Physical forcing of a Western Antarctic Peninsula ecosystem: observations from a coastal ocean observing network at Palmer Station.

Local polar marine food webs are undergoing large shifts in composition and structure along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Understanding how the regional and local physical ocean and atmosphere affects these food webs is critical to predicting future ecosystem dynamics. The Palmer Station Long-Term Ecosystem Research (PAL-LTER) site is located off Anvers Island, Antarctica at 64^o S and 64^o W across the narrow Gerlache Strait from the WAP. The Palmer marine ecosystem has seen major shifts in its community structure and ecosystem dynamics for more than twenty years, which has been linked to large scale changes in the WAP climate. The region is characterized by a deep canyon extending to the shelf-break where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) follows along the slope, a complex network of islands, the presence of large patches of sea-ice, and frequent synoptic storms with winds regularly in excess of 10 meters per second. In this study we use twenty years of observations of atmospheric and oceanic data to identify mean patterns of variability near Palmer Station, discern the general circulation patterns from three years of Teledyne-Webb Slocum glider deployments, and use select glider deployments to describe the impact of storms on hydrography. This study aims to connect large scale global climate change to the local and regional coastal ecosystem.