As you should know by now, Palmer Station, like all stations in Antarctica, is dedicated to scientific research. So while I keep you updated on what we are learning or confirming about icefishes and other Antarctic fishes, I'll also inform you about the other amazing science research going on down at Palmer. Terra Lab houses a number of fascinating projects based on some high tech instruments as well as some apparatus that is not much different in some ways than it was decades ago. Neal, who keeps an eye on all the equipment and projects, gave me an amazing tour of the lab and the research. He's an electrical engineer and has spent a lot of time working at the stations in Antarctica. If you ever get down here, be sure to have him give you a Terra Lab tour!
Here's what the UV calibration unit looks like that was being installed on top of Terra Lab. Once a week Neal calibrates the monitor that measures ultraviolet rays to insure accurate data collection. A must in good science! It's a great picture of the calibration unit and of Neal!
Neal was up on the roof covering the UV calibration unit when I happened to be walking by Terra Lab. Very convenient.
I hardly know where to start, so let's start where he started. I spotted him up on the roof of Terra Lab hooking up some sort of sensor. Actually, he was calibrating the UV monitor. UV as in ultraviolet rays. Ahhhh, look at that, we are back at the spectrum again! It's everywhere...actually those electromagnetic rays ARE everywhere. The instrument he was setting up was a calibration unit. Good word to look up but basically it means checking to make sure the UV monitor is properly adjusted and tuned. He does this about once a week.
This unit calibrates the UV monitor Once a week it is set up on the roof and covered with that black barrel. The calibration takes about an hour.
I suppose you are asking why there is a UV monitor there and what are we learning from it. Great questions! And luckily, I can answer it (phew). The sun emits ultraviolet rays. If you remember, the ultraviolet rays are located next to visible light but are shorter wavelength. (See May 3 journal for the spectrum diagram) UV light is damaging to humans as are x-rays, and gamma rays - shorter and shorter wavelengths respectively. But if you look at the other end of the spectrum you see radio waves. You don't see people protecting themselves or ducking for cover, putting on sunscreen when they sit next to a radio, now do you? Why? What is the difference? Length. Looooonnnnnngggggeeeerrrrr Waaaaavvvvveeesss have leeeeeesssssss ennnnnneeeeergy. shorterwavesghavelotsofenergy!! The more energy, the deeper it can penetrate, the more ability they have to mess with the atoms that we are made of (oops, ended with a preposition, sorry). You have probably heard about the link between exposure to UV rays and skin cancer, for example.
Here is the computer monitor and machinery that records the wavelength activity over Palmer Station. If you close in the lower right hand corner you can see the colors on the graph indicating wavelengths.
Right, so we are protected from these UV rays put out by the sun because of the ozone layer up in the stratospheric level of our atmosphere. When the ozone (O3, three oxygen atoms together) is in the lower atmospheric levels down near us, that's called air pollution, not good. But when it is high up creating that protective layer, that's good. I would love to talk about the instability of O3 and how it is formed because of the oxygen, O2, interacting with UV rays and why this layer is most damaged in the polar regions, but that would take a long time - longer than those AM radio waves on the spectrum. So you will have to research this on your own after I explain the research up at Terra Lab. You haven't forgotten about Terra lab have you? Neither have I. Let's get back to that now that you have a clue what the UV rays and the ozone layer are.
This gives you an idea of the Atmospheric levels on earth and where the ozone layer is. This great illustration is thanks to the original artwork by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell). That is the website of the National Earth Science Teachers Association.
Polar regions get a much larger variation in sunlight than anywhere else on the planet and the biggest hole in the ozone layer is over Antarctica. So it would make sense that research on this would be down here. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is behind the project at Terra Lab. Ozone measurements were first taken from the ground in 1956 at Halley Research Station in Antarctica (A British station). Beginning in the 70s it was done from satellites (you know a little about those now, too!) Since 1995 these climate monitoring stations have been gathering data at 11 remote locations: Alert, Northwest Territories, Canada; Point Barrow, Alaska; Niwot Ridge, Colorado; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Radio Tower, Wisconsin; Cape Kumukahi, Hawaii; Harvard Forest, Massachusetts; American Samoa; Cape Grim, Tasmania, Australia; Palmer Station, Antarctica (Hey that's where I am); and the South Pole.
Here is an image of the ozone depletion over Antarctica. Recognize the continent? Photo courtesy of NASA.
Believe it or not that ozone hole changes from season to season. It actually contracts and expands. But if I understand correctly, it never fully contracts as small as it was before it expanded so it is slowly growing. The satellites can tell us where the layer is thinning as well as disappearing. On a positive note, since the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were banned the ozone layer has shown evidence of some recovery. CFCs were most prevalent in aerosol sprays, which is why you don't see too much of that anymore. There are other ozone-depleting substances (ODS) manufactured by humans and many are being eliminated, phased out, or changed.
So that's that project. Wow. And that is only one of the numerous research projects up there. I think we will be revisiting Terra Lab for a while because we have only scratched the surface of what is happening up there (no pun intended...well maybe a little.)
Here is the inside of Terra Lab where all the magic happens. Actually there is no magic involved - just tons of amazing and interesting data being collected from the world we live in!