scholarly journals From pole to pole: 33 years of physical oceanography on board of R/V POLARSTERN

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelie Driemel ◽  
Eberhard Fahrbach ◽  
Gerd Rohardt ◽  
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller ◽  
Antje Boetius ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sensor Calibration ◽  
Calibration Data ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. Measuring temperature and salinity profiles in the world's oceans is crucial to understand ocean dynamics and its influence on the heat budget, the water cycle, the marine environment and on our climate. Since 1983 the German research vessel and icebreaker POLARSTERN has been the platform of numerous CTD deployments in the Arctic and the Antarctic. We report on a unique data collection spanning 33 years of polar CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) data. In total 131 datasets (one dataset per cruise leg) containing data from 10063 CTD casts are now freely available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.860066. During this long period five CTD types with different characteristics and accuracies have been used. Therefore the instruments and processing procedures (sensor calibration, data validation etc.) are described in detail. This compilation is special not only with regard to the quantity, but also the quality of the data – the latter one being indicated for each dataset using defined quality codes. The complete data collection includes a number of repeated sections for which the quality code can be used to investigate and evaluate long-term changes. Beginning with 2010, the salinity measurements presented here are of the highest quality possible in this field owing to the introduction of the Optimare Precision Salinometer.

scholarly journals From pole to pole: 33 years of physical oceanography onboard R/V <i>Polarstern</i>

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelie Driemel ◽  
Eberhard Fahrbach ◽  
Gerd Rohardt ◽  
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller ◽  
Antje Boetius ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sensor Calibration ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Calibration Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Different Characteristics

Abstract. Measuring temperature and salinity profiles in the world's oceans is crucial to understanding ocean dynamics and its influence on the heat budget, the water cycle, the marine environment and on our climate. Since 1983 the German research vessel and icebreaker Polarstern has been the platform of numerous CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth instrument) deployments in the Arctic and the Antarctic. We report on a unique data collection spanning 33 years of polar CTD data. In total 131 data sets (1 data set per cruise leg) containing data from 10 063 CTD casts are now freely available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.860066. During this long period five CTD types with different characteristics and accuracies have been used. Therefore the instruments and processing procedures (sensor calibration, data validation, etc.) are described in detail. This compilation is special not only with regard to the quantity but also the quality of the data – the latter indicated for each data set using defined quality codes. The complete data collection includes a number of repeated sections for which the quality code can be used to investigate and evaluate long-term changes. Beginning with 2010, the salinity measurements presented here are of the highest quality possible in this field owing to the introduction of the OPTIMARE Precision Salinometer.

scholarly journals Atmospheric mercury observations from Antarctica: seasonal variation and source and sink region calculations

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3241-3251 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Pfaffhuber ◽  
T. Berg ◽  
D. Hirdman ◽  
A. Stohl
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Dispersion Model ◽  
Particle Dispersion ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Research Station ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Source And Sink

Abstract. Long term atmospheric mercury measurements in the Southern Hemisphere are scarce and in Antarctica completely absent. Recent studies have shown that the Antarctic continent plays an important role in the global mercury cycle. Therefore, long term measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) were initiated at the Norwegian Antarctic Research Station, Troll (TRS) in order to improve our understanding of atmospheric transport, transformation and removal processes of GEM. GEM measurements started in February 2007 and are still ongoing, and this paper presents results from the first four years. The mean annual GEM concentration of 0.93 ± 0.19 ng m−3 is in good agreement with other recent southern-hemispheric measurements. Measurements of GEM were combined with the output of the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART, for a statistical analysis of GEM source and sink regions. It was found that the ocean is a source of GEM to TRS year round, especially in summer and fall. On time scales of up to 20 days, there is little direct transport of GEM to TRS from Southern Hemisphere continents, but sources there are important for determining the overall GEM load in the Southern Hemisphere and for the mean GEM concentration at TRS. Further, the sea ice and marginal ice zones are GEM sinks in spring as also seen in the Arctic, but the Antarctic oceanic sink seems weaker. Contrary to the Arctic, a strong summer time GEM sink was found, when air originates from the Antarctic plateau, which shows that the summertime removal mechanism of GEM is completely different and is caused by other chemical processes than the springtime atmospheric mercury depletion events. The results were corroborated by an analysis of ozone source and sink regions.

scholarly journals Implications of shortwave cloud forcing and feedbacks in the Southern Ocean

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 15-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica L. Key ◽  
Peter J. Minnett
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cloud Forcing ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
A Value ◽  
Atmospheric Transmissivity ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Surface Heat Budget

