Investigations at LTER Palmer site include:
- Physical forcing (solar, atmospheric, oceanic and sea ice) with emphasis on ecological consequences of annual and inter-annual variation
- Ecology and population biology of marine bacteria and archaeal, phytoplankton, zooplankton and seabirds
- Biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen
- Ecosystem responses to climate migration
- Physical/chemical/biological modeling linking ecosystem processes to environmental forcing
Testable hypotheses link sea ice advance, retreat and extent to carbon and oxygen dynamics, seasonal primary production,
zooplankton abundance, distribution and recruitment; foraging, breeding success and survival of apex predators such as Adélie
penguins; and large-scale interactions of the atmosphere and ocean. Our research emphasizes regular annual sampling of a grid
of hydrographic stations along the west Antarctic Peninsula, oceanographic process studies, moored sediment traps, intensive seasonal
studies in seabird colonies, moored and glider-based oceanographic sensors, remote sensing of ocean color, sea surface temperature
and sea ice. Observations and experimental results are integrated and synthesized using one- and three-dimensional ocean process models.
Old Palmer Station was established in 1965 with the current Palmer Station occupied starting in 1967. The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs in collaboration with the Division of Environmental Biology designated Palmer in 1990 as the first polar biome LTER site in the Southern Hemisphere. Logistics support for all Antarctic activity of the United States is provided by Raytheon Polar Services.