From: "Rob Edwards" Organization: Palmer Station, Antarctica To: palmer_science@asa.org Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 21:02:06 -0300 Subject: September Science Monthly Report Hello; My sincere apologies for the lateness of this report. We were having some small problems with email and address aliases early last month, then the report got buried on my "desktop", where I lost track of it. I hope the information contained herein will still be interesting and useful to you. The October report, which contains the first summaries of the 9899 summer season fieldwork, will follow shortly. I appreciate any comments you may have regarding the content and format of these reports. Feel free to forward the reports on to any interested colleagues. If you would no longer like to receive them, or believe you are on this mailing list in error, please contact me directly; "Robert L. Edwards" thanks, rob PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP SEPTEMBER 1998 NEWS FROM THE LAB. Diane Wetterlin, Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations, and Robert Edwards, Supervisor, Laboratory Operations September was a period of transition at Palmer Station, marked by two of the most significant events of the year. This month we passed the vernal solar equinox, and winter staff turned over to summer. Station operations were quite busy, with the conclusion of winter remodeling projects during the first half of the month, the arrival of summer staff mid-month, and the arrival of researchers at the very end of the month. For us the most noticeable improvement on station was the transformation of the previous lab stores area into science, NSF, and lab manager offices. The old NSF office became the science library, with a separate alcove for access to the copier and printer. One of the more difficult jobs for the winter lab manager was the relocation and reorganization of lab stores into the mechanical room, equipment labs, and storage areas. We hope users will bear with us as some of the lab supplies continue to be transplanted while significant remodeling continues over the next few years. Less obvious, but important for the safe operation of the station, were projects removing asbestos tile, and upgrades to the sprinkler and HVAC systems. A great improvement for anyone prone to tossing and turning in their sleep was the replacement of the Pullman berths in BioLab with regular bunk beds. The weather was quite variable throughout the month. The temperature ranged from a high of 5.5 C to a low of =9621.7 C, with an average of =965.5 C. There were six clear or partly cloudy days out of 30, four of them in a row mid-month! Sea ice formed early in the month and was safe for travel on the 16th, but quickly deteriorated after that. The ice was blown out by high winds, gusting to 65 kts, late in the month. Average wind was 12 kts, with prevailing northerlies on 11 out of 30 days. Snow fell on 20 of the 26 days with measureable precipitation, the monthly ppt total was 54 mm water equivalent. Diane=92s =93Critter Report=94; September has been an exciting month for watching the animals around Palmer Station. As soon as I said I had not seen a Tern but could hear them, six of them showed up early one morning while I was outside shoveling snow. There were two Weddell seal pups born about a week apart in Hero Inlet. The first one was born Sept. 16th and the second one was born either the 23rd or 24th (due to high winds, rain and wet snow no one had been out there in several days). A Cape Petrel was sighted flying around Palmer Station for about half a day. We had hundreds of Gentoo penguins come through Arthur Harbor between Sept 23rd and 28th. Some of them spent the night on Torgerson Island and then were on their way the next morning. On Sept 23rd someone reported that there was a significant amount of krill under the ice in Hero Inlet. On the 27th I spotted the largest Shag =93V=94 formation (about 35 birds) I had seen this season. On the 28th a huge bull Elephant Seal was sighted on the Bonaparte side of Kristie Cove. On my last visit out to Kristie Cove on the 28th I counted 18 giant petrels on the south side of the peninsula. Looks like spring is coming to Palmer Station quickly with the return of so many animals and the scientists, too. On my way north I saw gentoos, adelies, cape petrels, giant petrels, sheathbills, and Antartic Fulmars at the Copacabana field camp on King George Island. Following the ship in the Drake there were cape petrels, giant petrels, black-browed albatross, and wandering albatross. The following programs were involved in research at Palmer Station: GO-052-O GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. Geological Survey The station science technician has monitored the system. During the month GPS data was collected continuously, converted daily to a RINEX format, compressed, and transmitted to the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA. Science Information Systems department performed an analysis of the GPS instrumentation available at Palmer Station in support of upcoming science events. The analysis included a survey of the capabilities of the GPS equipment, summaries of the use and operation of the hardware and software, integration of ARCVIEW and the Antarctic database programs, and an upgrade to the portable GPS laptop. GO-091-O GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) The station science technician has operated the system. Global seismic events were recorded throughout the month. All operations during the month were normal. AO-106-O STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE. U. Inan, Stanford University The station science technician has monitored the system. The Stanford receiver records very low frequency (VLF) radio waves for studying ionospheric and magnetospheric natural phenomena. An analysis of the continuous broadband recording system was performed, and one of the recorders was determined to be malfunctioning. Further analysis was conducted to determine the cause of data dropouts on the digital narrowband recording system; the investigation is still ongoing. OO-204-O MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography 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. OO-254-O CHLORINE-AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN ANTARCTICA. R.A. Rasmussen, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and Technology 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. OO-264-O COLLECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR FOR THE NOAA\CMDL WORLDWIDE FLASK SAMPLING NETWORK. James T. Peterson, Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 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. OO-275-O UM/DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM. C. Sanderson, Department of Energy, Environmental Measurements Laboratory The station science technician has operated the system. One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. 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. OO-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns, University of Wisconsin The station science technician has monitored the system. Automated Weather Station (AWS) transmissions were monitored from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock using the TeraScan system. TO-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Scripps Institute of Oceanography The station science technician has operated the system. Throughout the month, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP and NOAA satellite pass telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 17-19 passes per day. Additional pass collections were added in support of marine operations. NOAA and DMSP telemetry was archived for BP-032-O when the LTER grid was clear. A complete upgrade to the system hardware and software was completed, in preparation for cruise LMG98-9 of the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD: software systems for collecting and analyzing SeaWiFS imagery have been added. Some bugs in the system still remain, and the vendor is being consulted to work through them. TO-513-O UV MONITORING NETWORK. C.R. Booth, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. The station science technician has operated the system. Throughout the month, raw irradiance data scans were collected daily and transmitted to BSI, and preliminary irradiances and spectral integrals were produced in support of science projects. Scheduled absolute calibration scans were performed, and the system is operating normally. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= Robert Lyman Edwards Antarctic Support Associates Supervisor, Laboratory Operations Palmer Station, Antarctica email: edwardro@palmer.usap.nsf.gov INMARSAT voice: 011-874-336-857-710 fax: 011-874-336-857-712 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=