AbstractMeasurements of the incident solar radiation taken during the Antarctic Remote Ice Sensing Experiment (ARISE) aboard the R/V Aurora Australis in the Southern Ocean and springtime Antarctic ice pack are analyzed together with all-sky cloud imagery to determine the incident shortwave cloud radiative forcing at the surface. For most solar zenith angles (Z<82˚) in this dataset, the primary shortwave cloud effect is to induce cooling of the surface; as the sun approaches the horizon, however, the shortwave effects become negligible or even positive. The clear-sky atmospheric transmissivity over the length of the cruise is 0.91, a value comparable to those derived from measurements taken at various locations in the Arctic during daylight periods. Although the presence of clouds has a great effect on the surface heat budget and provides a negative shortwave feedback that may stabilize the polar atmosphere, the effect on the photosynthetically active radiation available to ice algae is relatively small in comparison to the effects of even small amounts of snow on sea ice.

scholarly journals Revising the retrieval technique of a long-term stratospheric HNO<sub>3</sub> data set: from a constrained matrix inversion to the optimal estimation algorithm

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1317-1330 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Fiorucci ◽  
G. Muscari ◽  
R. L. de Zafra
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Matrix Inversion ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Inversion Method ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Mixing Ratio ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The Ground-Based Millimeter-wave Spectrometer (GBMS) was designed and built at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in the early 1990s and since then has carried out many measurement campaigns of stratospheric O3, HNO3, CO and N2O at polar and mid-latitudes. Its HNO3 data set shed light on HNO3 annual cycles over the Antarctic continent and contributed to the validation of both generations of the satellite-based JPL Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). Following the increasing need for long-term data sets of stratospheric constituents, we resolved to establish a long-term GMBS observation site at the Arctic station of Thule (76.5° N, 68.8° W), Greenland, beginning in January 2009, in order to track the long- and short-term interactions between the changing climate and the seasonal processes tied to the ozone depletion phenomenon. Furthermore, we updated the retrieval algorithm adapting the Optimal Estimation (OE) method to GBMS spectral data in order to conform to the standard of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) microwave group, and to provide our retrievals with a set of averaging kernels that allow more straightforward comparisons with other data sets. The new OE algorithm was applied to GBMS HNO3 data sets from 1993 South Pole observations to date, in order to produce HNO3 version 2 (v2) profiles. A sample of results obtained at Antarctic latitudes in fall and winter and at mid-latitudes is shown here. In most conditions, v2 inversions show a sensitivity (i.e., sum of column elements of the averaging kernel matrix) of 100 ± 20 % from 20 to 45 km altitude, with somewhat worse (better) sensitivity in the Antarctic winter lower (upper) stratosphere. The 1σ uncertainty on HNO3 v2 mixing ratio vertical profiles depends on altitude and is estimated at ~15 % or 0.3 ppbv, whichever is larger. Comparisons of v2 with former (v1) GBMS HNO3 vertical profiles, obtained employing the constrained matrix inversion method, show that v1 and v2 profiles are overall consistent. The main difference is at the HNO3 mixing ratio maximum in the 20–25 km altitude range, which is smaller in v2 than v1 profiles by up to 2 ppbv at mid-latitudes and during the Antarctic fall. This difference suggests a better agreement of GBMS HNO3 v2 profiles with both UARS/ and EOS Aura/MLS HNO3 data than previous v1 profiles.

scholarly journals Processes Controlling Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Predictability in the Community Earth System Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (23) ◽  
pp. 9771-9786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana C. Ordoñez ◽  
Cecilia M. Bitz ◽  
Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
System Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Area And Volume

Sea ice predictability is a rapidly growing area of research, with most studies focusing on the Arctic. This study offers new insights by comparing predictability between the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice anomalies, focusing on the effects of regional differences in ice thickness and ocean dynamics. Predictability in simulated regional sea ice area and volume is investigated in long control runs of an Earth system model. Sea ice area predictability in the Arctic agrees with results from other studies, with features of decaying initial persistence and reemergence because of ocean mixed layer processes and memory in thick ice. In pan-Arctic averages, sea ice volume and the area covered by thick ice are the best predictors of September area for lead times greater than 2 months. In the Antarctic, area is generally the best predictor of future area for all times of year. Predictability of area in summer differs between the hemispheres because of unique aspects of the coupling between area and volume. Generally, ice volume only adds to the predictability of summer sea ice area in the Arctic. Predictability patterns vary greatly among different regions of the Arctic but share similar seasonality among regions of the Antarctic. Interactive ocean dynamics influence anomaly reemergence differently in the Antarctic than the Arctic, both for the total and regional area. In the Antarctic, ocean dynamics generally decrease the persistence of area anomalies, reducing predictability. In the Arctic, the presence of ocean dynamics improves ice area predictability, mainly through mixed layer depth variability.

