PALMER STATION SCIENCE SITREP MARCH 2001 William R. Fraser, SSL NEWS FROM THE LAB. Brett Pickering, Asst. Supervisor, Laboratory Operations March brought many seasonal changes to Palmer both in personnel and weather. Two grantees and the first wave of Raytheon summer personnel started their migrations north, while the second group of winter-overs arrived on station. An Argentinean group stopped at Palmer for a short visit and to take some scientific samples to Argentina. The group included Dr. Gustavo Ferreyra, head of the Argentine Antarctic Institute's Marine Sciences Division, a naval commander and others arrived by a helicopter launched from the Almirante Irizar, an icebreaker. These visitors were given a tour of Palmer Station's laboratories. Sylvia Rodriguez, an Argentinean who worked with BP-016-O this field season, collected the phytoplankton samples taken by the group. Sylvia will be performing further analysis with these samples at her home institution in Argentina. Station and visiting grantees gave four science lectures during the month. Donna Patterson spoke twice, giving talks about Giant Petrel feeding and breeding and human impacts on Adelie Penguin colonies on Torgersen Island. Dr. Bill Fraser (BP-013-O) spoke about Adelie Penguin ecology and success based on prey (krill) response to winter sea ice cover. Craig Smith (BO-303-O) and Dave DeMaster (BO-313-O) spoke during the backside port call for LMG01-03. Their informal lecture about sea floor nutrients and biomass included video footage from a remotely operated vehicle. Palmer weather became more seasonally typical in March. The sunny days of the past months were replaced by 29 overcast days and a couple days were partly cloudy. Precipitation (76.4 mm) more than doubled from the previous month. The temperature also fell to an average of 1.7 C, although the high was a warm 7.0 C. High winds were common during the month limiting boating activities and creating ocean swells. The average wind speed was 11 knots from the north, with peak gusts of 60 knots. Most indicative of the coming winter was the accumulation of 14 cm of snow by the end of the month. The following programs were involved in research at Palmer Station: BP-013-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (SEABIRD COMPONENT). William R. Fraser, Principal Investigator, Biology Department, Montana State University. Personnel on station: William R. Fraser, Donna L. Patterson and Chris Denker. Reduced access to our island study sites due to severe weather during the month delayed acquisition of the final LTER Seabird Component core field data. Much of the month was thus devoted to data management, the completion and submission of manuscripts and laboratory analysis associated with the identification and measurement of Adelie Penguin diet sample components. Slightly improved weather conditions towards the end of March, however, finally permitted us to reach our field sites and complete most of the remaining field work associated with the LTER. This included obtaining late-season diet samples, maintenance and retrieval of our telemetry equipment and the testing of instruments being readied for deployment during the upcoming GLOBEC program. As in past seasons, we have continued the acquisition of basic data on the demography, breeding biology and foraging ecology of Giant Petrels, Kelp Gulls, Blue-eyed Shags and Brown and South Polar Skuas. These data add to several species-specific time series that began in the mid-1970s. Our work in March benefited greatly from the able assistance provided by Raytheon Polar Services Company employee Jeff Bechtel. BP-016-0 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (PHYTOPLANKTON COMPONENT). Maria Vernet, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Personnel on station: Karie Sines, Karen Pelletreau and Michael Thimgan. Palmer inshore water sampling at stations B and E was completed nine times during the month of March, with the final collection of stations B and E occurring on the 29th. Production measurements show the lowest average production for the season, with levels showing a decrease from those observed in February. BP-016 has continued collection of PRR (Profiling Reflectance Radiometer) and CTD data, as well as fluorometric analysis of chlorophylls for BP-032. This chlorophyll analysis shows a maintained low level trend, similar to that seen in production measurements. Injection of all LTER samples for pigment analysis (using HPLC) was also completed in this month and the beginning of April. BP-016 began the tear-down of our Palmer station facilities on March 30. We would like to thank the Instrument Tech (Howard Tobin), the Lab Manager (Brett Pickering), the Logistics Department (Carmen Lemon, Stacie Tanner, and Cheryl Hansen) and finally the boating coordinator (Jeff Bechtel) for their patience and support during this time. BP-028-0 LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED SYSTEM (PREY COMPONENT). Robin M. Ross and Langdon B. Quetin, Principal Investigators, Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara. Personnel on station: Robin Ross, S. Oakes and Jordan Watson. Activities for the month of March continued similarly to those in the month previous focusing on acoustic sampling, laboratory grazing experiments and analysis of spawning frequency samples from the 01 January Palmer LTER cruise. Twice-weekly standard acoustic transects were completed during the first 2 weeks of March, however acoustic targets were few and signs of bird feeding in the local area were limited. Net tows produced primarily phytoplankton mats and Thysanoessa sp. larvae but during the first week of sampling adult krill were caught. One growth rate experiment and chemical composition were completed. Regular sampling