PALMER STATION SCIENCE MONTHLY REPORT August 2004 NEWS FROM THE LAB Sonja Wolter, Winter Assistant Supervisor Between work and the Palmer Station 2004 Winterover Olympics, August was a busy month here. Laboratory-related work included, yes, ongoing inventory and cleaning, as well as the insulation of water and glycol lines in the labs. For those men who live in BioLab while on station, you will be pleased to know that a remodel of the berthing bathroom is nearly complete. And being Palmer Science fans, readers have no doubt been on the edges of their seats wondering how the Science Department (all two of us) fared in the Winterover Olympic games. I suspect youÕll be overjoyed to know that the squad delivered some very impressive performances. Though most of the credit goes to the Research Associate, Team Science won medals in nine of the eleven events, including seven golds. Keep a sharp eye out for us on forthcoming Wheaties boxes. Once again, August was a boat-free month, so the wildlife report includes only what was spotted in the immediate Palmer and Bonaparte Point areas. These sightings included: Antarctic Sheathbills; Kelp Gulls; Blue-Eyed Shags; Giant Petrels; Antarctic Terns; and a Weddell Seal or two camped out on Bonaparte just off Hero Inlet. Hard to imagine that the Elephant Seals fled the area completely, but they were not even heard during the month, much less seen. ItÕs with sadness that I report that JulyÕs caterpillar did not progress beyond its chrysalis stage, but the monthly flying insect showed up late in August to lift our spirits. In weather news, a mere 23.9 mm of melted precipitation fell on the station during August. This included approximately 29 cm of snow, which accumulated to a maximum of 67 cm early in the month. Temperatures ranged from +1.4¼C to Š22.0¼C, our lowest temperature of the 2004 winter to date. Sea ice formation in the vicinity continued, though it faced regular setbacks due to strong northerly winds. August winds averaged 13 knots for the month and gusted to a maximum 75 knots. Photos received of nacreous clouds over McMurdo made the ones here seem rather shabby in comparison, but Palmer personnel still appreciated the colorful clouds on two mornings and one evening. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station during August: G-052-P GPS CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING REFERENCE STATION. Jerry Mullins, Principal Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month, 15-second epoch GPS data files were collected continually at station PALM, compressed, and transmitted to the USGS in Reston, VA. G-090-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH NETWORK (GSN) SITE AT PALMER STATION. Rhett Butler, Principal Investigator, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) The Research Associate 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 real-time to the U.S. Geological Survey. The vertical mass position was adjusted on 12 August. Ambient temperature was fairly warm at the time, so the mass position was left at roughly +2V rather than the standard 0V in order to allow appropriate room for downward drift during cold spells. 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 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. Air samples are collected on a weekly basis by the station physician. O-275-O DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM (RAMP). Colin Sanderson, Principal Investigator, Department of Homeland Security, Environmental Measurements Laboratory 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. The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. O-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATIONS (AWS). Charles Stearns, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin The Research Associate monitors data transmissions for the project. AWS transmissions from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and Racer Rock were monitored using the TeraScan system, with only Bonaparte Point currently operational. AWS data received was also forwarded to UCSB for B-032-P (Smith). A-306-P GLOBAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE RADIATION BELTS AND THE LOWER IONOSPHERE. Umran Inan, Principal Investigator, Stanford University The Research Associate 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 three out of every 15 minutes each day, and broadband continuous data was recorded for at least six hours per day. Narrowband continuous data was collected for 12 hours each day. Several different varieties of noise were observed in the VLF data this month. The most vexing was the semi-periodic appearance of 120 Hz spikes, which, when "active", would show up on the E/W channel for anywhere from 30-200 seconds, then disappear for about five to ten minutes before reappearing. Adding to the difficulty in tracing the noise source was its habit of vanishing for a few days at a time, only to reappear without warning. Plans for isolating the source either by use of a mobile antenna or by systematically briefly shutting down equipment on station that draws power in a cyclical fashion were underway when the noise disappeared once again, on 21 August, and did not return for the rest of the month. The disappearance of the noise happened to coincide with the discovery of a failed heater in the hot tub, which is certainly suggestive, if not conclusive. During the process of investigating the 120Hz noise, it was noted that turning on the fluorescent lights in the VLF hut also produces noise, of a more diffuse nature, on the E/W channel. ItÕs unknown if this has been the case for a long time and is simply being noticed now that digital spectrograms allow for the "non-audible" portion of the VLF signal to be easily observed. Eventually bulbs and/or ballasts will be replaced to see if this reduces or removes the noise, but for the moment the lights are simply not being used. The final odd noise observed this month appeared only once, for about thirty minutes on 20 August, as a set of varying harmonics between about two and ten kHz on both channels. Winds were very high, and a mechanical source for the noise that involves vibration of the antenna tower or loops seems most likely, but it was not noted during other periods of high wind, so that explanation remains speculative at best. Substantial messenger cable maintenance was required this month. About half a dozen new nails were placed in the posts supporting the cable on its run up the glacier. As the braided messenger cable "saws" its way through the supporting nails, they require replacement every few years, and high winds and ice deposition speeded the process in August. The messenger cable also parted completely once and was spliced back together. Low intensity LEP (Lightning-induced Electron Precipitation) events were observed sporadically, but more frequently than in previous months, in the narrowband data, and extra jpeg image files highlighting those events were prepared and transferred to Stanford. During the first and last ten days of the month, active magnetospheric conditions led to the burning of numerous additional DVD-Rs of broadband continuous data. Quiet conditions prevailed between 11 and 20 August. A software script received from Stanford was executed to further process broadband synoptic data files containing the signal from the South Pole Beacon transmitter, and the results were emailed to the grantees. A small in time, though large in size, sample of continuous data was emailed to one of the grantees. T-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. Dan Lubin, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Research Associate 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. A weekly 85GHz SSM/I ice concentration image was produced and transferred to UCSB for B-032-P (Smith). Two more ice images of the area around 65S and 3E, at the very limit of the Palmer TeraScanÕs range, were provided to the captain of the R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER. This area is the likely target of a cruise scheduled for approximately this time of year in 2005. An ice image displaying the northern extent of the pack ice on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula was provided to the captain of the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD. T-513-O ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRORADIOMETER NETWORK Charles Booth, Principal Investigator, Biospherical Instruments, Inc The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. A BSI SUV-100 UV spectroradiometer 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. A BSI GUV-511 filter radiometer, which has four channels in the UV and one channel in the visible for measuring Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), is located next to the SUV-100. Data from the GUV- 511 instrument is made available on a daily basis on the projectÕs website http://www.biospherical.com/nsf/ . Scheduled absolute calibrations were performed on 13 and 26 August. An unscheduled absolute calibration was performed on 04 August in order to monitor the system responsiveness after the instability observed in July. That scan, and all subsequent scans, showed the stability to be good. The SUV scan sensitivity level was reduced on 14 August, causing the PMT voltage to be set 50V lower for each data and response scan, after bright mid-day light levels saturated the systemÕs counter. Data collection on the GUV was stopped and restarted on 20 August after a communications error prevented it from opening its daily data file. TIDE GAGE Tony Amos, Point of Contact, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Tide height, seawater temperature, and salinity are monitored on a continual basis by a gage mounted at the Palmer Station pier. On 11 August the tide gage was set to log data on its local hard drive for a couple of hours while the main network server was being relocated and was thus unavailable for data storage. METEOROLOGY The Research Associate acts as chief weather observer, and compiles and distributes meteorological data. At the end of the month a summary report is prepared and sent to interested parties. Weather data collected using the automated electronic system is archived locally and forwarded semimonthly to the University of Wisconsin for archiving and further distribution. Synoptic reports are automatically generated every six hours by the Palmer Meteorological Observing System (PalMOS) and emailed to the NOAA for entry into the Global Telecommunications System (GTS). Current weather observations for all Antarctic stations, including Palmer, are available on the web at: http://www.wunderground.com/global/AA.html. The month proceeded with no further glitches in the analog sensor readings, so it appears quite likely that the now-disconnected snow-depth sensor was the cause of the sporadic problems seen in May and July. The visibility sensor was calibrated on 16 August, after a brief period in which it reported quite unbelievably large values. Power was cycled to the ceilometer on 31 August, after it was noted that the Zeno was reporting an inordinate number of (though not only) "bad value" readings.