PALMER STATION SCIENCE MONTHLY REPORT June 2003 NEWS FROM THE LAB Sonja Wolter, Winter Assistant Supervisor Prescript: Please note that the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) is undergoing a network migration, which affects, among other things, e-mail addresses. Please update your address for the Palmer Station Laboratory Supervisor to: pal.labs@usap.gov Palmer Station quieted down significantly when the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD departed on June 1, 2003, with 24 of the station’s population, including six members of BO-022-O (Amsler), four members of BO-036-O (Sidell), four members of BO-037-L/P (Detrich), and ten Raytheon Polar Services (RPS) employees. This left the station with a population of 17 people, until the ship’s return on June 20, which brought eight RPS employees, the USAP’s Pressure Vessel Inspector from New Zealand and a representative of AGUNSA from Punta Arenas. The entire group, as well as one additional RPS employee, departed with the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD on June 24, leaving a population of 16 personnel. During the midwinter visit, the Pressure Vessel Inspector scrutinized many pieces of equipment on station. Of interest to the science community, he examined the autoclave in the laboratories, as well as the fume hoods. Also in the laboratories, a mechanical engineer from RPS inspected and made plans for changes to the heating and ventilation system, and the RPS safety engineer assessed the lab spaces for health and safety issues. Despite an overfull work schedule for all during the visit, everyone participated in a festive Midwinter celebration on June 21 with the Palmer population, the visitors and the ship’s crew. Palmer enjoyed the unique distinction on the continent of being the only station with visiting guests for the occasion. Before and after the midwinter visit, other work conducted in the labs has included cleaning, sealing and waxing the floors; preventative maintenance on the refrigerators, freezers, and ice machine; and general cleanup and inventory. Wildlife sightings for the month included the somewhat unusual (for June) arrival of two Weddell seals on station. One is suspected of attempting to sabotage the station’s weather data by wriggling up to and making a complete lap around the stake used for measuring snow accumulation. (Despite the seal’s valiant efforts, the weather data has persevered!) Another unusual appearance for the month included a Minke Whale in Arthur Harbor near the station’s seawater intake. Additional reported sightings in the Palmer Station area included: Leopard Seals; Elephant Seals; Adelie and/or Gentoo Penguins; Sheathbills; Snow Petrels; Kelp Gulls; Blue-Eyed Shags; and Giant Petrels, including one that was entirely white. June brought 65.8 mm of precipitation on 17 of the month’s 30 days. This included 52 cm of snow, which accumulated to a maximum 72 cm near the end of the month. The Palmer Station population saw 25 cloudy days, two partly cloudy days and three clear days. Temperatures reached as high as +2.1ºC and as low as –10.5ºC. The winds gusted to a maximum of 55 knots and averaged 8 knots for the month. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station during March: GO-052-P GPS CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING REFERENCE STATION 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 GPS epoch data was collected continually at station PALM, compressed, and transmitted to the USGS in Reston, VA. GO-090-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH NETWORK (GSN) SITE AT PALMER STATION 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 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 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) 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) 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 RACER Rock anemometer is broken. The Hugo Island AWS is not currently transmitting. The Bonaparte Point AWS failed during the month and was repaired. AO-306-P GLOBAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE RADIATION BELTS AND THE LOWER IONOSPHERE 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. Broadband synoptic data was recorded on a schedule of 3 out of every 15 minutes each day, and broadband continuous data was collected for 9 hours/day. Narrowband continuous data was collected for 6 hours each day. TO-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. Dan Lubin, Principal Investigator Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. GPS problems were corrected during this month. Throughout the month, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP and NOAA satellite telemetry, capturing approximately 25 passes per day. Weekly 85GHz SSM/I “ice concentration” images were produced and transferred to UCSB for BP-032-P (Smith). TO-513-O ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRORADIOMETER NETWORK Charles Booth, Principal Investigator Biospherical Instruments, Inc The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The quarterly inter-comparison between the three calibration lamps was preformed this month. 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 Tony Amos, Point of Contact The University of Texas Maine Science Institute The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Tide height and seawater temperature and salinity are monitored on a continual basis by a gage mounted at the Palmer Station pier. METEOROLOGY The Science Technician acts as chief weather observer, and compiles and distributes meteorological data. 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. The Science Technician is working with the RPSC meteorologist, project engineer, and Coastal Environmental Systems, the maker of the software, to establish automated synoptic report generation.