Message-Id: <199809102011.UAA04190@cool.palmer.usap.nsf.gov>
From: "RONNIE BALTZ" <baltzro@palmer.usap.nsf.gov>
Organization: Palmer Station, Antarctica
To: PALMER_SCIENCE@SKUA.ASA.ORG
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 20:08:47 -0300
Subject: Palmer Station Science Sitrep - August 1998
Priority: normal


                     PALMER STATION
                 SCIENCE SITREP AUGUST 1998        


NEWS FROM THE LAB.  Diane Wetterlin, Winter Assistant Supervisor,
Laboratory Operations

The winter season is quickly coming to a close, along with a lot of
the winter projects.  No sooner had FMC finished the Lab Managers
office than I was moving in.  Monika is now finishing carpeting the 
new Library and will be done late this morning; furniture should be 
able to be moved in there anytime after tomorrow.  The installation 
of the outside door at the end of the hall should take place in the
next few days, weather permitting of course.  The deck between the
masticator and Lab 1 has been widened but the stairs will have to
wait until more material arrives on the ship to be completed.

Everyone here thinks all the summer folks will really be impressed
with how the offices turned out.  The trades people and I are
anxious to hear your reactions but not anxious enough to stay until
you get here.  It is a big change but I believe that once people get
use to the new layout it will be more convenient and efficient for
everyone.

The carpenters have been quite busy down in the labs too.  In order
to get everything organized and up out of the way I had a few more
shelving units assembled in Lab 5 and 8.  We tried to keep them as
high as possible and adjustable so they can easily be moved or taken
down if we find they are in the way.

The Inventory saga goes on but it has been coming along nicely. Labs
8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Hoist Room, and Volatile chemical storage 
have all been completed this month.  Mapcon is 50% updated on 
Flammables/Corrosive chemical storage.  Then it is a quick double 
check, should take about 2 or 3 hours, then on to the only major 
stockroom left to complete, the Dive Locker.  That leaves me less 
than a week to do some odd projects and one last quick pick-up and 
dusting in the labs.

This month there has been quite a few windy days in which the Snow
and Giant Petrels seem to thoroughly enjoy.  It seems the minute the
wind is over 30 knots (18 days with wind peak greater than 29 knots)
they are out playing.  We had a young elephant seal camp out by the
pumphouse for a few days; amusing thing is we could smell it (and
recognized it), especially up by the Carp Shop, long before anyone
spotted the seal.  The seals in Christy Cove seem to have left us
for a while; no one has seen them for a few weeks.  Still see a few
Cormorants everyday but not many more than 5 or 6 of them a day, or
it could be the same one 5 different times.  I hear the Terns when I
am out shoveling at dawn or dusk but have not been able to see them.
Our Sheathbill is still around.  He shows up everyday at 11:30 to 
keep us company during lunch.  A group of approximently 16 penguins 
were spotted a couple of times this month.  One group was seen 
lking on the pack ice to Torgersen Island from the southwest and the 
another group was camped just off the tip of Boneparte Point.  Don't 
know if it was the same group wondering around or two different 
groups.  Kind of a slow month for critter news.

The average temperature took a big jump from last month's -7.8 C 
to -4.9C, and the total snow was down to 34 cm.  Other than that, 
the statistics look pretty close to the same as July's.  In my mind, 
I remember August as shoveling a lot of heavy wet drifted snow in
mittens but no coat and in July my eyes watering for the first 
few breaths I took outside because my nose couldn't warm up the air. 

In the morning on August 15th, there were Nacreous clouds just 
above the horizon over the glacier in the backyard.  They were 
visible for about 45 minutes before lower clouds obscured our view.


BO-085-O  GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION.  J. 
Mullins,
          U.S. Geological Survey	

The station science technician has monitored the system.

During the month GPS data was collected continuously, converted
daily to a RINEX format, compressed, and transmitted to the US
Geological Survey in Reston, VA. 


GO-091-O  GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION.  R. 
Butler,
          Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology 
(IRIS)

The station science technician has operated the system.

Global seismic events were recorded throughout the month.  All
operations during the month were normal.


AO-106-O  STUDIES OF LIGHTNING-INDUCED ELECTRON PRECIPITATION OF 
THE
          IONOSPHERE.  U. Inan, Stanford University

The station science technician has monitored the system.

The Stanford receiver records very low frequency (VLF) radio waves 
for studying ionospheric and magnetospheric natural phenomena.  The 
system is operating normally.


OO-204-O  MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC O2 IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL 

          CARBON CYCLE.  Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of
          Oceanography

Air samples are collected on a semi-weekly basis by the station
physician.  The samples are return shipped to Scripps for
analysis of O2 and CO2 content. The goal of the program is to
resolve seasonal and interannual variations in atmospheric O2 
(detected through changes in O2/N2 ratio) which can aid in the
determination of rates of marine biological productivity and 
ocean mixing and aid in the separation of the global sink for
anthropogenic CO2 into terrestrial and oceanic components. The
program involves air sampling at a network of sites in the 
Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Palmer Station is especially
well situated to resolve signals due to carbon cycling in the
Southern Ocean.


OO-254-O  CHLORINE-AND BROMINE-CONTAINING TRACE GASES IN 
ANTARCTICA.
          R.A. Rasmussen, Oregon Graduate Institute for Science and
          Technology

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 austral-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.


OO-264-O  COLLECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR FOR THE NOAA\CMDL 
WORLDWIDE
          FLASK SAMPLING NETWORK.  James T. Peterson, 
          Environmental Research Laboratories, National  Oceanic and 
          Atmospheric Administration

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.


OO-275-O  UM/DOE-EML REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENTS PROGRAM.
          C. Sanderson, Department of Energy, Environmental
          Measurements Laboratory

The station science technician has operated the system.

One sample filter was exposed for the duration of each week, and 
a weekly schedule of calibration, background, and sample counts was
maintained. The RAMP system is part of a global network seeking 
to characterize the quantity and distribution of radionuclide 
particles occurring both naturally and artificially in the 
atmosphere.


OO-283-P  ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns,
          University of Wisconsin 

Automated Weather Station (AWS) transmissions were monitored from
Bonaparte Point, Hugo Island, and RACER Rock using the TeraScan
system.


TO-513-O  UV MONITORING NETWORK.  C. Booth, Biospherical
          Instruments, Inc.

The station science technician has operated the system.

Throughout the month, raw irradiance data scans were collected
daily  and transmitted to BSI, and preliminary irradiances and
spectral integrals were produced in support of science.  
Scheduled absolute calibration scans were performed and the system is 
operating normally.


TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM.  R. Whritner, Scripps 
Institutionof Oceanography

The station science technician has operated the system.

Throughout the month, the TeraScan system collected, archived, 
and processed DMSP and NOAA satellite pass telemetry, maintaining a
schedule of 17-19 passes per day.  NOAA and DMSP telemetry was
archived for BP-032-O when the LTER grid was clear. As if the end 
of the month, an upgrade to the system hardware and software was in
progress.