<STUDY> 9192pal

<DESCRIPTION> Palmer Station Season

<DATE_RANGE> oct91-mar92

<ABSTRACT> First Palmer LTER field season at Palmer Station.  Ocean water column observations were carried out twice a week from zodiacs over the Palmer near-shore grid.  Bird observations were carried out on nearby islands. 

<SAMPLING_FREQUENCY> Zodiac sampling was carried out twice a week of the water column at the near-shore grid stations.  The monitoring of bird populations continued for the entire field season. Weather was monitored daily.

<SITES>
Palmer Station (64deg 46'S; 64deg 04'W), Antarctica, near-shore
grid stations within a 2 mile zodiac boating limit include:
st, latS(d,m),  lonW(d,m),  comment
A,  64, 46.45,  64, 03.27,  Gamage Pt. (harbor side)
B,  64, 46.77,  64, 04.35,  w Bonaparte Pt.
C,  64, 47.30,  64, 04.35,  w 3 cable rocks
D,  64, 48.40,  64, 03.06,  w Laggard I.
E,  64, 48.90,  64, 02.43,  100 fathom pt
F,  64, 48.40,  64, 04.35,  tween pt
G,  64, 48.00,  64, 06.00,  se Spume I
H,  64, 47.30,  64, 07.60,  wsw Janus I
I,  64, 46.50,  64, 08.00,  w Litchfield I
J,  64, 46.00,  64, 08.00,  w Humble I
The five island rookeries within a 40km2 area include: 
Humble Island
Torgersen Island
Litchfield Island
Christine Island
Cormorant Island

<SITE_DESCRIPTION>
Palmer Station is situated at the edge of a glacier on Anvers Island
off the West coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.  

<HYPOTHESIS> 
The biological dynamics of the ecosystem are related to the 
extent of the annual pack ice.

<EXPERIMENTAL_DESIGN>
Repeated sampling of physics, chemistry, biology and optics of the water 
column and the bird colonies within the immediate Palmer area throughout
the spring and summer seasons.  The near-shore sampling grid stations 
were located using a portable GPS unit on-board the zodiac.  Three 
zodiac configurations were used:
 zodiac 1  (ROZE)  - optics/ctd, surface chl , fish finder for depth
 zodiac 2a (WET)   - chl, hplc, nutrients, productivity
 zodiac 2b (TRAWL) - trawl, fish finder for fish
Generally the ROZE and WET zodiacs would depart together.  From the 
ROZE conductivity-temperature and light profiles were measured and a 
surface sample for chlorophyll analysis was taken.  From the WET 
zodiac water column samples at the surface and two to five other 
depths (often including the chlorophyll maximum) were taken.
At stations B and E,  6 depths at least once a week were sampled.
After the WET zodiac run, the nets and fishfinder would be loaded 
on the WET zodiac for trawling.  Once a week an attempt was made 
to obtain a night trawl.  

<METHODS>
Research for long-term background monitoring program includes
repeated measurements of the water column made over a near-shore 
grid (Smith et al, 1996) and observations at bird colonies follow
accepted standard methods (CCAMLR, 1992).

<LT_CORE_DATA_SET>

<LT_CORE_AREAS>

<PROPRIETARY_LIMITS>
Core measurments available two years after the season.
Citation acknowledgement: "Data from the Palmer LTER data archive 
were supported by Office of Polar Programs, NSF (OPP-9011927)."

<RELATED_STUDIES>
Icecolors90, RACER, AMERIEZ, BIOMASS, AMLR, CCAMLR

<KEYWORDS>
Antarctic, Southern Ocean, LTER, long-term, marginal ice zone,
phytoplankton, bio-optics, krill, seabirds

<DATA_FILENAMES>
~lter/data/9192pal

<PUBLICATIONS>
CCAMLR, 1992. Standard Methods for Monitoring Studies. Convention
     for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
     Ecosystem Monitoring Program, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Fraser, WR, WZ Trivelpiece, BR Houston, and  DR Patterson.  
     1992.  Palmer LTER: Seabird research Undertaken During 
     1991-1992  at  Palmer  Station,  Antarctic Peninsula.  
     Antarctic  Journal  of  the  United States.
Moline, MA and BB Prezelin, 1994: Palmer LTER: Impact of 
     a  Large Diatom  Bloom  on  Macronutrient Distribution 
     in Arthur Harbor  during  Austral  Summer  1991-1992.   
     Antarctic Journal of the United States 29(5):217-219.
Prezelin, BB, M Moline, K Seydell, and K Scheppe, 1992. 
     Palmer LTER: Temporal Variability in HPLC Pigmentation 
     and Inorganic Nutrient Distribution  in  Surface
     Waters  Adjacent  to  Palmer  Station,  Decmeber 1991 -
     February 1992. Antarctic Journal of the United  States.
Ross, R, and L Quetin. 1990.  Biologists  Begin  Long-Term
     Ecological  Research  near  Palmer  Station.  Antarctic
     Journal of the United States 12-14. December.
Ross, RM, and LB Quetin. 1992. Palmer Long-Term  Ecological  
     Research  (LTER): An Overview of the 1991-1992 Season. 
     Antarctic Journal of the United  States.  
Schofield, O, BB Prezelin, and MA Moline, 1994.  Palmer LTER:
     Photoadaptation in a Coastal Phytoplankton Bloom and
     Impact on the Radiation Utilization Efficiency for Carbon
     Fixation.  Antarctic Journal of the United States 29(5):
     214-216.
Smith, RC, KS Baker, P Handley, and T Newberger, 1992.  
     Palmer LTER: Hydrography and Optics Within the
     Peninsula Grid, Zodiac Sampling during the 1991-1992
     Field  Season.  Antarctic Journal of the United States.
Smith, RC, JL Jones, LB Quetin, RR Ross, KS Baker, WA Kozlowski, 
     M Vernet, WR Fraser, 1996.  Palmer LTER: Annual Season 
     Sampling on Station. Antarctic Journal of the United
     States (accepted).

<PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORS>

<COOPERATING_AGENCIES>
National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs

<DATE_SUBMITTED>
25Aug92-ksb

<DATE_UPDATED>
25Nov96-ksb

<SUBMITTED_BY>
Karen S. Baker

<CONTACT_PERSON>
Robin M. Ross
Langdon B. Quetin

<COMMENTS>

<FORM> 
Study Form V1.3 for describing a collection of datafiles.