PALMER STATION SCIENCE MONTHLY REPORT September 2003 NEWS FROM THE LAB Sonja Wolter, Winter Assistant Supervisor September at Palmer Station was essentially a month of focused work as the crew prepared for the end-of-the-month arrival of the first of the summer population. With the help of substantial winds and rain, the sea ice that had accumulated for several weeks cooperated by disappearing just in time for the Gould's arrival. The Gould's port call lasted for five days, during which time the station's population, and activity level, approximately tripled. The major task for the visit included offloading 85,000 gallons of fuel, which came none too soon, as the station had nearly run out. Otherwise, the ship delivered a substantial amount of cargo, summer RPSC personnel, and a passel of visitors who completed various short projects. These included a journalist from the Antarctic Sun, a videographer, a meteorologist, a hazardous waste specialist, a fire systems inspector, and various engineers. The six-week long project in the laboratories to address the noise level and temperature concerns was completed in time for the visiting engineers to fine tune and balance the new heating and ventilation system. The white noise issue has improved significantly, and temperatures in the labs are currently comfortable. Also relevant to science, the visiting meteorologist spent time working with the Palmer Science Technician in an effort to automate Palmos, the not-yet-fully- automated weather system. The Gould's visit ended with a party to congratulate Captain Robert on his new position as captain of the Nathaniel B Palmer. Though he will still make some crossings of the Drake Passage on the Gould, the bulk of his time will be with the Palmer. We certainly wish him all the best, but we will miss him. The Gould departed amidst the newly blown in brash ice, leaving behind a crew of 28. And thus began the summer season. Significant sea ice coverage kept the zodiacs out of the water, so wildlife sightings for the month were again mostly limited to the immediate Palmer Station and Bonaparte Point areas. Gentoo penguins began arriving on Bonaparte in small numbers at the beginning of the September, and slowly increased throughout the weeks. Also newly returned to the area included a few Weddell seals, including one that gave birth to a pup in Hero Inlet. For the second month in a row, another somewhat out-of-season fur seal was spotted on Bonaparte Point. Giant Petrels continued nesting on Bonaparte, and as viewed through binoculars, it appeared that Blue-Eyed Shags were also nesting on Humble Island. The exception to the very local wildlife viewing came during the Gould's port call, when several station members took the opportunity to travel a short distance away from station in zodiacs. One group traveled to Elephant Rocks and had the chance to see two Elephant Seal pups, one of which had died. Other wildlife noted during September included: Leopard Seals; Crabeater Seals; Kelp Gulls; Snow Petrels; Sheathbills; and yet another appearance of a flying insect in the galley. September weather brought us 89.5 mm of precipitation, including significant rainfall, on 26 of the month's 30 days. Approximately 39 cm of snow fell and accumulated to a maximum 73 cm near the beginning of the month. Average cloud coverage was 94%, which translated to 29 cloudy days and only one clear day. Temperatures reached as high as +5.3ºC and as low as -19.7ºC. Winds gusted to a maximum of 63 knots and averaged 15 knots for the month. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station during September: G-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. This month measurements were taken for the forthcoming IMS building. Measurements were also made of the emergency runway on the glacier for the South Pole Station medevac. G-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. O-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. O-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. O-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. O-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. A-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 6 hours/day. Narrowband continuous data was collected for 6 hours each day. T-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. Ice images were made in support of the South Pole Station medivac and Marine operations 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). T-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 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 Marine 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.