PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP NOVEMBER 2000 Raymond Smith, Station Science Leader NEWS FROM THE LAB Rob Edwards, Supervisor, Laboratory Operations The pack ice, which quickly packed into Arthur Harbor towards the end of October, dispersed almost as quickly in the beginning of November, thus opening up a month with the best field access seen in several years. Relatively calm conditions and a paucity of storms and precipitation enabled researchers on long term projects to consistently conduct their fieldwork throughout the month, as reported below. The general Palmer Station remodeling continued with FEMC personnel finishing up a number of minor projects, the most visible of which was the completion of the "sun deck" on GWR. Set-up of the new Medical clinic in GWR was completed, allowing use of the old X-Ray room for equipment storage. In combination with additional storage space in the BioLab mechanical room, we've been able to alleviate some of the overcrowding and storage problems in the laboratories. Even though average temperature was just barely below 0 C, there was a substantial warming trend through the month, resulting in an almost complete loss of the smaller than average snowpack. Precipitation followed the generally dry conditions for the year with only 45 mm falling during the month. It's no surprise here when the average cloudiness is 90% or more, but we did have two beautiful clear days for a change of pace. And of those cloudy days very few were stormy, with a very moderate monthly average wind speed of 7 knots. Flora and fauna have responded to the change of seasons. Terrestrial and aquatic plants were beginning to show seasonal growth by the end of the month, though after the initial bloom in October the phytoplankton biomass has remained relatively low. Krill have been apparent in the local waters, and seabirds were flocking to any near surface concentrations. Many of the nesting birds laid eggs during the month, with Adelie and Gentoo penguins, Brown and South Polar Skuas, Giant Petrels, Terns, and Kelp Gulls being the most abundant close to station. In fact, a couple pair of Gentoos set up shop near the seawater pumphouse, with one egg being laid, but it was lost and after a few days they moved on. The number of Leopard Seal sightings jumped up, and unfortunately a few of them had great fun with the rubber Zodiacs we hung out on a line for them to play with. They kept our boating coordinator busy pulling and patching boats. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station: BP-013-O: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (SEABIRD COMPONENT) Dr. William R. Fraser, Polar Oceans Research Group, Sheridan, MT. Personnel On Station: Matt Irinaga, Chris Denker, Heidi Geisz. The month of November proved to be one of the most productive in recent years due to open water conditions and favorable weather. The BP-013 team was able to go out into the field 25 out of 30 days. The 5 weather days were spent on station working on data, organizing files, and repairing field gear. Adelie Reproductive Success Sites were set up on Torgersen and Humble Islands and monitoring commenced on 11-04. Because of our ability to visit the sites almost daily throughout the month, "true" egg lay dates were possible to determine. Combined with indicator counts conducted every other day, this facilitated our ability to determine peak egg lay. The AMLR Peak Egg Counts occurred on 11-17 for Torgersen, Humble and Litchfield Islands, and 11-23 and 11-24 for Cormorant and Christine Islands. Dream Island was visited on 11-18 and Biscoe Point 11-23. Early season diet samples were collected several times throughout the month. A total of 13 samples were collected. The prey was variable, ranging from juvenile to adult krill. One sample contained fish, but no otoliths, scales or bones were found. In addition to stomach samples, fecal samples were collected on an opportunistic basis. On 11-13 we collected Adelie egg weights and measurements from 45 nests in colonies 18 and 19 on Torgersen Island. The arrival of "Blondie" (our leukistic Adelie ) was recorded on 10-26 and passively observed. On 11-18 she had laid an egg with her mate in attendance. By 11-20 the egg was gone and the nest site abandoned. She has not been seen since. A pair of Chinstrap penguins was observed on 11-11 in colony 18 on Torgersen Island defending a nest site. On 11-22 the pair was observed incubating an egg. This might represent the first pair of breeding Chinstraps on Torgersen Island. On Biscoe Point a total of 296 active Gentoo penguin nests were recorded during our peak egg census of the island. This represents approximately a 99% increase over last year's counts. In addition to this, a lone female gentoo laid an egg near the seawater intake at Palmer Station. Up to 5 gentoos were later seen there. The nest failed the following day. Snow stake transects continued on Torgersen, Humble, Litchfield, Cormorant and Christine Islands. The deposition of snow appears persistent as moderate to heavy snow fell on 11-14 and 11-21. Brown Skua work continued throughout the month. Arrival dates for breeding pairs have been determined and a pair of adults banded on Torgersen Island. First Brown Skua eggs were found on Humble Island 11-27. South Polar Skua work commenced on Shortcut Island. Thus far we have visited the island 3 times in order to determine arrival dates for breeding birds and the collection of fecal samples. In addition to South Polar Skuas, on 11-20 we conducted a survey of Southern Giant Petrels nesting on the island. Our "World Wide" Kelp Gull survey was conducted on 11-25/26. This survey included all the inshore islands plus Outcast and Halfway Islands. We continue to monitor all the marine mammals in the vicinity of Palmer Station. We would like to thank the Palmer Station community for their continued help and support. Special thanks to Jeff Bechtel (Boating Coordinator) and Drew Wilson (Communication Tech) for their extra effort. BP-016-O: LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AN ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM - PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY COMPONENT Dr Maria Vernet, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Personnel on station: Wendy Kozlowski (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) and Silvia Rodriguez (Antarctic Institute of Argentina) Cooperative weather allowed for consistent water column sampling by the phytoplankton ecology component of the LTER group at Palmer Station. Though the month started with some brash, we were able to collect surface samples off the end of Bonaparte during this time, and over the course of the month, full water column sampling was completed seven times. Surface water was collected from station B an additional sixteen times for microsporin-like amino acid sampling, and one additional full profile was completed this month for UV exposure primary production work. During all this, the 016/032 sampling platform was pulled from the water, and the top surface stripped and refinished in an attempt to reduce chipping of paint. Some minor modifications/improvements were also made to the platform while it was out of the water, and it has worked well during all sampling trips. All measurements as described in October continue this month. Pigment analysis has begun in earnest, with instrument setup now complete and standards run. Preliminary results from the Palmer inshore area show a fairly steady, but overall lower rate of production than was seen in October, with a monthly average less than half of what was seen last month with the "bloom" conditions. Non-quantitative microscopic analysis of 5u net tows taken at stations B and E showed continued presence of cryptomonads, and diatiams (Coscinidiscus (sp), Thalassiosira (sp), Chatoceros (sp), Eucampia (sp), Rhizoselenia (sp), and Nitzschia (sp), and an apparent increase in the dominance of Corethron (sp)), as well as the appearance of some flagellates. We gratefully acknowledge the extra time and assistance given to our group this month by the Raytheon staff at Palmer, specifically Jeffrey Bechtel (boating coordinator) and the always-helpful-Palmer-lab-guys (Rob Edwards and Howie Tobin). BP-028-O: LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AN ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM (PREY COMPONENT) Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin, Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara Personnel on station: Langdon Quetin, Dan Martin and Stephanie Oakes (Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara) Field activities this month yielded the most productive start of a season since the Palmer LTER began. The early part of the month saw continued diving operations, including those under sea ice. By 10 November the ice had cleared and the Rubber Duke II (trawl & acoustic platform) was ready for work. Although diving turned up no krill, our first day of trawling provided us with enough larvae to run a suite of experiments, including growth, condition factor and chemical composition. Krill continued to remain in the Palmer area throughout the month. By month's end we caught enough to start three additional growth experiments, including one for adults and a second full sampling of larvae for condition factor and chemical composition analyses. The acoustic sampling protocol (utilizing the zodiac platform) was also carried out with unhindered success. Jeff Bechtel, the new boating coordinator, was instrumental in keeping our operation running smoothly (despite mechanical and other temporary setbacks). Excellent boating weather was also key to our early success, as was the continued high-quality support from station staff. Graduate student Stephanie Oakes continued to culture specific phytoplankton species and ice algae, and to design feeding experiments for her project. Our principal investigator, Langdon Quetin, departed station on 11/19/00. BP-032-O: LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, AND ICE DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM (BIO-OPTICS, REMOTE SENSING, SEA ICE COMPONENT) Raymond C. Smith, ICESS, University of California at Santa Barbara, CA Personnel on station: Kirk Ireson, Sarah Searson, Bill Swanson (TEA), Ray Smith Core sampling from the r/v zodiac platform "Bruiser" continues twice a week including: Profiling Reflectance Radiometer (PRR), CTD/Fluorometer/transmissometer, discrete Niskin bottle samples (at the following PAR levels: 100%, 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%, & 1%) and a vertical ring net. Water is analyzed back in the lab by BP-032-O for chlorophyll content. Future samples will also be jointly analyzed for colored dissolved material (CDOM) and phytoplankton absorption (ap). Panoramic ice pictures are taken each day from the T5 building. Searson, Swanson and Smith arrived at Palmer on 18 Nov after a 9-day voyage on the R/V LM Gould. Along-track data (chl-a, SST, position, etc.) were collected in route. The Raytheon folk quickly provided orientation, got our new equipment unloaded and Jeff Bechtel quickly and effectively trained us in Boating I & II courses. The "A-team" (Ireson, Kozlowski, Rodriguez) continued the core observations on "Bruiser". The new "B-team" (Searson, Swanson, Smith) set up new instrumentation on a second zodiac platform, "Wonderbread" (named for it's plainness). The instrumentation (a collaborative study between Ray Smith & Scott Pegau at Oregon State University) includes: a HobiLabs Hydroscat-6 (H-6), an instrument to measure backscattering (bb) in 6 separate wavebands; a WetLabs ac-9 (ac-9), an instrument to measure absorption (a) and beam attenuation (c) in 9 separate wavebands; downwelling irradiance (Ed) and upwelling radiance (Lu) in 7 separate wavebands; plus temperature, conductivity and depth. It is anticipated that the inherent optical property (IOP) observations will complement the ongoing apparent optical property (AOP) long term data set and provide additional evidence for the unique bio-optical properties of