Life on a Research Cruise

Figure 1. The L.M. Gould anchored off of Avian Island near PAL 200.040. A leopard seal and Adelie penguins relax on an ice flow.

Figure 1. The L.M. Gould anchored off of Avian Island near PAL 200.040. A leopard seal and Adelie penguins relax on an ice flow.

February 19th, 2016

By: Carly Moreno

I get a lot of questions about what it’s like to be on a research ship from my family and friends. I’ve been on several research vessels and tall ships, and have spent several months at sea. Like these other vessels, the ARSV Laurence M. Gould is also very comfortable with good food and helpful crew. The LMG is an icebreaker and was built for science and supplying Palmer Station. The lab spaces, radiation vans, and the galley occupy the first deck. The second and third levels are for sleeping, the lounge and gym. Of course the bridge is the highest level, and below the water line is the engine and storage compartments.

Ship life revolves around the science, and this year, the ice conditions. Most of the time it’s a rush to get everything ready and organized for a deployment, then a lot waiting around for the ship to get into position at station or for the wind to blow away the ice. Mostly things go smoothly and there’s enough time to relax at the end of the day and do some crafts or watch a movie. Sometimes, things don’t go smoothly and we’re left troubleshooting equipment for a couple of hours. For my experiments, this means troubleshooting the trace metal tow fish and fixing the mass spectrometer.

Figure 2. The anomalously large amount of sea ice near the southern grid lines. We were stuck next to this massive iceberg for 12 hours!

Figure 2. The anomalously large amount of sea ice near the southern grid lines. We were stuck next to this massive iceberg for 12 hours!

For the underway stations, the ship does not stop, just slows down to a couple of knots, and everyone crowds around the seawater intake valve to take their samples. At the hydrographic stations, we first deploy the optical cast, then the regular CTD, followed by the trace metal CTD, and finally the zooplankton net tows. The whole process takes about 5-7 hours and then we’re onto the next station. We also spend at least 4 solid days of ship time recovering and deploying physical oceanography moorings and sediment traps that are placed near the submarine canyons in Palmer Deep and Marguerite Bay.

The science activities that take place are made possible by the excellent ASC staff and ship’s crew, who are crucial in the success of all shipboard operations. ASC staff are led by Lindsey “Boss Lady” Loughry and are comprised of MT’s who work the deck, and ET’s who help with the electronics for the ship and scientists. A special shout out to ET Alec Chin for helping me with several projects, and to Kate Ruck for helping me ship all of my samples back to UNC. Captain Ernest Stelly has been on the ship for 11 LTER cruises and is very knowledgeable in navigating the ice filled waters. The mates are perhaps the youngest people on the ship, both Rob Depietre and Ladd Olsen are 23 years old, but are quite capable in icy waters. I’m sure they will be captains on their own ships one day.

Meals are early and usually Asian inspired as the cooks are from the Phillippines. Lucky me, I love sinigan soup with lots of rice! They also make delicious deserts, like the tres leches cake with vanilla and orange frosting we had last night! But on long cruises, all the veggies and fruits disappear after about a month. Surprisingly, the food on the ship has been better than the food at either Palmer Station or the British station, Rothera.

Figure 3. Lemaire Channel between the PAL 400 and 500 lines. This area is also known to have large whale populations.

Figure 3. Lemaire Channel between the PAL 400 and 500 lines. This area is also known to have large whale populations.

In my free time, I like to spend as much time on the bridge as possible; that way I can take in all of the amazing scenery and wildlife. The birders and whalers also spend a lot of time on the bridge and I’ve learned quite a lot about the animals that they study. Because of our long transits, we also have time to watch movies and do crafts in the ship’s lounge. I’ve enjoyed learning how to play cribbage and how to crochet hats and mittens.

I would summarize ship life as hard work to get all the science done, but also a lot of fun!

Albatross and Penguins and Humpbacks, Oh My!

February 17th, 2016

By: Carly Moreno

Now that we’re finished with the underway and regular stations along grid, the focus of the cruise is now to make sure the birders and whalers have enough time to do their science. Both the birders and whalers split their time between visual surveys from the ship’s bridge, and shore excursions on the small Zodiac boats that leave from the ship’s stern.

Figure 1. A Southern Brown Skua, common along the WAP. And a Cape Petrel common, along in the Drake Passage. Photos courtesy Darren Roberts and J.D. Gantz.

Figure 1. A Southern Brown Skua, common along the WAP. And a Cape Petrel common, along in the Drake Passage. Photos courtesy Darren Roberts and J.D. Gantz.

The two birders on the ship, Darren Roberts and Carrie McAtee, split their day on the bridge into 6-hour chunks, and do visual surveys for Antarctic birds and seals. They mainly focus on assessing Southern Fulmars, Snow Petrels, Southern Albatross, and lots more (Figure 1). The rest of the day they spend on the boat jumping from island to island surveying local penguin populations. Their main goals are to assess whether annual variability of sea ice and snow conditions affect Adélie population trends, foraging success and diet, growth rates, survival, and seasonal dispersal. They also spent 5 days camping on Avian Island to conduct breeding colony censuses, weigh and measure crèched chicks, as well as diet sample adult Adélie penguins.

Figure 2. Humpback whale with satellite tag and biopsy dart. The is the small round ring in the forward portion of the dorsal fin. Below the satellite tag is the yellow and orange biopsy dart deployed via cross bow. The dart has a small 40 mm tip on the end that collects a small skin and blubber sample and then it bounces off the whale and floats until retrieval. Photo courtesy Ari Friedlander.

Figure 2. Humpback whale with satellite tag and biopsy dart. The is the small round ring in the forward portion of the dorsal fin. Below the satellite tag is the yellow and orange biopsy dart deployed via cross bow. The dart has a small 40 mm tip on the end that collects a small skin and blubber sample and then it bounces off the whale and floats until retrieval. Photo courtesy Ari Friedlander.

Dr. Ari Friedlander (OSU) and Dr. Doug Nowecek (Duke) are the PI’s of the cetacean biology and ecology group. They focus on visual surveys for cetaceans most of the day from the bridge, but when they see a pair of humpbacks they quickly deploy the Zodiac boats and zip out to photograph and sample the whales. They’re interested in the demography and population structure of the whales that feed along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Specifically, they want to determine the sex ratio, pregnancy rates, foraging rates, and behavior ecology of humpbacks in the area. They use a number of different types of sampling methods, including blubber biopsies and tagging. One of their most interesting tags is a multi-sensor suction cup they attach to the flank of a humpback to record video footage and fine-scale movements of the animals. From this instrument, they gather information on the whale’s movement patterns, feeding strategies, and foraging rates. After about 24 hours the suction cup falls off and sends out a beacon to be recovered. Perhaps the most exciting tagging expedition happened right from the bow of the LM Gould. Instead of using the Zodiacs, Ari and his student Erin, were able to tag a whale from the bow of the ship. After that, the 2nd mate, Ladd Olsen, maneuvered the ship to recover the tag from the stern.

Figure 3. Sediment deployment activities on the back deck. MT Jack Greenberg and MLT Lindsey Loughry deftly managing the cone.

Figure 3. Sediment deployment activities on the back deck. MT Jack Greenberg and MLT Lindsey Loughry deftly managing the cone.