scholarly journals The Global Climate Response to Lowering Surface Orography of Antarctica and the Importance of Atmosphere–Ocean Coupling

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 4137-4153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansi K. A. Singh ◽  
Cecilia M. Bitz ◽  
Dargan M. W. Frierson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transport ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
System Response ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract A global climate model is used to study the effect of flattening the orography of the Antarctic Ice Sheet on climate. A general result is that the Antarctic continent and the atmosphere aloft warm, while there is modest cooling globally. The large local warming over Antarctica leads to increased outgoing longwave radiation, which drives anomalous southward energy transport toward the continent and cooling elsewhere. Atmosphere and ocean both anomalously transport energy southward in the Southern Hemisphere. Near Antarctica, poleward energy and momentum transport by baroclinic eddies strengthens. Anomalous southward cross-equatorial energy transport is associated with a northward shift in the intertropical convergence zone. In the ocean, anomalous southward energy transport arises from a slowdown of the upper cell of the oceanic meridional overturning circulation and a weakening of the horizontal ocean gyres, causing sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere to expand and the Arctic to cool. Comparison with a slab-ocean simulation confirms the importance of ocean dynamics in determining the climate system response to Antarctic orography. This paper concludes by briefly presenting a discussion of the relevance of these results to climates of the past and to future climate scenarios.

scholarly journals A sky-high view of the Third Pole: an interview with Tandong Yao and Weiming Fan

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Third ◽  
Chinese Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract The Tibetan Plateau and surrounding mountain regions covers 5 million square kilometres—nearly half the China's landmass—with an average elevation of over 4000 metres. It's often regarded as the Third Pole because it has the largest stock of ice outside the Arctic and the Antarctic. Tibetan Plateau research is one of China's Strategic Pioneering Programmes that was launched in 2012 with a budget of 300 million yuan (US $47 million) over 5 years and is led by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)’ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) in Beijing. In January 2014, CAS set up the Centre for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, headquartered in ITP, aiming at providing long-term support for this area of research and raising academic standards. NSR recently talked to glaciologist Tandong Yao and geologist Weiming Fan—ITP's director and deputy director, respectively—about why Tibetan Plateau research is important, what it is like to work there, how the region is faring in face of climate change and why international collaboration is important.

scholarly journals Indian moored observatory in the Arctic for long-term in situ data collection

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Venkatesan ◽  
KP Krishnan ◽  
M Arul Muthiah ◽  
B Kesavakumar ◽  
David T Divya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
In Situ Data

International Governance of the Antarctic – Participation, Transparency and Legitimacy

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 448-500
Author(s):  
Jill Barrett
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
International Governance ◽  
Antarctic Region ◽  
Constituent Part ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Relationship

This article explores the principal institutions of international governance of the Antarctic region, their members, and how open they are to new participants. It considers the relationship between the openness of these institutions to new participation and their long-term international legitimacy and efficacy. Taking as its starting point the Antarctic Treaty System, each constituent part is examined for participation, transparency and legitimacy. It applies these criteria to both State and non-State actors and to parties and non-parties. Ultimately it seeks to determine what factors have contributed to its success over five decades in a radically changing world, and what factors might contribute to its future vulnerability. The examination and conclusions might have resonance for what happens in the Arctic.

scholarly journals Influence of atmospheric internal variability on the long-term Siberian water cycle during the past 2 centuries

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 497-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Oshima ◽  
Koto Ogata ◽  
Hotaek Park ◽  
Yoshihiro Tachibana
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Internal Variability ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Past ◽  
Term Variation ◽  
East West

Abstract. River discharges from Siberia are a large source of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean, whereas the cause of the long-term variation in Siberian discharges is still unclear. The observed river discharges of the Lena in the east and the Ob in the west indicated different relationships in each of the epochs during the past 7 decades. The correlations between the two river discharges were negative during the 1980s to mid-1990s, positive during the mid-1950s to 1960s, and became weak after the mid-1990s. More long-term records of tree-ring-reconstructed discharges have also shown differences in the correlations in each of the epochs. It is noteworthy that the correlations obtained from the reconstructions tend to be negative during the past 2 centuries. Such tendency has also been obtained from precipitations in observations, and in simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) and fully coupled atmosphere–ocean GCMs conducted for the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. The AGCM control simulation further demonstrated that an east–west seesaw pattern of summertime large-scale atmospheric circulation frequently emerges over Siberia as an atmospheric internal variability. This results in an opposite anomaly of precipitation over the Lena and Ob and the negative correlation. Consequently, the summertime atmospheric internal variability in the east–west seesaw pattern over Siberia is a key factor influencing the long-term variation in precipitation and river discharge, i.e., the water cycle in this region.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document