Project Title

Palmer, Antarctica Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER): land-shelf-ocean connectivity, and ecosystem resilience, and transformation in a sea-ice influenced pelagic ecosystem

Summary

Event Number:
C-024-N/P

Program Director:
Dr. Francisco (Paco) Moore

ASC POC/Implementer:
Samina Ouda / Bruce Felix

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Ari Seth Friedlaender
ari.friedlaender@ucsc.edu
University of California Santa Cruz
Institute of Marine Sciences
Santa Cruz, California

Location

Supporting Stations: RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer, Palmer Station
Research Locations: Palmer Station and Western Antarctic Peninsula

Description

Seasonal sea ice-influenced marine ecosystems at both poles are regions of high productivity concentrated in space and time by local, regional, and remote physical forcing. These polar ecosystems are among the most rapidly changing on Earth. The Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER) project seeks to build on three decades of long-term research along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) to gain new mechanistic and predictive understanding of ecosystem changes in response to disturbances spanning long-term, decadal, and higher-frequency “pulse” changes driven by a range of processes, including natural climate variability, long-term climate warming, resiliency/recovery in the face of press versus pulse forcing, transformed spatial landscapes, and food-web alterations. We will contribute to fundamental understanding of population and biogeochemical responses for a marine ecosystem experiencing profound change.

Field Season Overview

Up to two team members will deploy on the annual LTER cruise aboard the RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Throughout the cruise, they will use small boats to deploy suction-cup tags and collect biopsy samples and photo-ID data on individual whales. They will also collect underway echo sounder data from the hull-mounted SIMRAD EK60. In the vicinity of Palmer Station, they will recover and redeploy two passive, acoustic, sound-trap moorings. Additionally, they will use a dedicated small boat for visual surveys of marine mammals, quantitative prey mapping, biopsy sampling, and suction-cup tag deployment and recovery. When a second small boat is able to accompany the team, these studies will take place in the extended boating area around Palmer Station.

Deploying Team Members