Date:    Thu, 4 Nov 93 03:53:29 GMT
From: palmer@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu
Message-Id: <931104035329.22c07b04@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu>
Subject: SCIENCE SITREP MONTH OF OCTOBER 1993
To: palmer_science@atsvax.rsmas.miami.edu
Status: O

SEND PLM157.NOV
MSG%"PALMER_SCIENCE"
SCIENCE SITREP MONTH OF OCTOBER 1993
R 040300Z NOV 93
FROM: Osmund Holm-Hansen, Science Leader


       P A L M E R   S T A T I O N   A N T A R C T I C A
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Responding: Please insert in message, all CAPS, with the ! in column 1:
!TO PAL SCIENCE, LABMANAGER, ADMIN, ALL

S-106 Stanford VLF. U. Inan, Stanford University.  No personnel
were on station.  The system has been operated by the station
science technician.Data were collected daily and prepared for
retrograde.  There were occasional instances of sporadic loss of
digital data; noise on the A/D triggering input to the data
collection computer is suspected.  Trial and error have produced a
state in which it is hoped that no more data will be lost, although
sampling errors still occur.

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.  Local time as
tracked by the Zenith computer was advanced one hour on 20 Oct for
daylight savings.  Starting with the filter exposed from 15 Oct
through 22 Oct, all filters will be exposed without a top covering
scrim.  A tripped breaker resulted in an interruption of the system
pump for approximately 20 hours on 21-22 Oct.

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.  Prior to 29 Oct, DMSP and NOAA
telemetry were collected, processed, and archived.  Ice images and
ozone maps were produced in support of Science and Marine
Operations.  On 29 Oct, the system suffered a failure in its
archiving capabilities.  Investigation into the failure is ongoing.

T-313 UV Monitoring Experiment. C. Booth, 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 October 10 with the seasoned lamp and on October 23
with the site standard. High voltages were dropped on data and
response scans due to brightening conditions.  Preliminary
irradiance data and inferred ozone abundances were produced in
support of Science.

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 failed on 29 Sep, recovered without intervention on 2 Oct,
and failed again on 5 Oct.  It is believed that the failure is in
the feedback box.  The NS and Z components have been subject to
spurious impulsive signals that vary dramatically in both frequency
and intensity.  No explanation for these "events" has been found.

S-013 Long Term Ecological Research on the Antarctic Marine
Ecosystem: An Ice Dominated Environment. William R Fraser and Wayne
Z. Trivelpiece, Seabird component, Montana State University,
Bozeman, Montana.
Field team on station:  Brent Houston, Tracey Mader and Eric Holm 
   
We arrived on station October 7 and moved into the lab on October
8.  Events during the first week included unpacking and setting up
the lab, preparing field gear and field notebooks and familiarizing
the field team with the various study sites and field techniques. 
Boating class (part I) was completed on October 11th, and part II
was completed on the 14th.  Due to persistent ice conditions around
Palmer Station throughout the month, we were only able to access
Torgersen and Humble Islands (Adelie penguin study sites) once, on
October 15th.  This important visit, however, provided us with
preliminary data with which to compare previous years of Adelie
arrival dates and winter over survivability.  Within the immediate
vicinity of Palmer Station, we have also been able to gather early
data on south polar skua, kelp gull and giant petrel arrival dates,
and monitor their progress in establishing territories and forming
pair bonds.  


S-016 Long Term Ecological Research on the Antarctic Marine
Ecosystem. Primary Production. Barbara Prezelin. University of
California Santa Barbara.
     Personnel present, Keith Seydeland Sandi Roll, arrived at
Palmer Station on October 7. All former personnel, including Tony
Diem, Mark Moline, TJ Evens and Bill Golden departed with S010 on
the Polar Duke to participate in the Icecolor's 93 cruise.
     Due to ice conditions, the Palmer grid line was inaccessable.
Consequently, water samples were taken from surface water off the
shore behind the pump house.  This occurred once weekly, and water
was filtered for nutrient, ammonia, CHN, and pigment analysis
(HPLC). PI curves and deck incubations were also performed.  A
sampling strategy and schedule for the season was organized, and
spreadsheets for data workup and written protocols for analyses
were prepared.  Ammonia samples from the LTER August
cruise were analyzed. 

