Weeks 9, 10 & 11: The Dutch team completed!
So it has been three weeks since our last blog, I have no idea where this time has gone because we are still recovering from New Years! To close the year we took part in a 10 km fun run around the runway where even a penguin joined in and ran half a lap with us! This was followed by a BBQ and boatshed party where the local Rothera bands played us into the New Year.
The weather has really warmed up over the last three weeks, so much so that the top layer of snow has melted away on the Sheldon glacier behind the base and large holes and crevasses have opened up. Due to this, Vals, our local ski hill, is now unreachable!
On 4th January it was nice to see the trace metals team arrive, Hein, Johann and Patrick. You can spot the new Dutch arrivals from a mile off due to the nice blue NWO jackets! We shared in their initial excitement upon seeing and setting up their new ‘clean’ lab specialised for trace metal research.
The following week the final Dutch scientists arrived, Patrick and Ronald who will look at bacterial and phytoplankton production, Desiree who will join Jacqueline and Maria looking at DMS production (for their blogs visit http://uk.webhosting.rug.nl/wordpress/2011/2013/01/17/antarctica-we-zijn-er/), and Amber who is the overwintering Dutch scientist and who will keep a basic research plan running for all four projects over the winter.
Since the New Year we have set up our outdoor incubator used to incubate our samples from the microzooplankton grazing and viral lysis method. Using a time lapse camera we picked a good spot with as little shade as possible over the 24 hour incubation period. Inside the outdoor incubator are layers of screen which mimic the light levels present at 15 m (our seawater sampling depth) and has a constant seawater flow through it which regulates the temperature. T his means that the samples are kept as close to natural seawater temperature as possible whilst also receiving a natural daily light cycle (all we do to keep the algae healthy and hapy).
Another method we use to study loss rates of phytoplankton is settlement columns. This loss is compared to grazing and viral lysis rates from the dilution method. In the settlement columns seawater is left to settle in a column for several hours, after which the top, middle and bottom sections of the column are tapped off and analysed via flow cytometry, for the phytoplankton <50 um, and pigment analysis for total phytoplankton. The difference between the top and bottom sections will quantify loss rates of phytoplankton due to sinking out of the photic zone.
The arrival of the Trace metals team meant that the electric winch brought in on the JCR has been installed on the boat “Searover” and is now ready to use! Searover is a spacious boat funded by the NWO for the Dutch science projects to use to collect samples with a winch made from titanium to avoid iron contamination (as well as other trace metals). This has also meant that we were able to go out for the first time and collect 200 litres of seawater and not only fit it all in the boat but also without much effort! This water was used to set up a manipulation experiment where 9 bottles of 20 litres each are incubated for 10 days at 2oC under different light intensities of high, normal and low light to give us an insight into the possible effects of climate change on phytoplankton populations.
This year at Rothera all of the old electricity generators are being replaced. This means that on regular occasions there are power outages while work is being performed. These are normally only a few hours but last weekend there was a 12 hour power outage which means not only no electricity but also no water supply! We took this opportunity to go for a walk around the point, see our friends the penguins and drink a beer at the top of the point where keeping your beer cold is not a problem!
There always seems to be enough power for the fire alarms however as whenever there is a power outage the fire alarms go off and everyone has to muster. This time it was 5 AM on Sunday morning which created a zombie pyjama march towards the main building. Luckily enough so far they have all been false alarms!
One of the great things about working in the Antarctic is the variety of science which is performed here. We got the chance to help out on a terrestrial Skua survey where nesting populations are monitored for hatching success. This involved measuring egg sizes and chick weights all to the protests of the angry parents. As soon as you get close to a nest the parents fly into the air squawking and dive bombing straight at your head. You have to wear a hard hat and hold a stick above your head so that they attack the stick and not you (most of the time)!
On the 19th of January we received a visit from an American research ship, the Lawrence M. Gould, which was performing research in the area. We had the opportunity to experience ship life over a day whilst the BAS CTD was calibrated alongside theirs. The tour started by going on board where we had a typical American breakfast with bacon, eggs and pancakes.
The scientist on board gave us a guided tour around the Labs, oceanographic equipment, the bridge, dormitories and engine room.
It was great to learn more about their research, some of which in line to our project and which would be good to compare with other stations along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.
They sampled in three different locations and kindly collected some water for us at the peak of chlorophyll a concentration, at 15 m depth, for further processing at the lab.
As per tradition, back on base at the end of the day there is a friendly football match, Rothera vs The Gould, where even the penguins wanted in on the action and tried to join in.
Now we leave you with a blog from the trace metals team so you get an experience from others at the NIOZ!
