PALMER STATION SCIENCE MONTHLY REPORT January 2004 Dr. Tad Day, Station Science Leader NEWS FROM THE LAB Cara M. Sucher, Sr. Assistant Supervisor, Laboratory Operations January brought change and variety, both in weather conditions and station activities. The stunning, sunny weather of December disappeared just in time to greet the Gould as she arrived for the annual LTER research cruise. We still had a sprinkling of sunny, warm days, but unlike December, these were interspersed with clouds, wind and rain. NSF representative Dave Bresnahan and Lab Supervisor Rob Edwards arrived on the Gould along with a handful of other media, RPSC and science personnel. The annual LTER cruise started the month off with the usual flurry of activity, though a two-night port call helped make the transition from station labs to ship labs a smooth one. A large number of LTER scientists participated on the cruise, but the labs were far from quiet. Tad Day's terrestrial ecology group remained on station as did small crews for each LTER component except the phytoplankton group. Fen Montaigne, a freelance writer on assignment with National Geographic Magazine, also joined the Palmer community for the month. Fen spent time with all the science groups while researching an article for a special issue devoted entirely to climate change (October 2004). Joining Fen for about a week was National Geographic photographer Peter Essick, arriving via the yacht Philos. Both Fen and Peter took time out of their schedules to share their work with station personnel. Fen presented a mesmerizing lecture on his adventures researching his book “Reeling in Russia” and Peter showed photographs he took for his and Fen’s National Geographic story on the Northern Boreal Forest (June 2002). Another significant event worth mentioning is the dump cleanup. Two old dump sites from the early 1980’s were finally remediated thanks to the hard work of a three-person environmental team. Over 308,000 lbs of debris was removed, filling 153 27ft3 plastic totes. The results were so impressive we took our station photo at one of the sites to commemorate the event. Tourism again played a large role in our lives this January. Seven tour ships and six yachts visited over the course of the month. At one point, three of the yachts rafted together in Hero Inlet – quite an unusual sight. A majority of the yachts were registered in France, visiting the Antarctic to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of French explorer Jean- Baptiste Charcot’s founding Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island, 19 February 1904. On the other end of the spectrum, The World, a large, privately owned ship made up of multi-million dollar condominiums, also visited Palmer. The staff invited grantees and RPSC personnel on board to mingle with the passengers and answer science and research questions. As mentioned earlier, the weather this month has been a mix of rain, sun, clouds and wind. High temps reached to 47°F on the 26th and winds gusted upwards of 55 knots on the 18th. Of significant interest is the collapse of the glacier dividing Arthur Harbor from Loudwater Cove. The collapse created a significant gap between which the two bodies of water now connect, revealing that Norsel Point is not attached to Anvers Island. The following projects conducted research at Palmer Station during January: B-003-P: RESPONSE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS ALONG THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA TO A CHANGING CLIMATE Thomas A. Day, Principal Investigator, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Personnel on station: Thomas A. Day, Christopher T. Ruhland, Ji-Hyung Park, Sarah Strauss, Jeffrey M. Klopatek Our main objective during January was to put in place our climate manipulation plots behind station. In our plots we will modify temperature, ultraviolet radiation (UV) and precipitation regimes to mimic future climate change along the Peninsula, and examine how these changes affect terrestrial plants and associated soils that we will place in the plots. Each plot consists of a wooden box (1.85 m long, 1.25 m wide and 20 cm tall) that holds 12 plant/soil cores or microcosms. In ten plots, an infrared (IR) heater above the box provides about 30 W/m2 of additional IR radiation to the surface of the microcosms. This additional incoming radiation is equivalent to that expected with a doubling in tropospheric CO2 concentrations, which is expected by the end of this century. In the remaining ten plots a ‘dummy’ heater (of the same dimensions but without a heating element) is placed above the box. We also manipulate ultraviolet-B radiation levels in each plot with two filters that are mounted around the microcosms in each box. One filter is UVB transparent and allows ambient levels of incoming UVB to reach half the microcosms. The other filter absorbs UVB and offsets increases attributable to ozone depletion. By early January we had finalized how we would manipulate microclimate in these plots. On January 12 we finished preparing 20 sites for placement of our 20 