper of a dead penguin as nesting material. Average snow depth on the colony fringes measures 40cm. Through late November a majority of nest sites still remained in snow cups with very few rocks, and many eggs have been laid directly on snow. We were fortunate to have walked to the islands for four days before a three-day storm blew in with peak winds of 76 knots. During this period we were essentially grounded. However, this storm gave us the opportunity to unpack stored supplies, work on the field notebooks, organize Lab 1 and the Birder Tent, take Jeffery Bechtel's Boating 1 course, enter data, and further organize our equipment in preparation for the coming field season. The intensity of this spring storm worked in our favor by clearing Arthur Harbor and the immediate waters free of ice. Boating 2 was held on the 14th of November, and soon after we were in route to the outer islands. Since boating operations began on the 14th both storm and ice have hampered us. During the first thirty days we've been grounded eight days due to ice, storm conditions held us back three, and two days in the field cut short by deteriorating weather. During the brief weather windows we have been able to document quite a wild season. The continued snowfall and drifting well into the Adelie breeding season has literally buried several colonies with losses beginning to add up. Dream Island (December 1st) and Biscoe Point (November 21st) were also visited for Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo monitoring. Dream Island's Chinstrap population was slightly lower than last years, while Biscoe's Gentoos increased 30%. Heavy snow accumulation appeared to impact Dream populations more than Biscoe's. Baseline breeding and population data on other area seabirds were obtained opportunistically. Shortcut Island's South Polar Skua population is much lower than last years with heavy snow drifting throughout the island. Primary Kelp Gull surveys are being conducted, as are counts on Humble Island's Southern Giant Petrels. Monitoring of marine mammals was continuous throughout the month of November. Observations on environmental conditions were recorded daily. We would like to thank all the station personnel for their help in getting us started. Special thanks to: Cara Sucher, Biolab Manager, and Jeff Bechtel, Boating Coordinator. BP-016-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AN ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM - PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY COMPONENT Maria Vernet, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Personnel on station: Michael Thimgan and Karie Sines The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD arrived on station 5 November bringing with her supplies for BP-016's 2001-2002 field season as well as a second team member. The three-day port call was spent with Kirk Ireson in review of BP-032 protocols to be used during the season. BP-016 will continue biweekly collection of BP-032 core LTER measurements of chlorophyll, Conductivity Temperature and Depth (CTD), and Profiling Reflectance Radiometer (PRR) deployments. November 8th the GOULD left Palmer Station, taking Kirk Ireson with her. BP-016 would like to thank Kirk for his thoroughness in reviewing of procedures. Ice coring, CTD deployment, and water column sampling for three depths (1m, 3m and 10m) continued into November, as long as ice conditions permitted. Palmer inshore station B was sampled in this way on 2, 6, and 9 November. The seawater intake was also sampled on each of these days and again on 15 November. During this time the "Bruiser" zodiac platform was prepared for open water sampling. The first open water appeared at Station B 16 November. On this date the water column was sampled for six light levels obtained using BP-032's PRR. Water collected from these depths was sampled for chlorophyll, CHN, HPLC, primary production and photosynthesis vs. irradiance experiments, picoplankton, netplankton, and nutrient analysis. CTD data was acquired to complete the core LTER measurements. Gamage Point was also sampled for chlorophyll and bacterial data. Aliquots of all waters collected were frozen for Hugh Ducklow, BP-045, to be analyzed for bacteria. Sampling at Station B was repeated twice more, 20 and 24 November, when Station E was inaccessible due to ice. Station E did clear for sampling on 19 November and combined sampling of both E and B occurred on 26 and 30 November. Data obtained from CTD and PRR casts at the end of the month indicate the beginning of the summer phytoplankton bloom at Palmer Inshore Station B. Further evidence of a bloom was seen in primary production data, which increased from 289.3mgC/m"/day to 1212.4mgC/m"/day. Preliminary examination of ring net samples for 30 November shows Thalassiosira sp.and Corethron sp. to be prevalent within the water column. BP-016 would like to thank FEMC, Tom Cohenour, Jeff Gustafson, and Tom Curran, along with, Communications Technician Sheldon Blackman for installing new deck fittings in the Bruiser platform. We also wish to thank Boating Coordinator, Jeff Bechtel, for his preparation and maintenance of the 99 zodiac, including her repeated placement into and removal from the water. BP-028-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AN ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM: PREY COMPONENT. Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin, Principal Investigators, Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara Personnel on station: Dan Martin and David Kushner (Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara) Early November saw the eventual break-up of local sea ice, allowing the delayed R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD to make its port call at Palmer Station. The GOULD had aboard the remainder of the season-opening LTER equipment, supplies and field team personnel (including David Kushner for BP-028). Until this time the various science groups (BO-179, BP-013, BP-016, BP-032), with excellent support from Raytheon staff, continued to help one another while sampling from the sea ice. Our group continued to sample krill from holes in the ice until 10 November, the near-shore sites finally breaking loose about this time. However, significant pack and brash ice remained in the area for several weeks, limiting boating activity but allowing for dive operations to develop. Diver-collected krill from beneath the loose pack allowed us to continue our unprecedented streak of success with early-season larval samplings and experiments. By months end we completed 7 growth, CHN and condition factor samplings, and a 3rd full chemical composition analysis for late-stage larvae and early juveniles associated with the sea ice. By months end we had also initiated our zodiac-based operations, including the Biosonics acoustic transects and trawling efforts. We hope to catch adult krill soon, complementing our larval collections. SYNOPTIC WEATHER OBSERVATIONS Daily weather observations were collected and sent to Rothera Research Station via HF radio. Temperature data for the 0600 Zulu was not available for 27 – 30 November 2001 due to a malfunction in the ENPAWS box. The cables were fixed and the system is working again. 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 software crashed on 13 November 2001, and some data was lost on the 13th and 14th of November 2001. The computer was rebooted and resumed normal operation. 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 print ribbon was replaced on the log printer on 16 November 2001. A tape change was made on 20 November 2001. 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. The messenger cable rusted through. It was repaired (spliced) on the 16 November 2001. The broadband computer was not correctly allocating drive space, and as a consequence some data was lost on 18 and 19 November 2001. A reboot and some system changes have corrected the problem. An extra continuous BETA recording on 29 November 2001was made as requested. The VLF cable was removed from ice and snow when necessary. 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. Performed weekly filter changes and monthly filter blank. 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. RACER Rock transmits telemetry during midday. The Hugo Island unit still remains off line. 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 network was down for maintenance on the night of 16 November 2001. The acquisition program was stopped for about 6 hours since the network drive was not available during this time. 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. Though acquisition and initial storage were running smoothly, there were problems making backup tapes at the beginning of the month. In October 2001 two milvans were placed in the vicinity of the TeraScan antenna. A degradation in image quality coincided with the milvan placement, so a quick tally of images two weeks prior to the milvan placement and two weeks after were made to evaluate the cause. More noise was visible in the images from the weeks following the milvan placement. The closest milvan was moved away on 11 November 2001 and the image quality returned to normal. It is not absolutely conclusive that the milvans were the cause of the poor image quality as there are other variables that have been changing during this time that could account for some of the image quality differences. The second milvan was removed on 26 November 2001, and further evaluation will be conducted. 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. The system is running smoothly. An Absolute Calibration Scan was run on 06 and 23 November 2001. There were problems FTPing the daily data to BSI most likely due to a compatibility issue between the BSI's firewall and RPSC's firewall. The IT department is looking into the cause and possible solutions. Data files are being sent by email until the problem is resolved. 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. Funding for this project has been discontinued and samples are no longer being collected at Palmer Station. 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 (CMDL) 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. Dave Hoffman, Director of CMDL in Boulder Colorado, visited the station for three days last month. He observed our air sampling set-up and reviewed our procedures, but unfortunately there was no wind so we did not actually get to take a sample with him. I suggested that the portable sampling apparatus, which currently resides in a hard suitcase, come with a backpack instead - the toughest challenge with sampling is carrying a 30 pound suitcase while post-holing through snow to an acceptable sampling site! Dave seemed to enjoy his visit, and I sure did. Due to sea ice conditions the ship had to wait a few days before it was able approach the station, so Dave had the extra treat of visiting Copacabana field camp and Deception Island. When the ship did make it to station the sea ice was still fast and safe for travel, so we were able to snowshoe to Torgersen Island and visit the Adelies there on a beautifully clear day. The evening before he left station Dave gave an excellent talk on the research being done at NOAA on atmospheric carbon and greenhouse gases and climate change. Interest in the subject was high and he gracefully answered our many questions. It was a real treat to have him here.