Return-Path: palmer@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu Return-Path: Received: from atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu by crseo.ucsb.edu (4.1/SMI-4.4-Crseo Special) id AA12254; Mon, 3 Jan 94 17:23:39 PST Date: Tue, 4 Jan 94 01:20:42 GMT From: palmer@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu Message-Id: <940104012042.2400ea43@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu> Subject: SCIENCE SITREP To: palmer_science@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu, asahq@asa.org X-St-Vmsmail-To: MSG%"PALMER_SCIENCE",MSG%"ASAHQ@asa.org" SEND PLM134.JAN MSG%"PALMER_SCIENCE",msg%"ASAHQ@asa.org" SCIENCE SITREP R 040053Z JAN 94 FROM:Gail M. Ashley P A L M E R S T A T I O N A N T A R C T I C A TELEMAIL::PALMER.STA PHONE/FAX: 011-874-150-3157 SPAN::PALMER@ATSVAX.SPAN TELEX: 5841503157 PNHG INTERNET::PALMER@ATSVAX.RSMAS.MIAMI.EDU !TO ASA SHEPHERD !TO SPOLE NSFREP,MGR !TO MCM ASASAT, ASALABM, ASASUP, NSFMGR CC E-MAIL::ANTARCTIC.OPS, NSF.DPP.OCEANOPS, P.PENHALE, T.DELACA, R.HANSON, E.HOFMANN, R.BOOTH, O.HOLM.HANSEN, G.MITCHELL, M.VERNET, M.HUNTLEY, R.WHRITNER, D.KARL, W.FRASER, B.SIDELL, W.DETRICH, M.KENNICUTT, K.DUNTON, W.STOCKTON, L.QUETIN, R.ROSS, Sea.Space, W.TRIVELPIECE, R.SMITH.UCSB, GMCC.BOULDER(pass to B.Mendonca), F.AZAM, R.RADTKE, S.WEILER, SPOLE, DUKE, NATPALMER, ASAHQ, VLF@STAR.STANFORD.EDU, NSFMCM (includes all McMurdo addresses) KARENTZD@ALM.ADMIN.USFCA.EDU, CHAPPELL@UCRACC.SPAN, J.PROSPERO, TFOSTER@UCSCC.UCSC.EDU, DALLUGE@ATMOS.OGI.EDU, N.SWANBERG, R.BIDIGARE, NSFCHCH@IAC.ORG.NZ, ASACHCH@IAC.ORG.NZ Responding: Please insert in message, all CAPS, with the ! in column 1: !TO PAL SCIENCE,LABMANAGER,ADMIN,MANAGER S-013 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. William R. Fraser and Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Seabird Component, Old Dominion University, Norfolk VA Personnel on Station:Brent Houston, Tracey Mader, Eric Holm. All studies proceeded as planned during the month of December, largely due to mild weather and the lack of restrictive high winds in the area. High winds only prevented safe local boating on two occasions, December 1st and 24th. Local access to gull and skua study sites (i.e. Bonaparte Point) was, however available on these dates. Pack ice blew into the area on December 19th, but only restricted local boating between Humble Island and Palmer Station. We continued to follow reproductive sites of banded Adelie penguins on both Torgersen and Humble Islands to determine egg laying, chick hatching and egg and chick losses. South polar and brown skua study sites on 6 islands continue to be visited every 3 - 5 days to determine territory establishment, egg laying and chick hatching dates. Diet samples of adult skuas continue to be collected on an opportunistic basis. Cormorant nests continue to be monitored weekly at two sites. Kelp gull reproductive studies also continue on Norsel Point. All chicks have hatched, and chick survivability is being monitored weekly. Diet samples continue to be collected weekly. Giant petrel censuses were conducted from December 5th - 19th on all island in the area. 411 nesting pairs were counted and checked at 5 day intervals to determine which breeding birds were banded. Marine mammal observations continue to be taken daily within the Palmer Station area. Brent Houston departed Palmer Station on December 25th. S-016 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Barbara Prezilen, Production Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA Personnel on Station: Sandra Roll, TJ Evens, Bill Golden Continued bi-weekly sampling of the five nearshore stations continued, including productivity experiments, CHN, NH4, and nutrients once weekly, and pigments (HPLC) twice weekly. A 24 hour time series productivity experiment was conducted once a week. Algal cells were examined and photographed under epifluorescence. Two 12 hr. ambient light action spectra UV experiments were done; one while the ozone hole was still above us, and one after it had passed over. A comparative study of an intertidal rock alga was proposed, organized, and conducted; which involved one 12 hour action spectra and one 12 hour time series UV experiment. Organization and inventory of supplies was begun in preparation for the January LTER cruise, as well as deployment of supplies and equipment post-season. A work order was placed for shipping containers. Extensive communications with the University of California, Santa Barbara occurred with instruction, strategies, and procedures for the ensuing cruise. S-028 