Palmer Station Antarctica LTER Antarctic Latitude:   -66.5000     Longitude:   -69.0000 Associated Investigators: Hugh Ducklow (Lead PI, microbial processes) , Debbie Steinberg (zooplankton) ,   Oscar Schofield (phytoplankton) ,   Michael Meredith (physical oceanography) ,   Douglas Martinson (physical oceanography)   Related Web Sites: [pal.lternet.edu/]   Palmer Station Antarctica (LTER) is an interdisciplinary polar marine research program established in 1990 as part of a national network of long-term ecological research sites created by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF). The western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is distinctive among the Antarctic regions with its north-south orientation, direct exposure to prevailing westerly atmospheric winds and complex ocean circulation patterns. The extent, duration and seasonality of sea ice and inputs from glacial meltwater are strong influences on the ecological and biogeochemical processes in the coastal marine ecosystem. Sea ice is the principal physical determination of variability in the coastal marine ecosystem. In fact, most organisms' life cycles are influenced by the seasonal changes. To study these changes on a global scale Palmer LTER examines the region - a series of dynamic, interconnected systems encompassing a immediate coastal region (0 - 300m deep), a continental shelf region (300 - 1,000m deep) and a continental slope region (> 1,000 m deep). On a yearly basis, between the months of October and April, semiweekly observations of near shore process studies occur from Palmer station. These are complemented in January - the austral summer in the Antarctic - by a regional-scaled LTER cruise.