The North Pole Region as an Indicator of the Changing Arctic Ocean: The Need for Sustaining Observations
The North Pole Region as an Indicator of the Changing Arctic Ocean: The Need for Sustaining Observations
复制标题
北极地区作为北冰洋变化的指标：持续观测的必要性
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
2018
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Craig M. Lee
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Morison;J. Wilkinson;M. Alkire;F. Nilsen;I. Polyakov;W. Smethie;P. Schlosser;F. Vivier;A. Lourenço;C. Provost;J. Pelon;C. P. Ferriz;M. Karcher;B. Rabe;Craig M. Lee
对北极地区环境条件的持续观测对于了解北冰洋的变化至关重要。由海冰和新鲜的上层海水组成的跨极流管道穿过北冰洋，在经过弗拉姆和纳尔斯海峡到达北大西洋的途中经过北极地区。输出的冰和淡水使亚北极海域分层，限制了世界海洋的垂直对流。因此，北极地区的冰层厚度、底压和水文等关键变量是整个北极盆地变化以及这些变化如何影响全球海洋的敏感指标。英国、加拿大、法国、德国、日本和美国在北极地区安装了漂流浮标，解决了北极中部缺乏海洋、冰和大气观测的问题。一套卫星遥感工具，如美国的ICESat/ICESat-2，美国和德国的GRACE，以及欧盟的CryoSat2，将北冰洋中部原位观测的结论扩展到其他地区。探测和了解气候变化需要在十年和更长的尺度上进行观测。我们提出了一项国际计划，作为维持北极地区这些观测的关键。这样一个国际项目将通过以下方面提供不可估量的帮助：1)促进几个国家之间长期测量负担的财政分担；(2)通过规模经济降低物流成本；以及3)为国家资金、物流和地缘政治困难提供缓冲。
Sustained observations of environmental conditions in the North Pole region are critical to understanding the changing Arctic Ocean. The Transpolar Drift conduit of sea ice and freshened upper-ocean waters across the Arctic Ocean passes over the North Pole region on its way to the North Atlantic through Fram and Nares Straits. The exported ice and freshened water stratifies the sub-Arctic seas and limits the vertical convection that ventilates the world ocean. Key variables such as ice thickness, bottom pressure, and hydrography in the North Pole region are thus sensitive indicators of changes over the whole Arctic Basin and how these affect the global ocean. Drifting buoys installed in the North Pole region by Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. address what would otherwise be a dearth of ocean, ice, and atmosphere observations in the central Arctic. A suite of satellite remote sensing tools such as ICESat/ICESat-2 from the U.S., GRACE from the U.S. and Germany, and CryoSat2 from the European Union extend the conclusions from central Arctic Ocean in situ observations to other regions. Detecting and understanding climate change requires observations over decadal and longer scales. We propose an international program as the key to sustaining these observations in the North Pole region. Such an international program would help immeasurably by 1) facilitating financial sharing of the burden of long-term measurements among several nations, (2) reducing logistics costs through economies of scale, and 3) providing a buffer against national funding, logistics, and geopolitical difficulties.