boxes or plots, and over the next 4 days we oriented and leveled boxes, and secured them in place. Jeff Gustafson, Dan Weisblatt, Ryan Wallace and Andy Martinez (FEMC, RPSC) mounted the heaters and dummy heaters over plots and wired the heaters to a control panel. During the rest of the month we compared several microclimate parameters under plots with IR heaters versus dummy heaters (air and soil temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, vapor pressure deficit). On average, heaters increased canopy air and soil temperatures by about 1.5 degrees C and reduced relative humidity of canopy air by 3-5%. The exception was during periods of strong winds, when IR heating provided little in the way of elevating air or soil temperatures. This was expected, and our objective was to provide an additional 30 W/m2 of incoming IR radiation to our ‘warmed’ plots, rather than controlling these plots at a given temperature above that of ambient. We also finish testing our UVB filter designs and determined a series of filter designs that will allow us to reduce UVB by different levels depending on the extent of ozone depletion. On January 31 IR heaters were turned off and we placed all microcosm cores in two sand boxes behind station where they will remain until they are returned to their treatment plots next spring. On January 5, Jeff Klopatek arrived on southbound LMG04-01, and on January 4, 9, 17 and 26 we visited Biscoe Point. During these visits we collected the remaining plant/soil cores or microcosms we needed for our plots behind station. We also filled holes left from coring with native glacial till, tagged each sampling location, and took photographs to allow us to monitor plant re-establishment patterns of these core locations. Ten of the cores were collected for baseline measurements, and were prepared for several analyses on station. Soil invertebrates were extracted from cores and extracts were prepared for transfer to colleagues at the British Antarctic Survey for identification. Further extractions on soil samples were performed to allow us to determine levels of carbon and nitrogen pools using instruments at our home institution. We also revisited several young populations of vascular plants growing in the Palmer area. Vascular plants colonized these recently deglaciated areas during the 1990s and we last censused them in 1999. Nearly all these populations have expanded since 1999, with most increasing in population several fold. Lastly, we fielded several science questions during the month from 7th and 8th grade students in Minnesota and California. Thanks to all personnel at Palmer Station for their assistance during a busy month for our project. We especially thank Andy Martinez and his group for constructing the field plot bases (Jeff Gustafson, Bob Jirschele, Ryan Wallace), running electrical service (Dan Weisblatt), and moving our supplies up the hill (Dave Ensworth). Thanks to Doug Fink for solid boating support, Langdon Quetin for helping us haul gravel, and Wendy Beeler and Marge Bolton for excellent food and galley atmosphere. As we prepared to redeploy at the end of the month, Rebecca Shoop, Steve Barten and Ken Navarro provided great logistics support, and Cara Sucher and Barb Watson restocked items and helped make our lab checkout a smooth process. B-013-P: PALMER, ANTARCTICA LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: CLIMATE MIGRATION, ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE AND TELECONNECTIONS IN AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT: SEABIRD COMPONENT William R. Fraser, Principal Investigator, Polar Oceans Research Group, Sheridan, MT. B-198-P: MONITORING THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABILITY ON ADELIE PENGUINS AT PALMER STATION, ANTARCTICA William R. Fraser, Principal Investigator, Polar Oceans Research Group, Sheridan, MT. Personnel on station: Brett Pickering, Cindy Anderson, Heidi Geisz, Dan Evans, Jordan Watson and Bill Fraser. The arrival of the Laurence M. Gould on January 5 increased our personnel by two people, Bill Fraser and Jordan Watson. Two of our field team members, however, Heidi Geisz and Brett Pickering, departed January 6th on the annual LTER cruise. This left four personnel on station to continue the Palmer-based component of our LTER and tourist impacts studies. Weather and ice conditions during January, though not as optimal as December, remained very much in our favor. This resulted in an unprecedented 31 days of continuous access to our research sites. As last season, we again experienced no delays in the start of several time- sensitive studies, including Adélie penguin diet sampling, the application of presence/absence and satellite-linked transmitters and dive-depth recorders. Together these data serve as indices of krill availability in the marine foraging environment of Adélie penguins, and as proxies for looking at changes in krill demography that may be important to understanding other aspects of the ecology of these penguins. By mid- month we also completed several censuses used to assess interannual variability in breeding chronology and chick survival, and also concluded our studies on Adelie Penguin breeding biology initiated in early October. The good weather also permitted us to reach remote study sites on the Dream and Joubin islands and on Biscoe Point, where a significant time series on Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins is being developed that includes data on population trends, breeding success and foraging ecology. 