PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP October 2002 Maria Vernet, Station Science Leader NEWS FROM THE LAB Maria Vernet Palmer Station opened for the 2002-2003 science season on 16 October when the ASRV Laurence M. Gould (LMG02-07) arrived with 11 scientists and half the summer crew including FEMC personnel, the assistant cook. The Lab Supervisor, Winter Assistant Lab Supervisor and most of the remaining winter personnel, many of them involved in the winter BioLab renovation, left on the return trip to Punta Arenas on 19 October. The port call brought summer supplies, fresh and frozen food, fuel and needed store supplies. The microscopes were serviced by Sandy Bright. Four science groups arrived to start the science season: BO-028-P (Ross/Quetin), BO-016-P (Fraser), BO-179-O (Murray) and BO-016-P (Vernet). After several months of hard work the labs were finished and in two weeks re-installed and functional. The first few days were busy with cargo and offloading of vans with new boxes and those stored in the Punta Arenas warehouse through the winter. As weather permitted, labs, aquarium and outside tanks were outfitted for research and experiments. The new labs have raised the level of science support at the station. There is more room with the addition of two large labs (Lab 7 and 8) replacing two older smaller labs, Labs 5 and 6. The instrument labs and microscope rooms are now functional and spacious. The hallways are wider and spacious there is more light and new furniture. Although several items still need work the remodeling is a success and science groups have enjoyed their new surroundings. Another welcome addition to station is the 24-hour Earth Station. Taking advantage of our new connection, online subscriptions to Nature, Science, and the NISC Arctic and Antarctic Science Abstracts have been purchased and are now available. An online subscription to Limnology and Oceanography will begin in January. In addition to a faster internet connection, Internet Protocol phones have been installed throughout the station making communication to the outside world simple and convenient. Science lectures started with an introduction to the LTER program in Antarctica by Maria Vernet (BP-016-P). An active social and cultural life is also underway with several wonderful birthday celebrations with incredible cakes, a fun Halloween Party, a Medical Wilderness Course, Spanish lessons and skiing on the glacier. The weather has been pretty typical for October, with skies mostly cloudy and a temperature range from -14.5C to 2.9C. We've had a few windy days including a 3-day storm with sustained winds over 40 knots (and a maximum gust of 67 knots). 34cm of snow fell in October as well as over 58mm of rain. The station and surrounding islands are still covered in snow, though it looks like it won't be too long before some rocks start to show through. We've had only few days of open water as the brash ice is packed in fairly solid. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station this month: BP-013-P: 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 and Brett Pickering After a smooth crossing of the Drake Passage, and a very well executed put-in of the COPA field camp we arrived at Palmer Station late on the 15th of October. We were fortunate enough to have taken Boating 1 & 2 almost immediately on the 16th, thereby allowing us an opportunity to access the local islands early in the day. As it turned out, these first couple of days proved critical due to sea ice moving into the area on October 20th and remaining until the 29th. From October 30 through November 7 the sea ice has continued to play an important role in our movements (or lack of movements) to the local islands. All tolled, sea ice has kept us on station fourteen of twenty-two days. Our windows of opportunity to the islands have been widely scattered throughout this first month on station, but even with short runs to the islands we have been able to collect Adelie penguin arrival counts at least once a week on all five colony islands. We removed one PTT transmitter from a female Adelie tagged the past winter, as well as observed the arrival of brown skuas. Snow depth transects have been measured on the five Adelie colony islands showing lower snow accumulations than last year. As a matter of course in our fieldwork we have censured and made observations of marine mammals in the area. When ice has kept us on station we have conducted intertidal limpet size distribution analysis, skua and Adelie scat analysis as well as the continued updating of field notebooks, data entry, and the upkeep/maintenance of field equipment. From the date of our arrival the support from the R.P.S.C. folks has been stellar. Special thanks to Doug Fink for having the fleet of zodiacs armed and ready, Lora Folger for all our wacky computer questions, Cara Sucher and Barb Watson for having the labs in great shape, and all the other individuals who have helped get the ball rolling this season. BP-016-P AND BP-032-P: LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AN ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM - PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY COMPONENT AND BIO-OPTICS, REMOTE SENSING, SEA ICE COMPONENT Dr. Maria Vernet, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Dr. Raymond C. Smith, ICESS, University of California at Santa Barbara, Principal Investigators Personnel on station: Maria Vernet, Wendy Kozlowski and Lauren Rogers The phytoplankton component of the LTER project