Collaborative Research: Circulation in the Freshwater Switchyard of the Arctic Ocean

拟议的研究将记录北冰洋淡水调关站上层海洋的环流、变异性和驱动机制。这个未开发的地区位于加拿大群岛东部和格陵兰岛的北部，延伸约500-800公里，进入北冰洋中部。它位于Fram和Nares海峡淡水出口点的上游，也就是说，来自不同来源的淡水最终被输送到通往北大西洋的一些主要渠道。主要假设是，该地区是北极和北大西洋之间淡水转移的分岔点，该地区整体环流的微小变化可能对下游产生巨大影响。这项研究将测量海洋温度、盐度、洋流和地球化学淡水示踪剂，如氧、氧同位素、氚/3He、CFC。S，钡和营养物质。重点将放在淡水所在的上层海洋（0-300米）。这将是一次基于飞机的行动，因为厚厚的海冰阻止了大多数水面舰艇进入，而政治现实也阻止了潜艇进入。还将对开关站区域的海冰运动和厚度进行基于卫星的研究，以确定有多少冰在波弗特环流内向西再循环，有多少通过弗拉姆海峡出口，以及有多少在加拿大群岛的各种通道内出口。这项研究的结果将通过一个互联网网站提供，该网站将与其他类似的正在进行的项目链接，并通过科学和流行格式的演示文稿和文章提供。此外，它们将通过研究生和本科生的参与以及课程材料用于教育目的。通过将我们的数据整合到网格海洋数据库以及原始验证数据中，计划与数值模拟研究建立一个特殊的联系。在过去的几年中，作为各种项目的一部分，NSF已经开发了适当的物流基础设施，特别是北极环境观测站，这是一个在Alert/Eureka开展的基于飞机的项目。

The proposed research will document the circulation, variability, and driving mechanisms of the upper ocean in the freshwater switchyard of the Arctic Ocean. This unexplored region lies to the north of the eastern Canadian Archipelago and Greenland, extending about 500-800 km into the central Arctic Ocean. It lies just upstream of the freshwater exit points in Fram and Nares Straits, i.e., where freshwater from various sources is finally delivered to some of the main channels that lead to the North Atlantic Ocean. The main hypothesis is that this area is a bifurcation point for freshwater transfer between the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, and that small changes in the overall circulation of this region may have large downstream effects. This study will measure ocean temperature, salinity, currents, and geochemical freshwater tracers such as oxygen, oxygen isotopes, tritium/3He, CFC.s, barium, and nutrients. The focus will be on the upper ocean (0-300 m) where freshwater resides. This will be an aircraft-based operation, because thick sea ice prevents access by most surface ships and political realities prevent access by submarine. There will also be a satellite-based study of sea ice motion and thickness in the switchyard region which will determine how much ice recirculates westward within the Beaufort Gyre, how much exits through Fram Strait, and how much exits within the various passages of the Canadian Archipelago. Results from this study will be made available via an internet web site that will be linked to other similar ongoing projects, as well as through presentations and articles in both scientific and popular formats. Additionally, they will be used for educational purposes through involvement of both graduate and undergraduate students, and in course material. A special link to numerical modeling studies is planned via incorporation of our data into a gridded ocean database as well as raw validation data. The appropriate logistics infrastructure at NSF has been developed over the past several years as part of various projects, in particular the North Pole Environmental Observatory, an aircraft-based project staged out of Alert/Eureka.