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin, Prey Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA Personnel on station: Holly Coe, Karen Haberman, Chris Johnson, Kathy Niedermeyer, Tim Newberger Field sampling continued this month using the ROZE (Research Oceanographic Zodiac Experiment) and the trawling vessel (RV Rubber Duke). Using the ROZE, four weeks of acoustic data for assessing biomass and distribution of krill was collected along the two LTER nearshore transects. Collecting live krill for laboratory experiments, chemical composition and condition factor has again very successful using the RV Rubber Duke. Six growth experiments have been completed and four series of krill samples for chemical composition and condition factor have been processed. Four sets of standard oblique zooplankton tows have been completed, all samples have been sorted and major taxa identified and enumerated. Size frequencies of krill caught in these net tows and the targeted net tows have been completed. All data has been archived and is in preliminary stages of analysis. Staging for the January LTER cruise on the Polar Duke continued. Karen Haberman began feeding selectivity experiments using field collected phytoplankton. Several phytoplankton cultures also were established. S-032 LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Ray Smith, Optics Component, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. Personnel on Station: Tim Newberger. Nearly perfect weather this month allowed us to sample the full suite of 10 nearshore stations each week with the ROZE, collecting both CTD and optical data. We were able to document the development of a stable water column and the first phytoplankton bloom of the season. All data has been archived and preliminary analyses are underway. Preparation for the January LTER cruise on the Polar Duke has continued throughout this month. S-044 EFFECTS OF OZONE RELATED INCREASED UV-B FLUENCES ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS, PHOTOADAPTATION, AND VIABILITY OF PHYTOPLANKTON IN ANTARCTIC WATERS. Osmund Holm-Hansen, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA. Personnel on Station: Bruce Chalker, Walter Helbling, Rogelio Marguet, Virginia Villafane. During the month of December we continued our investigations on the impact of solar UVR on natural assemblages, as well as on isolated uni-species cultures, of marine phytoplankton and bacterioplankton, Our studies utilized both temperature-controlled incubations of samples exposed to natural solar radiation on the outside deck of Palmer Station, in addition to in situ incubations of samples whenever weather conditions permitted. The major facets of this work are: a) Obtaining water samples from Arthur Harbor every day for determination of (i) degree of inhibition of rate of photosynthesis by solar UV-B and UV-A; (ii) pigment composition by in vivo spectral absorption measurements, extracted chl-a by fluorometric measurements, and HPLC analyses; and (iii) floristic composition of the phytoplankton assemblage. Occasionally the photosynthesis-irradiance characteristics (Pmax, Ik, and alpha) of the phytoplankton were also determined in a special incubator. b) More unialgal cultures were obtained by microscopic selection of desired species and growing them in enriched inorganic media in the laboratory incubators where temperature and light conditions are controlled. Some of these cultures (e.g. diatoms: Nitzschia sp., Thalassiosira sp, Fragilariopsis sp, and flagellates: Phaeocystis pouchetti) were used in our experimental setups, including both the deck incubators and the in situ arrays. Experimental results from these cultures showed notable differences in sensitivity to solar UVR as well as to cellular content of mycosporin-like compounds (MAAs) which show primary absorption peaks in the spectral range 310 to 360 nm. c) Differential sensitivity of phytoplankton species after exposure to solar UVR were also documented by long-term cultures of natural microbial assemblages and following the floristic composition of the samples which had been exposed to different UV exposures. d) The loss of cellular viability of natural bacterioplankton assemblages, as well as of several bacterial isolates maintained in culture, was determined by enumeration of individual colonies when dispersed in an agar growth medium. These experiments utilized both deck incubators and in situ techniques. In general, loss of viability in bacterial cells due to UVR exceeded 50% in surface waters, with the percent loss decreasing in an exponential fashion to about 12m, below which no deleterious effect of solar UV was detected. e) In situ incubations to determine the impact of UVR on phytoplankton were carried out every day that weather conditions permitted (which totaled 18 deployments). These experiments employed both incubations at set depths between 0.5 to 25 m and also 'elevator' experiments whereby the samples were moved up and down in the upper water column (0.5 to 25m) every hour to simulate the natural movement of particles circulating up and down in the upper mixed layer as caused by wind stress. The conclusions to be drawn from these experiments await calculations involving in situ spectral irradiance in the upper water column throughout the incubation period as well as spectral absorption of the phytoplankton assemblage. Preliminary examination of the data shows that the impact of UV-A radiation generally exceeds that of UV-B radiation, and that the deleterious effect of solar UVR on primary production does not extend to depths below 15 to 20 m. f) All experiments were supported by recording of incident spectral UV and PAR (once every minute with our PUV-500 deck unit and also by the NSF spectroradiometer which records one spectral sweep (280 to 650 nm) every hour). All in situ incubations were also supported by recording of spectral irradiance (UV and PAR) in the upper portion of the water column (from surface down to 60 m); these profiles, which were obtained with the submersible component of the PUV-500 radiometer and recorded data directly into a computer at the rate of once per second during both lowering and retrieval of the unit from the zodiac, were performed periodically during any in situ incubation period. g) The ability of phytoplankton to minimize cellular damage by UVR by photoadaptive mechanisms was studied by determination of cellular content of MAA compounds (both by in vivo spectral absorption and by HPLC measurements of extracted compounds) as a response to changes in spectral irradiance incident upon the cells. The rate of synthesis of MAAs was determined when samples were subjected to UV stress; the rate of loss of MAA compounds was also determined upon removal of the UVR. The triggering mechanism for increased rate of synthesis of MAAs does not seem to be solely dependent on UV-B radiation, but apparently can involve UV-A radiation and high levels of PAR. Both natural assemblages and monospecific cultures of phytoplankton were used in these experiments. Responses varied considerably between the different species studied, but in general cellular concentrations of MAAs was increased significantly within 1-2 days after initiation of UV stress; upon removal of the UVR, the half-time for loss of cellular MAAs was approximately 14 days. S-091 SEISMIC OBSERVATORY. United States Geological Survey. No personnel were on station. The system has been monitored by the station science technician. The EW component of the seismic station continued to be inoperative. The seismic station successfully weathered a pair of power outages on December 16 and December 18. S-106 STANFORD UNIVERSITY, VERY LOW FREQUENCY (VLF) RADIO EXPERIMENT No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. Data were collected daily and prepared for retrograde. The VLF system suffered a disabling failure on December 1. The failure was determined to be the result of a short in the cable carrying power to the pre-amp at the antenna. After the loss of four days of data, the problem was patched using a spare pair in the existing cable. A planned power outage on December 16 did not effect the experiment. An unplanned outage on December 18 resulted in the loss of approximately 20 minutes of data. S-182 THE ROLE OF FRAZIL AND ANCHOR ICE IN SEDIMENTATION IN SUBPOLAR GLACIAL MARINE ENVIRONMENTS, ANTARCTICA Gail M. Ashley, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ Norman D. Smith, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL Personnel on Station: Gail Ashley, Norman Smith, Matthew Goss, Peter Smith The objectives of the study are to further understand sedimentation processes near the margins of subpolar tidewater glaciers. Data will consist of: (1) video surveys of the ice terminus and the ice- proximal sea bottom with a ROV, (2) CTD profiles, water samples and sediment-trap catches to study processes and patterns of sediment dispersal and sedimentation, and (3) bottom cores and grabs to document the record of recent glacial marine sedimentation. The study will test the hypothesis that frazil ice and anchor ice form in glacial meltwater flowing into subpolar marine water and may produce deposits different from those formed in temperate and polar glacial environments. During December, a bathymetric