will sample at Palmer Station during the 2002-2003 growth season from October to April in order to establish the seasonal development of phytoplankton production and taxonomic composition. As part of the core measurements we will determine primary production rates (as carbon incorporation), total biomass (as chlorophyll a concentration), phytoplankton composition (by photosynthetic pigments) and total particulate carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON). In addition, environmental parameters such as underwater light transmission, inorganic nutrient concentration, temperature and salinity will be determined as well as meteorological variables and ice cover. Phytoplankton physiology is studied with Photosynthesis Irradiance curves and the Fast Track Repetition Fluorometer. We arrived at Palmer Station on 16 October and were able to set up water column sampling successfully. First day of water column sampling was November 1st., when all instruments were tested: a SeaCat CTD with temperature, conductivity and a Wetlabs fluorometer and a SeaTech transmissometer. Optics (visible and UV upwelling and downwelling irradiances) is measured with a Biospherical Instruments PRR. Discrete water samples are collected from depths corresponding to 100%, 50%, 25%, 10%, 5% and 0.5% of incident radiation with 5-L Go-Flo bottles. No sampling was done during October as ice conditions in Arthur Harbor did not allow boating until November 1st. Ice sampling (thanks to the BP-028 divers, Dan Martin and Charlie Boch) and water collected from the seawater intake at the station were done during the period where boating was not possible. Biomass, activity and experiments were performed with these collections. Three microzooplankton grazing experiments were performed in order to estimate phytoplankton losses due to protozoan grazing. In addition, we performed one experiments to estimate DOC production by phytoplankton and DOC heterotrophic consumption. We thank the Lab Manager, Lab Instrument Technician, the Boating Coordinator and everyone from Raytheon Polar Services that made possible a successful start to the 2002-2003 season. BP-028-P: LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AN ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM: PREY COMPONENT. Drs. Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin, Principal Investigators, Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara Personnel on station: Dan Martin (team leader/tech), Stephanie Oakes (graduate student), Charlie Boch (tech) (Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara). Our field team arrived at Palmer Station on the evening of 16 October after helping POC John Evans with season-opening logistics at Copa. Upon arrival we found the newly renovated laboratory facilities in excellent shape and ready for use. By 20 October we finished outfitting the aquarium, new lab space, and acoustic/trawl platform, expecting to take advantage of the open water surrounding the Palmer region. However, 21 October brought southerly winds and pack ice, preventing the zodiac-based acoustic and trawl sampling from taking place. With boating operations on hold, we initiated our dive program and soon obtained enough krill larvae from beneath the sea ice to get our early- season sampling off to a strong start. The sea ice consolidated and persisted for nearly a week, allowing us ample opportunity to saturate our standard LTER needs, and to stockpile enough live specimens for all of Stephanie Oakes' seasonal feeding experiments. By month's end we had completed our second growth experiment and CHN sampling, and our first larval (pre-bloom) physiological/chemical condition sampling while Stephanie began to culture algae, run several whole body clearance experiments, prep for tile feeding experiments, and analyze samples she archived during the winter LTER cruise. We also began processing preserved samples from other winter LTER experiments. Given the limited conditions for field access, BP-028 diving operations also afforded a means for the collection of ice samples for BP-016 and BP-179. BO-179-0 GENE EXPRESSION IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS: EXTENDING MICROARRAY TECHNOLOGY TO UNDERSTAND LIFE AT ITS LIMITS. Dr. Alison E. Murray, Principal Investigator, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada. Personnel on station: Alison Murray (DRI), Joe Grzymski (Rockefeller University), and Alison Kelley (DRI) Following a great crossing of the Drake Passage, the L. M. Gould delivered the BO-179-0 field team to Palmer Station the evening of October 16th. We arrived to open water conditions, which lasted only the first 4 1/2 days. We spent the better part of the first week setting up the new lab space, environmental rooms, and field sampling gear. By the end of the week we'd received most of the items that had arrived with the ship, and had the basics set up for sample acquisition and processing. We were fortunate to spend time with Sandy Bright, a consultant from Nikon, who was at Palmer for the port call, she provided a very informative training session on use of the epifluorescent microscope Friday Oct. 18th. Starting October 24th, we initiated an intense sampling schedule which lasted for 10 days, sampling every other day. Four out of the five samples were collected from the seawater intake system, directly from a feed line in the pumphouse. Pack ice and cold temperatures inducing formation of local sea ice prevented zodiac operations until Oct. 30th. The boating coordinator, Doug