Southern Ocean waters. Our sampling strategy is to deploy both zodiac research platforms simultaneously, thus maintaining the core observations while augmenting them with complementary data. Bill Swanson is this year's Teacher Experiencing Antarctica (TEA) and is working with our group. In addition to his daily journal (http://tea.rice.edu/swanson) and working with our team in every capacity, Bill has been making sunphotometer observations using a MicroTops II Sunphotometer (on loan from NASA's SIMBIOS project). When the sun is totally unobstructed, these observations permit estimation of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) which is an important parameter in modeling the atmosphere and the atmospheric corrections for the ocean color SeaWiFS sensor. A full account of Bill's activities can be found on the TEA web site. Shortly after our arrival (23 & 25 Nov) we had two beautiful clear sunny days - days for excellent optics and took this unusual opportunity to carry out our full suite of bio-optical measurements. Since then we have settled into our twice a week sampling routine with the two zodiacs as described above. GO-052-P: GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, U.S. Geological Survey The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. During the month of November, GPS transmissions were collected continuously, converted daily to a RInEx format, compressed and transmitted to the US Geological Survey in Reston, VA. GO-090-P: GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Global seismic events were recorded throughout the month. The LaserJet 4+ was repaired and now can print entire plots without memory overflow. After a generator test, the UPS for the digital processor (DP) failed to return to normal operation. As a result the DP lost power and data was lost from 15:49UT to 19:01UT on November 8. The unit was tested and returned to normal operation. The seismic vault server crashed and went offline on November 17. Data was lost form 1149UT to 2340UT. Software was reloaded and the server returned to normal operation. Dimas software was successfully installed and is now in use for analysis of seismic data. AO-106-P: STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE. U. Inan, Stanford University The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The Stanford receiver records very low frequency (VLF) radio waves for studying ionospheric and magnetospheric natural phenomena. The broadband computer halted acquisition unexpectedly three times in rapid succession at the beginning of the month; after the third failure the computer was rebooted and it has not failed again. New HP CD-writers were received, but not completely installed due to software conflicts between HP writer software and existing data acquisition software. New software compatible with both the CD-writers and the existing data acquisition software is being explored. 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 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 return-shipped to Scripps where the analysis of O2 and CO2 content takes place. OO-254-O: CHLORINE-AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN ANTARCTICA. R.A. Rasmussen, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and Technology Air samples are collected on a weekly basis by the station physician. Samples are returned to the Oregon Graduate Institute for analysis of a number of trace components, mostly chlorine-and bromine-containing gases. These elements in particular 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. David Hofmann, Environmental Research Laboratories, 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 team 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. OO-275-O: DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM. C. Sanderson, Department of Energy, Environmental Measurements Laboratory The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The Remote Atmospheric Measurements Program (RAMP) 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. New filter cartridges were received and modified to fit current configuration. Old cartridges are no longer in use due to sealing problems. OO-283-P: ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns, University of Wisconsin Automated Weather Station (AWS) transmissions from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock were monitored using the TeraScan system. The Bonaparte Point unit continued to send an invalid wind speed, presumably due to a CPU failure, the Hugo Island unit currently is not broadcasting, and reception of broadcasts from the RACER Rock unit has been erratic since 06/07 October. Repair of the AWSs is contingent on the arrival of new parts and on vessel scheduling to access the remote sites TO-312-O: TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM R. Whritner, Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month of November, the TeraScan system collected, archived and processed DMSP, NOAA, and encrypted SeaWiFS satellite pass telemetry, maintaining a schedule of 20-25 passes per day. NOAA, DMSP, and encrypted SeaWiFS telemetry were archived for BP-032-O when the LTER grid was clear of clouds. 85 GHz SSM/I ice concentration images were produced and sent to BP-032-O on a weekly basis. Numerous images, infrared, visible and microwave-derived "ice concentration" were produced and sent to the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD throughout the month to assist in cruise planning. The SeaWiFS satellite went offline unexpectedly on the 17th and 18th of November. The outage was unannounced and NASA later reported that it was due to the Leonid Meteor shower. On 19 November the satellites were back on line and working properly. TO-513-O: UV MONITORING NETWORK. C. Booth, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month, daily raw irradiance data scans were collected and transmitted to BSI, and preliminary irradiances and spectral integrals were produced for on-site researchers. Absolute calibration scans were performed as scheduled.