Another focus of the cruise is to deploy and recover physical oceanography moorings. The Ducklow group is in charge of these large operations, but they usually need lots of helping hands. It takes the two people to range and interrogate the mooring releases and several people to sight the tiny pale floats, which are practically invisible among the bits of ice in the ocean. Of course it also takes the captain, Ernest Stelly, to maneuver the ship to recover the moorings. On the back deck, 4 to 5 people are required to hook the line from the moorings and bring the floats and the instruments onboard. However, because of all of the ice, we were only able to deploy and recover two out of the four moorings. The other two moorings that are still trapped in the ice will probably not be recovered in the future as their batteries will run out before the next LTER cruise. We were able to deploy the Ducklow sediment trap and the Acoustic Doppler Current Meter for Dr. Alex Brearley from the British Antarctic Survey. Because of the coordinated efforts from everyone onboard, both of these instruments were deployed without any problems. Now that the moorings are done on the 300 line, we’re heading north to Palmer Station!

 

 

Sea Ice Slows Science

MODIS Terra sea ice image showing western Antarctic Peninsula region, PAL hydrographic stations (yellow circles) and cruise survey region. Black areas are open water. Black arrows show direction of travel. Triangles: physical oceanography moorings. Star: Rothera Base. Red arrow: Avian Island. Image constructed by ET Julian Race.

MODIS Terra sea ice image showing western Antarctic Peninsula region, PAL hydrographic stations (yellow circles) and cruise survey region. Black areas are open water. Black arrows show direction of travel. Triangles: physical oceanography moorings. Star: Rothera Base. Red arrow: Avian Island. Image constructed by ET Julian Race.

February 11th, 2016

By: Carly Moreno

The big story this week is sea ice. As we traverse the grid, we’re encountering huge amounts of it. The coverage is so thick in some places the ship has to decrease its speed from 12 knots to 2 knots. Transit times that would normally take 5 hours now take as much as 12 hours. This is unprecedented in the last 15 years of the LTER cruises. Even so, we have managed to occupy all of our hydrographic stations (yellow dots), along the 600 to 200 lines (Figure 1). We will not be able to sample the 100 to -100 lines this year because of the thick ice.

Most of the science on the ship can still being done, just at a slower pace. In some cases, the groups on the ship can’t deploy their equipment. The large zooplankton net tows can’t be deployed because the ice closes around the stern of the ship too quickly as we transit (Figure 2). The towfish, which I use for my own experiments to collect water, also can’t be deployed in ice. The towfish is a line that extends off the knuckle crane on the starboard aft side of the boat (Figure 3). Trace metal clean tubing is attached to the line and water that hasn’t come into contact with the ship is pumped to the trace metal clean lab space. If the towfish can’t be deployed because of the ice conditions, then the Fitzsimmons group helps me deploy their trace metal CTD/rosette, which has minimal metal parts to reduce trace metal contamination.

1-meter net tow in low ice conditions at stern of ship with Joe Cope looking on from the back deck.

1-meter net tow in low ice conditions at stern of ship with Joe Cope looking on from the back deck.

The Fitzsimmons group aims to determine the sources, sinks, and processes controlling the distribution of micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Ni) and anthropogenic (Pb) trace metals along the WAP. They are also trying to determine to what extent different forms of Fe control phytoplankton production along the WAP from high-iron coastal areas to iron-limited, offshore waters. The group is led by Jess Fitzsimmons, an assistant professor at Texas A&M, her graduate student, and her collaborator at UBC, Amber Annett, who is studying radium inputs from bottom sediments along mid-shelf stations. Last year they lost their trace metal CTD/rosette and had to use the towfish to collect surface samples. This year, it’s the opposite; they mainly use the CTD to sample deeper in the water column, but can’t use the towfish to collect their underway samples. They lack surface grid coverage they had in previous years, but overall, it’s an improvement because they’ll be able to assess the significance of off-shelf metal transport on Southern Ocean metal distribution and primary production.

Trace metal towfish deployment near PAL station 200.000 on Jan 29, 2016. We were travelling parallel to the ice edge and new ice was forming.

Trace metal towfish deployment near PAL station 200.000 on Jan 29, 2016. We were travelling parallel to the ice edge and new ice was forming.