Fink, had outfitted our Mark V zodiac that week with a platform, davit and winch that were rigged to hold our sampling pumps and do CTD casts. Upon return of the open water, he ran us through the Boating II course the morning of the 30th, enabling us to collect our first samples (240L) offshore from a location 0.1 miles away from Station C. Our basic sampling regime consists of concentrating 100-200L seawater per depth for RNA analysis, collecting 20-40 L for DNA, subsampling for microbial activity and enumeration measurements, chlorophyll, CHN, and DOC determinations. Appreciation is extended to the lab staff, namely Cara Sucher and Barb Watson for their support in getting all of our various equipment, instruments, and supplies to us in a speedy manner. AO-106-P GLOBAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE RADIATION BELTS AND THE LOWER IONOSPHERE Dr. Umran Inan, Principal Investigator, Stanford University. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The Stanford equipment receives and records Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio waves in order to study natural ionospheric and magnetospheric phenomena, as well as to study the distribution of the lightning strikes that are a principle source of natural VLF signals. A new DVD writer was installed in the Broadband Synoptic PC. The data is now recorded onto DVD's instead of CD's. Now only one DVD needs to be burned every two days instead of seven CD's. GO-052-P GPS CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING REFERENCE STATION Mr. Jerry Mullins, Principal Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month, 15 second epoch GPS transmissions were collected continually at station PALM. Each day, the previous day's data file was examined for completeness, compressed, and transmitted to the USGS in Reston, VA. GO-090-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH NETWORK (GSN) SITE AT PALMER STATION Dr. Rhett Butler, Principal Investigator, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Station PMSA is one of more than 130 sites in the GSN, monitoring seismic waves produced by events worldwide. Data files are recorded to tape and also sent to the USGS in real time. OO-204-O A STUDY OF ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN VARIABILITY IN RELATION TO ANNUAL TO DECADAL VARIATIONS IN TERRESTRIAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS Dr. Ralph Keeling, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Air samples are collected on a semiweekly 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 sent to Scripps where the analysis of O2 and CO2 content takes place. OO-264-O COLLECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR FOR THE NOAA\CMDL WORLDWIDE FLASK SAMPLING NETWORK Dr. David Hofmann, Principal Investigator, Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, 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 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. OO-275-O DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM (RAMP) Dr. Colin Sanderson, Principal Investigator, Department of Energy, Environmental Measurements Laboratory. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. 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. One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. OO-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATIONS (AWS) Dr. Charles Stearns, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin. The Science Technician monitors data transmissions for the project. AWS transmissions from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock were monitored using the TeraScan system. The Hugo Island AWS site is not currently transmitting. It was noticed that the Bonaparte Point pressure readings are about 20 mb low. University of Wisconsin personnel were notified of the discrepancy. TO-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM Dr. Dan Lubin, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP and NOAA satellite telemetry, capturing approximately 25 passes per day. An 85GHz SSM/I "ice concentration" image was produced and transferred to UCSB for BP-032-P (Smith) on a weekly basis. Changes were made to the TeraScan Product Generation System (PGS) configuration so DMSP infrared images are automatically generated and sent to RPSC in Centennial. TO-513-O ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRORADIOMETER NETWORK Mr. Charles Booth, Principal Investigator, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The BSI UV monitor produces full sky irradiance spectra ranging from the atmospheric UV cutoff near 290nm up to 605nm, four times per hour, while the sun is above the horizon. TIDE GAGE Mr. Tony Amos, Point of Contact, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Tide height and sea water temperature and salinity are monitored on a continual basis by a gage mounted at the Palmer Station pier. METEOROLOGY Each day, three synoptic weather observations were performed, coded, and sent to Rothera Station via HF radio. At the end of the month, a summary report was prepared and sent to interested parties. A spreadsheet was prepared that generates charts for daily QC of the data gathered by the PALMOS automatic weather system. Another spreadsheet was prepared that displays real time charts of the PALMOS data. This spreadsheet updates charts each minute that are viewable on the local intranet. OTHER A camera mount was designed and fabricated to allow pictures of fluorescence to be taken with a digital camera over a UV light table.