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. We also hosted freelance writer Fen Montaigne and photographer Peter Essick, who together are working on a climate change article for the National Geographic magazine. One or more large tour ships and several smaller sailboats visited Palmer each week during January. Coincident with these visits, we monitored Torgersen Island to obtain data on tourist flow, and to compare aspects of Adélie penguin reproductive biology and ecology with control sites not visited by tourists. Although this effort repeats work done in past seasons as part of a long-term monitoring study to look at human impacts, our work this season is focusing more on tourist flow patterns that may contribute to habituation of Adelies to human presence, as formal experiments dealing with habituation are planned for next season. Our work this month benefited greatly from the able help given us by many Raytheon employees, especially Doug Fink, Chris Vitry and Jeff Kietzmann. B-016-P: PALMER, ANTARCTICA LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: CLIMATE MIGRATION, ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE AND TELECONNECTIONS IN AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT: PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY COMPONENT Maria Vernet, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography B-032-P: PALMER, ANTARCTICA LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: CLIMATE MIGRATION, ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE AND TELECONNECTIONS IN AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT: BIO-OPTICS, REMOTE SENSING, SEA ICE COMPONENT Raymond C. Smith, Principal Investigator, ICESS, University of California at Santa Barbara Personnel on station: Wendy Kozlowski, Karie Sines, Peter Horne, Bryan White, Karen Pelletreau, Joseph Grzymski, Erin Bostrom and Eli Loomis (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) The month of January began with preparation for the annual summer LTER cruise. Core water column sampling at stations B and E was completed on the second, before the lab was packed up to move onboard the Laurence M. Gould. With the help of four new team members, transfer of the lab to the ship was smooth and efficient, and the grid portion of the seasonal sampling began on the 7th. Palmer stations B and E were revisited twice during the cruise, and we returned to Palmer on the first of February. B-028-P: PALMER, ANTARCTICA LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: CLIMATE MIGRATION, ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE AND TELECONNECTIONS IN AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT: PREY COMPONENT Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin, Principal Investigators, Marine Science Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara Personnel at Palmer Station: Langdon Quetin, Brian Cheng, Alison Haupt Personnel Movements: Brian Cheng left the station 6 January to join the annual LTER cruise aboard the Laurence M. Gould and was replaced at the station by Alison Haupt. We maintained acoustic sampling between the near-shore LTER station A-E and F-J in early January, sampled krill in the area for length and sexual stage frequency throughout the month and for condition factor toward the end of January. This season there is a large percentage of relatively large immature krill in the vicinity of Palmer Station. All krill from in situ growth rate experiments have been measureed and the data entered. Phytoplankton cultures continue to grow well, and we expect to have concentrated stocks for post-cruise feeding experiments. We recovered the APV from the mooring January 12, replaced the batteries and redeployed it January 14. The APV remains in the water and the mooring is stationary in 57 m of water. B. Cheng and L. Quetin did one dive on the Bahia Paraiso January 5 noting that the ship has changed position and is resting more on its side rather than the superstructure, with the decks in a vertical orientation rather than at 45°. From January 5-7 we helped prepare for the annual LTER cruise while the Laurence M. Gould was at the dock. Efforts to compare the new and old BioSonics systems failed when the old system blew a fuse at the start of a transect. Four days later early on a Sunday morning, January 11, a leopard seal ruptured the two rear pontoons of the Rubber Duke, sinking the back half of the boat. Both motors and the entire acoustic system were submerged for several hours. Thanks to quick action by the crew at Palmer Station the old acoustic system was flushed, cleaned and may be salvageable. It has been shipped back to BioSonics