Another objective of theirs is to sample the glacial meltwater at Palmer Station for trace metal concentration analysis. They hypothesize that glacial meltwater streams could be a temporally variable but important source of metal including Fe to local phytoplankton communities in near shore regions. Mike Brown, a PhD student with the Schofield group, will take weekly samples of the glacier while he lives at Palmer Station for 3 months.

I’m extremely grateful to Jess Fitzsimmons for her guidance and support while on this cruise. Jess’s knowledge, experience, and generosity while helping me with sample collection, either with the trace metal towfish or CTD, went above and beyond my expectations. Jess and her team were very supportive and my experiments would not have been possible without her. Thank you Jess!

Jess Fitzsimmons, Amber Annett (of the Schofield group), and Laramie Jensen prepare for a deployment of the trace metal clean CTD/rosette. Right: Jess and Laramie filter trace metal samples from the Niskins in the trace metal clean “bubble”.

Jess Fitzsimmons, Amber Annett (of the Schofield group), and Laramie Jensen prepare for a deployment of the trace metal clean CTD/rosette. Right: Jess and Laramie filter trace metal samples from the Niskins in the trace metal clean “bubble”.

Research + Cruise = ?

February 2nd, 2016

By: Carly Moreno

Don’t let the word ‘cruise’ confuse you; a research cruise is a lot of work, especially one that’s 6 weeks long! Science is 24/7, and some days there’s very little time for sleep or proper meals. Just yesterday, I was awake for over 20 hours working on my experiments and helping other scientists with their work. The work is generally tedious, but it’s interesting to see the changes that take place as we move from station to station. Of course, working in such a beautiful place like Antarctica makes everything worthwhile.

The CTD rosette measures conductivity (salinity), temperature, and pressure (depth). The niskin bottles surround the rosette and are fired at specific depths to capture water.

The CTD rosette measures conductivity (salinity), temperature, and pressure (depth). The niskin bottles surround the rosette and are fired at specific depths to capture water.

Most of what we do is filter a lot of water onto small, white, paper-like circles to analyze back in the lab. As part of Oscar Schofield’s phytoplankton group, our goals are to monitor the biomass, health, and productivity of the phytoplankton community and add to the 24-year time series of phytoplankton data. In order to do this, we first collect water with a CTD rosette and nisken bottles (shown at right). At every station we lower the rosette and measure physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the ocean. Then we capture water at specific depths to make our measurements.

We measure phytoplankton biomass by taking samples for chlorophyll a and pigments. Chlorophyll a is a light-harvesting molecule found in all photosynthetic organisms and is used to estimate the biomass and amount of phytoplankton in the water. Pigments are used to detect shifts in community composition between broad groups of phytoplankton. We assess the health of the phytoplankton community by measuring the efficiency of their photosynthetic apparatus with a fluorescence induction and relaxation (FIRE) machine.

Finally, we measure primary production with 14C-bicarbonate uptake experiments. In these experiments, we collect water in glass bottles and spike it with radiolabeled bicarbonate. Then we put the bottles in an incubator with flowing seawater and different amounts of screening material to stimulate different light levels (shown below). The bottles are left in the incubator for 24 hours to allow the phytoplankton to grow and incorporate the 14C into their cells.

An incubator filled with flowing seawater and covered with screening material to stimulate 33% light level in the ocean. Bottles for my own experiments and for other scientists await filtering.

An incubator filled with flowing seawater and covered with screening material to stimulate 33% light level in the ocean. Bottles for my own experiments and for other scientists await filtering.

Since phytoplankton are microscopic and filtering 50 liters of water can get really boring, sometimes I like to visit the zooplankton lab, where you can actually see animals with your naked eye. On top of the huge amount of krill and copepods they find everyday, they also find some larger animals like jellyfish, fish larvae, pteropods, decapods, and salps. The zooplankton group uses several types of nets to capture different sizes of animals: a 1 meter net that catches small copepods, and a 2 meter net that catches larger critters. Their most impressive net is the MOCNESS (Multiple Opening-Closing Net Environmental Sensing System). It is the biggest net that I’ve seen and it consists of 8 separate nets that can be opened and closed at discrete depth intervals. They deploy it in the canyon regions along the WAP to investigate depth distribution and diel vertical migration of zooplankton. Their goals for this cruise are to constrain the role zooplankton play in the biological pump and nutrient cycling through grazing, particle or fecal pellet production, and diel vertical migration. They are also interested in understanding the effects of climate change on zooplankton community on the continental shelf of the WAP.

