From: "MARC POMEROY" PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP JULY 1997 The following science projects were active at Palmer Station during the month: NEWS FROM LAB SERVICES, by Marian Moyher I was recently asked what my best decision was for the last year. I answered without hesitation: hiring Alice Doyle. While Alice enjoyed her work last year at Palmer, she came to us from the Bermuda Biological Center and had too much salt water in her veins. So, Alice is off to work for Bob Kluckhohn (ASA Lab Supervisor, Vessels) as the Senior Marine Science Technician. As such, she will support science groups on the R/V L.M. GOULD and NATHANIEL B. PALMER, and will still make an appearance at Palmer Station from time to time. I know that you join me in wishing Alice smooth seas. In other news, the Palmer Area Users Committee has provided ASA with their capital equipment requests for the year. The top five requests were a weather station, zodiac hydrographic winch, GPS Rover with decimeter accuracy, HPLC fluorescence detector and nutrient analyzer. While we will not be able to meet all requests this year (there were 16 total), the GPS rover has been purchased and most of the weather station components have been identified. ASA will continue our efforts to specifically identify a winch, HPLC detector and nutrient analyzer. Our thanks to all of you that participated in the voting process. If you have specific suggestions regarding the winch, detector or analyzer, please pass them to me at moyherma.asa@asa.org. Efforts on station continue to prepare the labs for the 1997-98 field season. Construction of the temporary microscope bench has been begun, along with other space-saving measures discussed at the regional meeting in June. The sun has returned to station proper, and the winter-overs are becoming short timers. S-085 GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. Geological Survey The system has been monitored by the station science technician. For the month of July, GPS data was collected nearly continuously. Daily data was converted to a Rinex format, compressed, and FTPed to Reston, VA. The average daily data transfer to Reston was 2.2 MB. In July, two data files were truncated after data collection inexplicably halted. On 31 July, there was an extended power outage lasting 3 hours. During this outage, the system was powered by a portable generator. The system's UPS could not handle the portable generator's output, so the UPS was temporarily disconnected for the duration of the outage. Data acquisition was briefly halted and restarted twice to accomplish this task. Throughout the month, there were an additional 13 short power outages which the UPS was able to handle. S-091 GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) No personnel were on station. The system has been monitored by the station science technician. During the month of July, there were 13 scheduled power outages and one unplanned outage. The UPS connected to the Data Processor was removed, after it became apparent that the input frequency from the emergency generator powering T-5, during the outages, was outside the tolerance of the UPS. The DP was simply powered down for the duration of each outage/generator transfer and then restarted after the generator transfer was completed. The system recovered normally after each of the outages. S-106 STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE. U. Inan, Stanford University No personnel were on station. The system has been monitored by the station science technician. During the month of July, there were 13 scheduled power outages and one unplanned outage. The system's UPS supplied power during short outages. During the one extended outage, the system was powered by a portable generator. Several synoptic recordings were missed as a result of the power outages. No outages occurred during Beta recordings or narrowband data collection. On 20 July, only 6 hours of narrowband data was collected. The cause of the truncated data session was unknown. On 25 July, the VLF/Hero Inlet ground was tested to determine if there may be a short to the station ground. No problems with the grounding were evident. S-204 MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography No personnel were on station. Air samples are collected on a semi-weekly basis by the station physician. The samples are return shipped to Scripps for analysis of O2 and CO2 content. The goal of the program is to resolve seasonal and interannual variations in atmospheric O2 (detected through changes in O2/N2 ratio) which can aid in the determination of rates of marine biological productivity and ocean mixing and aid in the separation of the global sink for anthropogenic CO2 into terrestrial and oceanic components. The program involves air sampling at a network of sites in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Palmer Station is especially well situated to resolve signals due to carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. S-254 CHLORINE-AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN ANTARCTICA. R.A. Rasmussen, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and Technology No personnel were on station. Air samples are taken on a weekly basis by the station physician. The samples are returned to the Institute for analysis of a number of trace components, especially chlorine- and bromine-containing gases. These elements have been implicated in the chemical processes that contribute to the austral-spring depletion of the ozone layer over Antarctica. This work will contribute to a better understanding of the buildup of trace constituents, particularly those of high- latitude marine origin. S-257C COLLECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR FOR THE NOAA\CMDL WORLDWIDE FLASK SAMPLING NETWORK. James T. Peterson, Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration No personnel were on station. Air samples are taken on a weekly basis by the station physician. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory team continue long-term measurements of trace atmospheric constituents that influence climate. The Palmer Station air samples are returned to the NOAA laboratory for analysis of trace constituents, including carbon dioxide. These measurements are part of NOAA's effort to determine and assess the long-term buildup of global pollutants in the atmosphere. These data will be used to determine how the rate of change of these parameters affects climate, particularly by including them in climate model studies. S-275 UM/DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM. C. Sanderson, Department of Energy, Environmental Measurements Laboratory No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. During the month of July, there were 13 short (less than 10 minutes each) power outages and one extended power outage lasting 3 hours. The pump was off for the duration of each outage. T-312 TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Scripps Institution of Oceanography No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. Throughout the month of July, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP and NOAA telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 15-17 passes per day. NOAA and DMSP telemetry were archived for S-032 when the LTER grid was clear. AWS transmissions were monitored from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock. Additionally, several high resolution DMSP infrared images of the Weddell Sea were produced and sent to Marine Operations in Denver to support the upcoming Dovetail cruise. On 05 July, a hard disk failed on the TeraScan system and was replaced with the site spare. On 17 July, a software patch was installed on the TeraScan system to allow for the collection of DMSP F-14 telemetry. During the month, only one scheduled pass was missed in spite of 14 power outages. The power outages were necessary to facilitate the Palmer Station power upgrade. T-513 UV MONITORING NETWORK. C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. Throughout the month, raw irradiance data were collected daily and transmitted to BSI, and preliminary irradiances and integrals were produced in support of Science. Scheduled absolute calibration scans were performed on 02 July, 21 July, and 30 July. The UV Monitor was powered by a portable generator for the duration of each of 14 power outages that occurred throughout the month. On 29 July, the data scan rate was bumped up to 4 scans per hour. __________________________________________________ Marc Pomeroy - Antarctic Support Associates Winter Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations Palmer Station, Antarctica pomeroma@palmer.usap.nsf.gov ___________________________________________________