Palmer Station SCIENCE SITREP September 1997 NEWS FROM THE LAB Rob Edwards, Senior Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations The transition from winter to summer Palmer Laboratory Operations occurred with two transits of the RVIB N.B.Palmer from Punta Arenas to Palmer Station in the latter part of September. Marc Pomeroy was on his way to McMurdo after the new lab staff, Rob Edwards and John Powell, arrived for the summer season. We're looking forward to learning the ins and outs of Palmer operations, with help from Kevin Bliss, the winterover Science Tech, and all the experienced hands who will be on station through the summer. As you all are probably aware, Marian Moyher has moved up and expanded her responsibilities with ASA Science Support as the new Manager of Laboratory Services. She will continue to be an important source of guidance to Rob and John, as we implement the support plans she and Alice Doyle worked out over the last few months. Temperatures have been cool and winds moderate, allowing sea ice coverage of Arthur Harbor and Hero Inlet throughout the month. This afforded the winter crew some access to local islands and Old Palmer, and also demanded some interesting solutions to accomplish cargo and passenger off-loading when the ship arrived. All hands participated as the first ship off-load was accomplished with sleds over the ice. and a human chain passing cargo up the transition and onto station. By the time the ship arrived in the second shuttle, the sea ice had softened too much to allow the same strategy. This time, the ship broke the ice as close to the pier as practical, then backed in and used her propellor wash to break up and clear out the ice from the pier, thus allowing Zodiacs to be used for cargo and passenger transfers. S-007 UV-PHOTOBIOLOGY OF PLANKTONIC DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF ANTARCTIC BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES. Deneb Karentz, University of San Francisco and Isidro Bosch, State University of New York, Geneseo. PERSONNEL ON STATION: Deneb Karentz, Isidro Bosch, Ross Hein, David Krakowski, Mario Pineda. We arrived on station September 18 on the Nathaniel B. Palmer. The focus of our work this season is to determine the extent to which levels of UVB in Antarctic surface waters during the springtime period of ozone depletion affect the development and survival of planktonic developmental stages (gametes, embryos, larvae) of benthic marine invertebrates. Our research effort involves sampling of natural plankton populations and manipulations of specimens reared in the laboratory, including experiments in outdoor tanks and in situ. Most of our efforts since our arrival have been devoted to the preparation of equipment for the collection (e.g. plankton pump, PUV radiometer) and analyses (HPLC, spectrofluorometer) of field data and for laboratory and outdoor experiments (e.g. plankton culture devices, outdoor tanks, dosimeter racks). Sea ice in Arthur Harbor and Hero Inlet is approximately 14-17 inches thick and so we have made five holes in the ice. Two of these are in Arthur Harbor (near seawater intake) and three are across Hero Inlet just east of the pier. Three SCUBA dives have been completed to collect adult invertebrates from these two areas. One species in particular, the sea star Psilaster charcoti, has provided ample material for our investigations during the past two weeks. The UVB susceptibility of gametes and embryos of Psilaster is being investigated in the laboratory with artificial UV sources, and in experiments under ambient light. Analyses to determine ontogenetic changes, the presence of UV screening compounds, UV-induced DNA and protein damage, and biochemical composition are presently under way. In addition, there are physical differences (e.g., color, buoyancy) in the eggs between animals collected in the harbor or the inlet and we are attempting to characterize possible physiological and UV-tolerance differences between these eggs. S-085 GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. Geological Survey No personnel were on station. The system has been monitored by the station science technician. For the month of September, 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. Several times throughout the month, the Windows NT computer crashed, causing gaps in the data set. The cause of the problem was unknown, but may have been related to possible configuration problems with the PC. The Palmer Station Network Administrator was notified of the crashes and launched the NT Alerter program to provide detailed information the next time a system crash occurred. As of this report, no crashes had yet occurred with the diagnostic software installed. 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. Operations continued without interruption throughout the month. 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. On 14 September, high winds snapped the antenna feedline guy wire in two places near the base of the antenna tower. A new section of wire was strung from the antenna tower down to the first turnbuckle (about 60 meters). 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. 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 September, 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 were produced and sent to Marine Operations in Denver to support the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer. During the month, occasional dropout of DMSP telemetry was noted. 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 12 September and 24 September. On 04 September, work was completed on the installation of a 20 amp electrical circuit in the UV Addition. The circuit was necessary to allow installation of a UPS on the UV Monitor. On 05 September, the UPS was installed and successfully tested on the system.