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NSF Award(s)
OPP-9011927
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OPP-0217282
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OPP-9632763
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OPP-0823101
(View
all sites)
The Palmer LTER, established in the Fall of 1990, is one of the National Science
Foundation sponsored Long Term Ecological Research Sites which is funded by the NSF Office of Polar Programs. It focuses on the pelagic marine ecosystem along the west Antarctic Peninsula, and the ecological processes which link the extent of annual sea ice to the biological dynamics of different trophic levels. Sea ice may is the major physical factor affecting the structure and function of polar biota. Interannual cycles and/or trends in the annual extent of pack ice are hypothesized to impact all levels of the food web, from total annual primary production to breeding success in seabirds. The Antarctic Peninsula region is experiencing the most rapid climate warming on the planet with large and rapid reductions in sea ice cover and corresponding responses at all levels of the foodchain.
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full description
| Contact Information |
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| Address: |
The Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
7 MBL St
Woods Hole, MA 02543 |
| Phone: 508- 289-7193 |
| Fax: 508-457-1548 |
| Email: hducklow@mbl.edu |
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| View contact info
for all sites |
| Site History |
The Palmer LTER, established in the Fall of 1990.
Construction of the U.S. Antarctic station was completed in 1968, replacing 'Old Palmer' that was established in 1965.
Palmer LTER established in 1990.
Palmer Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) established 2008.
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| Research Topics |
Marine ecology of the Southern Ocean focused within the Western Antarctic Peninsula area, including: physical forcing (atmospheric, oceanic and sea ice) of the ecosystem with emphasis on the ecological consequences of sea-ice variability; biological processes with emphasis on microbial, primary production and the life-history parameters of secondary producers (krill) and apex predators (penguins); physical/optical/chemical/biological modeling that links ecosystem processes to environmental variables.
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complete research topics
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| Institutional Affiliations
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Research Sites |
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| Climate Info. |
| Annual |
High |
Mean |
Low |
| Temperature |
9.4 c |
-4.0c |
-17.5c |
| Precipitation |
1024 mm/year |
679 mm/year |
372 mm/year |
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