Research Summaries

Back An Array of Autonomous Ocean Flux Buoys to Directly Observe Turbulent Vertical Fluxes of Heat, Salt and Momentum as a Component of the Arctic Observatory

Fiscal Year 2009
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Oceanography
Investigator(s) Stanton, Timothy P.
Sponsor National Science Foundation (NSF)
Summary Observations from the repeated, multi-year-duration deployments of the AOFBs will lead to improved understanding of basic physical processes that are affecting the thermodynamic balance of the Arctic Ocean ice cover. It is this balance, considered throughout the basin, that will determine if the Artic transitions to a state of greatly reduced or no perennial ice cover. The proposed collaborative ice flow observatories will generate canonical data sets, previously only attainable from manned ice stations. These observations will serve as invaluable audit points for the testing and evaluation of regional and global models by providing a suite of data comparable to the most intensive manned camps, but with greater temporal and spatial coverage. The successful, long-term execution of the ice-based observatory effort has the potential to provide a transformative understanding of the loss of Arctic perennial ice cover and of the state stability of the Arctic system. This project has impact on Naval coupled ocean/ice models of the rapidly changing ice-covered Artic ocean.
Keywords Turbulent Boundary Layers Model Parameterizations Arctic Ice Changes
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal