RaTS structure and ethos
The Rothera Oceanographic and Biological Time Series (RaTS) started
in 1997, operating out of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research
station at Rothera Point on Adelaide Island, close to the southern end
of the Pal-LTER sampling grid. RaTS is centred on Ryder Bay, a small
embayment close to Rothera. The ethos of RaTS is to make
high-frequency, year-round observations with which to answer a number
of scientific questions relating to the physical and biological marine
environments, their evolution over time, and their interactions with
the atmosphere and cryosphere.
The specific aims of RaTS are:-
- To document the seasonal pattern of sea ice, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, pH and macronutrients (N, P, Si) in the water column close to the Antarctic Peninsula.
- To quantify the extent of interannual variability and long-term change in physical and biological oceanography close to the Peninsula, particularly in relation to large-scale forcing by factors such as El Niño and the Southern Annular Mode, and in response to decadal climatic change.
- To relate seasonal and interannual variability in the feeding activity of selected benthic suspension feeders to variability in the physical environment.
- To quantify interannual variability in the reproductive biology of selected marine invertebrates, and relate this where possible to variability in the environment.
In addition, RaTS provides the infrastructure and scientific context for a number of shorter-duration projects, with specific goals that relate to seasonal and interannual change in the Antarctic marine environment. In this context, collaborative activities have recently led to measurements at RaTS of trace metals, dissolved iodine speciation, carbonate system parameters, microbial communities, viruses, and so on.
RaTS and Palmer LTER
In 2003, BAS and NSF signed a Memorandum of Understanding to
structure and promote collaborative working between Palmer LTER and
RaTS. As part of this collaboration, Pal-LTER scientists visit Rothera
each year for joint sampling, intercomparison of techniques, and
cross-calibration of equipment. RaTS/Pal-LTER interaction is being
further strengthened by the acquisition by BAS of two Webb Slocum
gliders, to be flown from Rothera. These will enhance the range of
glider operations achievable from Palmer, and allow routine
oceanographic mapping of nearly the whole WAP shelf. BAS scientists
have participated in Pal-LTER meetings since 1996, and in
2011 will be hosting a joint RaTS/Pal-LTER workshop in Cambridge, U.K.
RaTS participants
- Mike Meredith (Project Leader)
- Hugh Venables (Project Manager)
- Andy Clarke
- Simon Reeves
- David Barnes
- Lloyd Peck
- Helen Peat
Selected RaTS publications
Meredith, M.P., M.I. Wallace, S.E. Stammerjohn, I.A. Renfrew,
A. Clarke, H.J. Venables, D.R. Shoosmith, T. Souster and
M.J. Leng. Changes in the freshwater composition of the upper ocean
west of the Antarctic Peninsula during the first decade of the 21st
century. Progress in Oceanography, 87, 127-143, 2010.
Clarke, A., M. P. Meredith, M. I. Wallace, M. A. Brandon, and
D. N. Thomas. Seasonal and interannual variability in temperature,
chlorophyll and macronutrients in northern Marguerite Bay,
Antarctica. Deep-Sea Research, Part II, 55, 18-19, 1988-2006, 2008.
Meredith, M.P., and J.C. King. 2005. Rapid climate change in the ocean west of the
Antarctic Peninsula during the second half of the 20th century. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L19604, doi:10.1029/2005GL024042
Meredith, M.P., I.A. Renfrew, A. Clarke, J. C. King, and
M. A. Brandon. 2004. Impact of the 1997/98 ENSO on upper ocean
characteristics in Marguerite Bay, western Antarctic
Peninsula. Journal of Geophysical Research 109:C09013.
