Farewell R/V Gould

This year, the R/V Laurence M. Gould completed its 27-year run as the Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel (ARSV) for the National Science Foundation. In that time, the ship spent nearly 6,300 days at sea, with over 1,000 supporting Palmer…
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New ADCP Backscatter Visualization Tool

Have you ever wondered what lies below the waters along the West Antarctic Peninsula? Now, you can use a new interactive map tool developed by former PAL graduate student Amanda Lohmann (now a PostDoc at the University of Virginia), to…

Melting Point: Where is the Antarctic Sea Ice?

For World Penguin Day last month, PAL Co-PI Dr. Sharon Stammerjohn was featured in a video produced by the Wilson Center on the recent changes in Antarctic sea ice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWwYi_2Oyd8 The above video was…
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Unexpected Connection: Palmer researchers featured in Sandpoint Idaho magazine

From the file of unexpected places you can find stories about Palmer LTER... Two of our penguin research technicians, Darren and Megan Roberts, were recently featured in their local community paper, the Sandpoint Magazine, published in…
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New paper: Watching the Sunrise on our Ocean Planet

PAL PI Oscar Schofield was recently asked to provide a "senior scientist view of the world" as part of the Food for Thought series in the ICES Journal of Marine Science. In this retrospective, Oscar recounts how he ended up as an oceanographer,…
Fig. 11. Conceptual diagram illustrating past conditions vs. present conditions in the marginal ice zone west of the Antarctic Peninsula in the spring season (October to November). Spring conditions are inherently light-limited due to low solar zenith angles (SZA). Past conditions with lower wind speeds and shallower mixed layer depth (MLD) provided more favorable conditions for spring surface phytoplankton accumulation compared to present conditions.

New paper on changing phytoplankton phenology along the Antarctic Peninsula

In a recent paper, Jessica Turner, a PAL collaborator and Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Connecticut, found that phytoplankton blooms are starting later rather than earlier over time, likely driven by increased wind mixing. Her…

Earth Day with Scott Doney

For Earth Day this year, PAL Co-PI Scott Doney was featured on the University of University of Virginia's podcast Hoos in STEM. In the episode “Celebrating Earth Day with Environmental Scientist Scott Doney,” Scott sat down with…
Fig. 3. Photos of example items found (A) A 185 mL bottle of Bona Forte fertilizer for houseplants (in Russian), (B) 100 mL metal bottle of Ethylchloride for pain relief (in Spanish) (left) and an unidentifiable metal bottle (right), (C) what appears to be a Dunlop Mens Purofort Thermo Wellington Boot, which is steel toe and protects under cold conditions, (D) estimated 40 lbs. of line, buoy (~ 2 m diameter) and cloth/mesh (note the human for scale), and (E) a Master Kong plastic water bottle cap (in Chinese). All items pictured were found in the Joubins Islands with BCE, A, and D on island 76, 12 and 18, respectively.

New Paper on marine debris found near Palmer Station

In a new paper,  Katherine Gallagher, Gina Selig, and Megan Cimino document their recent observations of marine debris around Palmer Station in Antarctica. Last season, they found 135 pieces of marine debris along the shore, and near the…
A map of the receding glacial terminus behind Palmer Station, over the last 60 years.

Looking Forward: The Race to Save Antarctic Penguins

The penguin populations in Antarctica are rapidly changing due to the effects of climate change. Over the past 30 years, scientists have studied the penguins around Palmer Station along the West Antarctic Peninsula, and have observed a significant…

Joy Ferenbaugh appointed Assistant Professor

Congratulations to Joy Ferenbaugh, who was recently appointed as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Adams State University in Colorado. Joy was previously a PAL post-doctoral scholar, working in Scott Doney's Computational Biogeochemistry…
A map of the receding glacial terminus behind Palmer Station, over the last 60 years.

Upside Down Ocean: Unraveling the Crisis of Antarctic Sea Ice

Climate change is having a dramatic effect on Antarctic sea ice. For years, ice around the continent seemed oddly consistent, while sea ice in the Arctic has declined dramatically. But that is no longer the case. Over the last few years,…
A map of the receding glacial terminus behind Palmer Station, over the last 60 years.

New Paper: 60 years of glacial retreat behind Palmer Station

In a new short paper, Megan Cimino, Marissa Goerke, and Shavonna Bent document how the Marr Glacier behind Palmer Station has retreated over the past 60 years. They found that the glacier has retreated about 7.7 meters per year, which…