 

Left: Periphylla collected during the first process station near PAL station 600.040 . Right: Tricia Thibodeau and Andrew Corso (Rutgers) prepping the MOCNESS (monster) net at Palmer Station.

Left: Periphylla collected during the first process station near PAL station 600.040 . Right: Tricia Thibodeau and Andrew Corso (Rutgers) prepping the MOCNESS (monster) net at Palmer Station.

Hi from Antarctica!

January 26, 2016

By: Carly Moreno

Hi y’all! My name is Carly and I’m a 4th year graduate student in the Marchetti lab at UNC Chapel Hill. Currently, I’m in Antarctica, studying phytoplankton and performing experiments to determine if light or the micronutrient, iron, is limiting the growth and health of phytoplankton off the western Antarctic Peninsula. I’m excited to share my experiences and the interdisciplinary science that is being done in the WAP right now.

Antarctic diatom.

Antarctic diatom.

A brief intro to my research is that I study Antarctic phytoplankton physiology by using a combination of culturing and molecular techniques. Phytoplankton are plant-like organisms that use the sun’s energy breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. As my friend, Yajuan Lin, likes to call them, phytoplankton are the ocean’s “invisible forest”. In Antarctica, they are critical in short polar food chains that are composed of krill preying on plankton, and larger marine mammals and birds that eat krill. I study a specific type of plankton called diatoms. Diatoms can form huge blooms in the Southern Ocean, drawing down nutrients, producing oxygen rich waters, and providing a huge food source for krill. However, in this region of the world’s oceans, their growth can be limited by micronutrients, like iron, and light.

Map of LTER Study region along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, showing grid (yellow) and process study (green) stations occupied on annual cruises.

Map of LTER Study region along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, showing grid (yellow) and process study (green) stations occupied on annual cruises.

This year I am lucky enough to participate in the Palmer Antarctica Long Term Ecological Research Project (PAL-LTER). This is the 24th consecutive January cruise of the Palmer LTER which started in 1993. The cruise follows the Palmer LTER sampling grid shown at the right. The overall long term goal of Palmer LTER is to understand the mechanisms by which climate, changes in regional oceanography, and sea ice loss, control ocean productivity, food web processes, animal (cetacean and bird) recruitment, and biogeochemistry in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). The WAP is one of the most rapidly warming regions on the planet, with a staggering 7C increase in air temperatures in the northern portion of the WAP. The annual oceanographic cruise contributes to an understanding of how polar ecosystems will change in response to regional warming and sea ice loss.

The cruise is divided between standard underway LTER stations along the grid, in which we perform CTD casts and net tows, and three 3-4 day process studies. The process studies are focused on the submarine canyons because the hypothesis is that the bathymetry and physical oceanography combine to link together the coastal and shelf subsystems of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, bringing in nutrient rich, deep water from the Antarctic circumpolar current.

The many scientists on board the ship are investigating everything from nutrients and optics to bacteria and birds. As part of the phytoplankton group we are monitoring the biomass, productivity, and health of the phytoplankton community. It’s a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the goals of this group, but also be able to perform my own experiments. So far this has been a great cruise and the following posts will go deeper into the science being performed and my experiences in Antarctica!

Sea ice and icebergs viewed from ARSV LM GOULD near PAL Station 600.100, 15 January 2016.

Sea ice and icebergs viewed from ARSV LM GOULD near PAL Station 600.100, 15 January 2016.