ceased after the 15th of March. High wind conditions limited boating activity during the end of the month. Throughout the month, continued efforts in the laboratory centered on feeding experiments with Antarctic krill. Five additional water column feeding experiments were completed. The surface feeding protocol to simulate winter ice feeding was finalized and several experiments were done. Further experiments continued to show that ingestion rates for krill <30mm feeding on surfaces was higher than for those feeding in the water column. Analysis of preserved eggs from spawning frequency experiments during the 01 January LTER cruise were completed by the end of the month. Variability in the size range of the eggs produced by different females continued to be high. Dr. Robin Ross departed station on the 10th of March. BP-032-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (OPTICS COMPONENT). Raymond C. Smith, Principal Investigator, ICESS, University of California at Santa Barbara. No personnel on station; please refer to BP-016-0 for current information. GO-052-P GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, Principal Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Made 15-second differential GPS data on 24 and 25 February available to Dr. Colin Harris, a member of the UK-USA Special Protected Areas task force surveying Litchfield Island and Biscoe Point. The Zip Drive used to archive daily data sets failed on March 25th. Attempts to replace the drive and reinstall the drive software were unfruitful, and the problem may be associated to a conflict between the Iomega and NT software. The IT department continues to work on this situation. The failure of the Zip drive is only an inconvenience and does not hamper the operation of the system. Data lost on March 21st and 22nd due to overflow condition on disk, and on March 27th and 28th due to repair downtime with the Zip drive. GO-091-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Principal Investigator, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Made adjustments to the Z-mass position in order to bring system back within an acceptable calibration range. Encountered brief problem with automated tape transfer, which froze data collection. Reset system parameters and data collection resumed. Sent Data tapes to grantee on two occasions. AO-106-P STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF THE IONOSPHERE. U. Inan, Principal Investigator, Stanford University. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Assisted Stanford representative on site in performing maintenance and system upgrades to the Broad Band and Narrow Band equipment. Removed the ice pillar forming beneath the VLF tower, and lowered the tower to a level surface. Performed continuous late season maintenance on VLF cable and antenna. Repeatedly reset the anchors for the tower guy lines as well as both the East/West and North South loop antennas, due to severe deterioration of the glacier ice. Late in the month reset the anchor points for the antenna and tower guys for what will likely be the final time this season. Temperatures are beginning to drop enough to hold the anchors in place now. The loop antennas were damaged in a storm, which saw gusts of over 60 knots. Repair required several trips up the tower. The antenna is now secure, and its orientation has been accurately aligned and measured. System calibrations are complete. Gathered large volumes of data from a particularly active ionosphere on three occasions. A planned power outage interrupted data collection for approximately one hour on March 8th. A GPS failure necessitated a manual reboot for both narrow-band and the broadband computers on March 9th. Approximately 4 hours of data was lost. Data was lost on March 18th and 19th due to drive overflow conditions. Removing old data files cleared up the problem and acquisition resumed normally. Sent data tapes and Compact Disks to grantee on two occasions. OO-204-O MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. Ralph Keeling, Principal Investigator, 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, Principal Investigator, 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, Principal Investigator, 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, Principal Investigator, 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. Weekly filter changes and monthly disk changes were made. Also prepared monthly control filter cartridge. Sent sample filters and data diskettes to grantee on two occasions. OO-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin. The Science Technician monitors data transmissions for the project. 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. R-035 TIDE GAUGE. Tony Amos, Point of Contact, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. System operating normally. Contact Tony for long-term data, predictions and interpretation (afamos@utmsi.utexas.edu). TO-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM R. Whritner, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Archived clear satellite passes for BP-032-O on a regular basis. Provided daily ice image support of the Marguerite Bay area for the LMG-03 cruise. Sent data tapes to AARC and Ray Smith of BP-032 on two occasions. TO-513-O UV MONITORING NETWORK. C. Booth, Principal Investigator, Biospherical Instruments, Inc. The Science Technician operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Made available preliminary UV data for BP-016-O on a daily basis. Performed multiple scheduled calibration scans. During one calibration scan a Spectralink system failure occurred. The failure was cleared and the monochronometer recalibrated. The system is currently functioning properly. Lost data for one day when Syquest archiving disk filled up.