S-028   Prey Component (krill, fish, zooplankton):  Palmer
Long-Term Ecological Research.       Principal Investigators: 
Robin Ross,  Langdon QuetinField Team:  L. Quetin, C. Wyatt, H.
Coe, C. Johnson       Fast ice in Arthur Harbor prevented sampling
the Palmer grid stations of the LTER during October.  One day (Oct
15) of open water immediately in front of the station enabled all
personnel to get checked out in the zodiacs, otherwise boating has
been impossible.  Two dives through the fast ice near Palmer
Station October 4 and 14 yielded few krill.  Larger krill, 30-35 mm
range of total length, were difficult to collect.  Smaller krill
observed near the ice hole proved to be Thysanoessa macrura.     In
collaboration with S-032 we initiated experiments to investigate
the effect of UVA, UVB and PAR on the physiology of Euphausia
superba larvae.  Krill larvae maintained in an outside water bath
and experiencing higher dosages of PAR only, PAR+UVA and
PAR+UVA+UVB than they would experience in the water column showed
differences in behavior and mortality between the treatments.  We
are now initiating experiments at lower light levels characteristic
of the water column to test whether the previous differences
between treatments persists.  Samples from the August LTER cruise
are being sorted for fish and krill larvae.  Most of the packing
has been completed for the January 1994 LTER cruise.      Ice
conditions are improving and we expect to be sampling the LTER
stations of the Palmer grid within the next week. 

S-032 Long Term Ecological Research on the Antarctic Marine
Ecosystem. Marine Optics and Modelling 
personnel on station: Mike Hearne
     Activities this month were minimal, due to ice cover.  S-032
received daily ozone data from the station science technician, and
ozone maps from Santa Barbara. Copies of the ozone data were sent
to the Polar Duke.  Extra water from S-016 sampling was filtered
and extracted for chlorophyll concentrations.


S-044. Effects of ozone related increased UV-B fluences on
photosysnthesis, photoadaptation, and viability of phytoplankton in
Antarctic waters.  
P.I: Osmund Holm-Hansen, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California, San Diego. 
Field team: Osmund Holm-Hansen, E. Walter Helbling, Virginia
Villafane, and Livio Sala. Since our moving into quarters at Palmer
Station on Oct. 9 we have been occupied with (i) preparing our
temperature controlled incubators on the outside deck, installation
of our solar irradiance sensors (spectral UV and PAR) next to the
incubators, and setting up our computers, etc., for data analysis,
and (ii) processing daily experiments to assess the impact of solar
UVR on phytoplankton photosynthesis and pigmentation. Due to ice in
Arthur Harbor there has been no zodiak work possible, and hence we
have obtained water samples each morning through a hole in the ice
some meters off Gamage Point. Daily experiments involve natural
water samples, the nanoplankton fraction, as well as various
phytoplankton species  which have been isolated from natural
samples and are being maintained in culture. The floristic
composition of all samples is being determined by standard
microscope techniques. Our studies thus far have emphasized (i) the
magnitude of inhibition of photosynthesis resulting from solar UV-A
and UV-B radiation, (ii) the effect on carbon dioxide fixation by
enhanced UV-B radiation resulting from decreases in column ozone
concentrations, (iii) the relationship between the cellular
concentration of UV-absorbing compounds (310 to 350 nm) and the
sensitivity of the photosynthetic response to solar UVR, (iv) the
relative sensitivity to UVR of different phytoplankton species, and
the degree to which the cells recover normal photosynthetic rates
after exposure to solar UVR, and (v) determination of the
relationship between the absorbed dose of UVR (obtained from
incident spectral irradiance and absorption spectrum of
photosynthetic pigments) and the decrease in the rate of
photosynthesis.
03180523.138
PLM157.NOV