map of Arthur Harbor was created using a Furuno echosounder with positioning surveyed from land. The survey indicates that the ice front has retreated 300-400m in 30 years (10-12 m/yr since l963). A tide gauge located at the Palmer dock provides continuous data on tidal fluctuations. The tides are mixed, but mainly diurnal with maximum tidal ranges of approxi- mately 1.8 m (spring) and 0.3 m (neap). Six permanent anchored buoys were deployed to mark locations for repeated CTD measurements. Float buoys were later replaced with spar buoys to minimize drag by ice bergs. A synoptic view of the structure of the water column (temperature, conductivity, and IR backscatterance) was obtained by collecting CTD profiles at 18 stations within the 1 1/2 km2 area of Arthur Harbor. In addition, a 24-hour time series (CTD profiles every 2 hours) at 2 stations was conducted during a spring tide to assess temporal variability of the water column structure, as well as to determine tidal influence on sediment dispersion. Thirty-five filtered water samples have been used to construct a rating curve for backscatterance measurements. A program to collect bottom sediments (grab samples and cores) was started. Sampling of turbid subsurface plumes has so far failed to identify frazil ice, but efforts are continuing. Suspended sediment was sampled from surface plumes and from turbid, cold layers at 50-60 m depth at a station 200m from the ice front. Suspended concentrations reach 33 mg/l. Research is becoming focused on the processes involved in formation of these sediment- rich horizons and the dispersal of sediment away from the ice front. S-254 CHLORINE- AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN ANTARCTICA. R.A. Rasmussen, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and Technology There are no personnel on station. Air samples are taken on a weekly basis by the station physician. The samples are returned to the Institute for analysis of a number of trace components, especially chlorine- and bromine-containing gases. These elements have been implicated in the chemical processes that contribute to the astral-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. S-257 SOUTH POLE MONITORING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE. James T. Peterson, Palmer Station, Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are no personnel on station. Air samples are taken on a weekly basis by the station physician. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory team continue long-term measurements of trace atmospheric constituents that influence climate. The Palmer Station air samples are returned to the NOAA laboratory for analysis of trace constituents, including carbon dioxide. These measurements are part of NOAA's effort to determine and assess the long-term buildup of global pollutants in the atmosphere. These data will be used to determine how the rate of change of these parameters affects climate, particularly by including them in climate model studies. S-275 UM/DOE ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING PROGRAM AT PALMER STATION T. Snowdon, University of Miami; C. Sanderson/N. Chui, EML/DOE N.Y. No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was maintained. The air sampling pump was off for about 8.5 hours during power outages on December 16 and December 18. T-312 TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Scripps Institute No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. DMSP and NOAA telemetry were collected, processed, and archived. A cable was received on December 8 that allowed the shortening of the tape drive daisy chain and the return of several borrowed items. A software upgrade received from SeaSpace was installed on December 12, allowing the proper framing of special sensor telemetry from DMSP spacecraft. TeraScan was unaffected by power outages on December 16 and December 18. T-313 UV MONITORING EXPERIMENT, BIOSPHERICAL INSTRUMENTS No personnel were on station. The system has been operated by the station science technician. Irradiance data were collected daily and transmitted to ATSVAX for BSI. Absolute calibrations were performed on December 3 with the seasoned lamp and on December 19 and 31 with the site standard. An additional pair of temperature probes were added to the auxiliary channels being monitored. The system was run on portable generator power during the power outage of December 16, so no scans were lost. One scan was lost during the unplanned outage of December 18. Preliminary irradiance data and inferred ozone abundances were produced in support of Science. 03202540.764 PLM134.JAN