for evaluation. The Rubber Duke (same name new zodiac) was soon ready for trawling again. Both motors were operational by late afternoon of the day they were submerged. On January 15 the Rubber Duke was again operational for trawling and using a fish finder to locate krill. Many thanks to all involved in that salvage operation. Other events: On January 10 we spotted a black-necked swan in the vicinity of Christine Island. Later the same day it was seen near the APV mooring buoy near Palmer Station. A. Haupt and L. Quetin with the National Geographic writer, Fen Montaigne, and photographer, Peter Essick, spent the day of January 15 on the Laurence M. Gould while the LTER completed the high density grid near Palmer Station. B-045-P: PALMER, ANTARCTICA LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: CLIMATE MIGRATION, ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE AND TELECONNECTIONS IN AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT: MICROBIAL/BIOGEOCHEMISTRY COMPONENT Hugh Ducklow, Principal Investigator, School of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary Personnel on station: Lauren Rogers This January we maintained presence on Station while most personnel left to go the LTER summer cruise aboard the LMG. Thus we were able to continue routine sampling and observations at stations B and E during the critical summer period. Sampling was coordinated with the LMG’s return to Stations B,E on 16-17 January, enabling us to cross-calibrate between the ship and station samples. Delivery of low-carbon water and deep seawater reference water (Bermuda deep ocean water) from the Hansell lab at the University of Miami permitted us to begin routine analysis of DOC samples on station. The DOC analyzer is performing with ±2 ?M C precision, based on repeated analyses of the Bermuda reference and deep water samples collected off the WAP. Samples collected during the 2002-03 season at Stations B,E range from 40-60 ?M C, consistent with observations elsewhere in Antarctic coastal waters. Thanks to Langdon Quetin, Alison Haupt and Cara Sucher for valuable assistance in field sampling during the past month. G-052-P GPS CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING REFERENCE STATION. Jerry Mullins, Principal Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month, 15-second GPS epoch data were collected continually at station PALM, compressed, and transmitted to the USGS in Reston, VA. This month the Research Associate assisted the Palmer Lab Manager in setting up the mobile GPS units, with the objective of conducting a precise benthic survey of the waters around Palmer Station. The Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) was programmed to broadcast real- time correction values at a 1-second intervals, and the roving GPS unit programmed to receive the correctors via a wireless modem. G-090-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH NETWORK (GSN) SITE AT PALMER STATION. Rhett Butler, Principal Investigator, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Station PMSA is one of more than 130 sites in the GSN, monitoring seismic waves produced by events worldwide. Data files are recorded to tape and also sent real-time to the U.S. Geological Survey. Tours of the seismic vault and instrumentation were provided, coinciding with maintenance visits. At these times the seismometer mass positions were recalibrated, and the bell-jar vacuums surrounding each instrument were verified. On several occasions during the month there were large seismic events around the world, and graphs of the events (as received at Palmer Station) were displayed for interested personnel. O-204-O A STUDY OF ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN VARIABILITY IN RELATION TO ANNUAL TO DECADAL VARIATIONS IN TERRESTRIAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS. Ralph Keeling, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Air samples are collected on a semiweekly 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 sent to Scripps where the analysis of O2 and CO2 content takes place. O-264-O COLLECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR FOR THE NOAA\CMDL WORLDWIDE FLASK SAMPLING NETWORK. David Hofmann, Principal Investigator, Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory 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. Air samples are collected on a weekly basis by the station physician. O-275-O DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM (RAMP). Colin Sanderson, Principal Investigator, Department of Energy, Environmental Measurements Laboratory The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. 