Investigations of the Western Arctic: Variability of Sea Ice Thickness Distribution in Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea

一个合作研究项目将由联合国开发计划署进行- 华盛顿大学和阿拉斯加大学的教授 作为海洋-大气-冰相互作用（OAII）的一部分 北极系统科学（ArcSS）全球变化研究 程序. 研究目的是测量 通过白令海峡的海水并确定其影响 这种传输对物理性质和可变性的 北冰洋，尤其是表层。 这些物理 特性，如冰盖和厚度，垂直混合， 热盐结构影响北极冰盖的范围。 如果气候条件的变化导致冰层收缩， 如果发生重大变化，其影响将在整个 世界的大气层和海洋。 通过白令海峡的海水涌入是主要的问题之一 因此，它的体积和物理量 如果要理解这些过程， 控制着北冰洋的物理特征 三个协调 每个项目将处理系统的一个或多个方面， 共同提供了对北极更广泛运作的洞察力， 物理和地球化学过程。 将部署系泊设备， 在关键地点进行为期三年的培训。 他们将提供并行 水柱特性的时间序列，包括温度，盐， 海平面、海流和一个向上看的声纳（ULS）将使一个完整的 年冰厚观测。 水文计划将 还研究了楚科奇东北部的水柱变化 太平洋流入的低盐度部分在这里排出 进入北冰洋 这项工作建立在早期资助的努力之上 由ONR和NSF与物理合作进行， 和化学海洋学计划的NOAA/PMEL。

A collaborative research project will be undertaken by investiga- tors at the University of Washington and the University of Alaska as part of the Ocean-Atmosphere-Ice Interactions (OAII) component of the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) global change research program. The research objective is to measure the transport of water through the Bering Straits and to determine the influence of this transport on the physical properties and variability of the Arctic Ocean, and particularly the surface layer. These physical properties, such as ice cover and thickness, vertical mixing, and thermo-haline structure affect the extent of the Arctic ice pack. If changing climate conditions caused the ice pack to shrink or change significantly, the effect would be felt throughout the world's atmosphere and ocean. The influx of water through the Bering Strait is one of the major inputs to the Arctic Ocean, therefore its volume and physical properties must be known if one is to understand the processes that control the Arctic Ocean's physical features. Three coordinated projects will each deal with one or more aspects of the system, and together provide insight into the broader workings of the Arctic's physical and geochemical processes. Moorings will be deployed for a three-year period at key locations. They will provide concurrent time series of water column properties including temperature, sal- inity, currents and an upward looking sonar (ULS) will make a full year of ice thickness observations. A hydrographic program will also examine water column variability in the northeastern Chukchi Sea, where the low-salinity portion of the Pacific inflow drains into the Arctic Ocean. The work builds on earlier efforts funded by ONR and NSF that were conducted in cooperation with the physical and chemical oceanographic programs of NOAA/PMEL.