Latitude: 74.32 S Longitude: 109.12 W Temperature: -3.6 C Wind chill: -3.6 C Today we arrived at the much anticipated Polynya in the Amundsen Sea for a 24 hour work station. A coastal polynya is formed by offshore winds and possibly an upwelling of warmer water at the shelf break. This particular polynya has not been studied well, so everyone was looking forward to beginning work here. The physics and chemistry of this area make it a very productive area for organisms as well. Looking out from the Oden, it looks like a tranquil lake spotted with small -medium-sized ice floes. One thing that struck us all was how relatively warm it is here. The morning was certainly cool enough for our coveralls, but by mid-afternoon it was strangely warmer and we were able to walk around outside with just a light jacket! This was the warmest weather since Punta Arenas!
Amundsen Polynya
Calm waters of the polynya.
I had the early shift in the CTDA research tool that is submerged in the water to measure conductivity (salinity), temperature, and depth. shack this morning. In the afternoon I packed my camera and set out to see what was going on in the labs. First stop was Dave Hutchins (USC) lab. Dave was especially excited about getting to this polynya because his CO2 project is using waters from this area. In an earlier posting I mentioned his project. Dave is setting up an experiment to grow populations of plankton with differing amounts of CO2 to simulate three different time periods: the Pleistocene (the lowest at 190 ppm), current time (the control at 380 ppm) and the year 2100 (twice the amount of the current). Dave explained that CO2 levels are rising by 2ppm a year, so he is studying how the nutrients and consequently the food chain may change in the next 100 years. Dave has set up his experiment in the cold lab which is supposed to be about 0 degrees C. We will be following the progress of this investigation over the next couple of weeks!
Dave Hutchins in Cold Lab
Dave works in the cold Lab where it is 0 degrees!*
Dave Hutchin's CO2 Project
First look at the project set-up!*
Next stop is the main lab where Mark Dennett was working. Mark is a Research Specialist and co-PI with Scott Gallagher from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Mark has an inline water system that continuously pumps water from the sea into the lab. Sensors hooked to it measure the amount of dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, nitrates and CDOM- colored dissolved organic matter. Using a Flow Cam, he can image micro plankton from 1mm -50 microns and uses a laser that can make particles fluorescent indicating photosynthetic organisms. Mark also uses a VPR (Video PlanktonPlankton are small or microscopic organisms that float or drift in fresh or salt water, especially at or near the surface, and serve as food for fish and other larger organisms. Recorder) developed by Scott that is attached to the conventional CTDA research tool that is submerged in the water to measure conductivity (salinity), temperature, and depth. used for collecting water samples. This imaging device looks at larger organisms and can do vertical profiles of the water column down to 1000M. This is Mark's tenth trip to Antarctica (lucky!!) and he will be going to the Arctic to do comparative studies soon.
**Mark Dennett **
Mark prepares samples in the main lab.*
Last stop for today was at the Nutrient lab (which by the way has the best sound system I've heard so far!) Lindsey Ekern is a Marine Science Technician with Raytheon. Her job is to run nutrient analysis tests for anyone who needs them. She prepares seawater distribution nutrient standards every day and looks for phosphorous, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia and silicates in the samples. One look at all the equipment in her lab tells you she is a very busy person!
Lindsey in the Nutrient Lab
Lindsey is the Nutrient-meister!*
We will be here at the polynya another day before we move on. It's so interesting to see how the scenery has changed. Except for a few ice floes and a couple of penguin sightings, there isn't a lot to photograph. Perhaps tomorrow!
Challenge question: Where does the word "polynya" come from and what does it mean?
Polynya Ice Floe
I call this the cool whip floe!*
Lollie
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