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. One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. O-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATIONS (AWS). Charles Stearns, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin The Research Associate monitors data transmissions for the project. AWS transmissions from Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and Racer Rock were monitored using the TeraScan system. AWS data received was also forwarded to UCSB for BP-032-P (Smith). A-306-P GLOBAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE RADIATION BELTS AND THE LOWER IONOSPHERE. Umran Inan, Principal Investigator, Stanford University The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. The Stanford equipment receives and records Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio waves in order to study natural ionospheric and magnetospheric phenomena, as well as to study the distribution of the lightning strikes that are a principle source of natural VLF signals. Broadband synoptic data were recorded on a schedule of 3 out of every 15 minutes each day, and broadband continuous data were recorded for 6 hours/day. Narrowband continuous data were collected for 12 hours each day. This month the Research Associate performed maintenance on the VLF antenna, inspecting the cables and anchoring system, and tightening the guy-wires that support the mast. This type of maintenance is typical during the summer season as the glacier underneath the antenna rapidly melts. Early in the month a large boulder in Palmer’s “backyard” broke apart and slid down over the cable: a very unusual occurrence. Part of the cable remains pinned under the boulder, but the cable sheath appears only slightly crushed and is still serviceable. Assistance was also provided in debugging software problems, and a new – successful – patch was installed to prevent software failures during late- night broadband continuous data recordings. Additionally, the Research Associate provided information to assist the P.I. in the possible relocation of the antenna to a bedrock location. T-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. Dan Lubin, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Throughout the month, the TeraScan system collected, archived, and processed DMSP, NOAA and Orbview (SeaWiFS) satellite telemetry, capturing approximately 25 passes per day. Weekly 85GHz SSM/I ice concentration images were produced and transferred to UCSB for BP-032-P (Smith). Visible spectrum sea ice images were also produced in support of operations aboard the R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD, and to grantees from events B-228 (Mitchell), O-124-L (Gordon), and G-092-O (Domack) for cruise planning purposes. The latter two groups are generally interested in the distribution of pack ice in the Weddell Sea, South Orkney Islands, and Larsen Ice Shelf regions in preparation for cruise LMG04-04 in late April. T-513-O ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRORADIOMETER NETWORK Charles Booth, Principal Investigator, Biospherical Instruments, Inc The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project A BSI SUV-100 UV spectroradiometer produces full sky irradiance spectra ranging from the atmospheric UV cutoff near 290nm up to 605nm, four times per hour, while the sun is above the horizon. A BSI GUV-511 filter radiometer, which has 4 channels in the UV and 1 channel in the visible for measuring Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), has recently been installed next to the SUV-100. Data from the GUV-511 instrument is made available on a daily basis on the project’s website www.biospherical.com/nsf/ . This month, the dreaded triple absolute calibration of the UV monitor occurred. Every two weeks during the summer months the instrument is calibrated using one of three external “absolute” lamps. In January, there is a scheduled calibration wherein all the lamps are used successively. It is a time consuming operation, but everything went smoothly, the instrument performed as expected, and it will be another three months before another triple calibration is required. TIDE GAGE Tony Amos, Point of Contact, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute The Research Associate operates and maintains on-site equipment for the project. Tide height, seawater temperature and salinity are monitored on a continual basis by a gage mounted at the Palmer Station pier. This month new tide charts were produced for all of 2004 and distributed to station personnel. In addition, the Research Associate installed new predicted tide databases on the data collection system. METEOROLOGY The Research Associate acts as chief weather observer, and compiles and distributes meteorological data. At the end of the month a summary report was prepared and sent to interested parties. Weather data collected using the automated electronic system is archived locally and forwarded weekly to the University of Wisconsin for their forecasting models and data records. Following the implementation of the automated synoptic report generation system in mid-December, the system has been subject to intense scrutiny and cautious optimism. So far, it appears to be operating well. Synoptic reports have been sent on time, every time, and processed by the Global Telemetry Stream (GTS) within 15-30 minutes on average. Some issues still remain, primarily a malfunctioning snow depth sensor, however there are work-arounds in place and long-term solutions are being discussed.