The Oleander Project: Sustained Observation of Ocean Currents and Transports in the Gulf Stream and Adjacent Waters from New York to Bermuda

夹竹桃项目：对从纽约到百慕大的墨西哥湾流和邻近水域的洋流和运输的持续观测

• 批准号: 0241654
• 负责人: H. Thomas Rossby
• 金额: $ 137.08万
• 依托单位: University of Rhode Island
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-04-01 至 2009-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0241654&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Oleander; Project; Sustained; Observation; Ocean

0241654 RossbyTen years ago a program was initiated to directly measure upper-ocean currents from the U.S. continental shelf to Bermuda from a container vessel, the CMV Oleander, with special focus on long-term variations in the strength of the Gulf Stream. The high horizontal resolution repeat sampling of the Gulf Stream and adjacent gyres, made possible by the weekly shipping to Bermuda, has led to estimates of upper-ocean transports and their variability with an absolute accuracy previously unachievable. While any single estimate of upper-ocean transport will have an inherent uncertainty in the 15-20% range, repeat sampling can reduce this to just a few percent at most. For the 1993-2001 Oleander observing period, the largest observed inter-annual variations in Gulf Stream transport had a magnitude of +/-8%, peak-to-peak, when estimated annually. Since these variations appear to occur on time scales characteristic of the North Atlantic Oscillation, it is not yet clear whether these are typical, small, or large numbers. Nor can one at present distinguish between different hypotheses regarding forcing mechanisms. This project will continue the Oleander sampling program for another five years. Proposed enhancements include the installation of a new state-of-the art acoustic Doppler current profiler and optical compass. These will improve consistent sampling of the velocity field to significantly greater depths. EXpendable BathyThermograph (XBT) casts along the Oleander track will continue to be taken monthly by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Scientific objectives include the investigation of linkages between four oceanographic regimes (outer continental shelf, Slope Sea, Gulf Stream, and Sargasso Sea) and their connections to large-scale forcing fields. In particular, observations obtained to date suggest a stronger thermohaline role to the variability of the Northwest Atlantic than perhaps previously recognized. These are complex issues and the Oleander data set will be far more effective when used in conjunction with other studies and modeling efforts. To facilitate such synergies, the Oleander's data will be acquired each time she enters port, and the processed data posted in near real-time on a web-based server. With a growing focus on real-time ocean forecasting, these observations and related products can play an increasingly useful role in forecast validation and model improvements. Other research activities can avail themselves of these data, and may find it advantageous to design field programs around this data availability. It is also proposed to prepare observations for use by a wider public, particularly the sailing community. The Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island has an active web-based program for the K-12 community and collaborations in this area will be explored.

0241654 Rossby十年前，一个计划开始直接测量从美国大陆架到百慕大的上层洋流，从集装箱船CMV Oleander，特别关注墨西哥湾流强度的长期变化。由于每周有船只前往百慕大，对墨西哥湾流和邻近的环流进行了高水平分辨率的重复取样，从而能够以以前无法达到的绝对准确度对海洋上层的输送及其变异性进行估计。虽然对海洋上层运输的任何单一估计都有15-20%的固有不确定性，但重复采样可以将其减少到最多只有几个百分点。在1993-2001年夹竹桃观测期间，观测到的墨西哥湾流输送的最大年际变化幅度为+/-8%，按年估计，峰到峰。由于这些变化似乎发生在北大西洋涛动的时间尺度上，因此尚不清楚这些变化是典型的、小的还是大的。目前也无法区分关于强迫机制的不同假设。该项目将继续夹竹桃采样计划，为另一个五年。拟议的改进措施包括安装新的最先进的声学多普勒海流剖面仪和光学罗盘。这将改善速度场的一致采样，以显著更大的深度。国家海洋渔业局将继续每月沿夹竹桃轨道沿着拍摄可扩展的深海温度记录仪（XBT）。科学目标包括调查四个海洋学体系（外大陆架、斜坡海、湾流和马尾藻海）之间的联系及其与大尺度强迫场的联系。特别是，迄今为止获得的观测结果表明，西北大西洋的变化可能比以前认识到的更强的温盐作用。这些都是复杂的问题，夹竹桃数据集与其他研究和建模工作结合使用时将更加有效。为了促进这种协同效应，夹竹桃号每次进入港口时都会获取其数据，并将处理后的数据近乎实时地发布在基于网络的服务器上。随着对实时海洋预报的日益重视，这些观测和相关产品可以在预报验证和模型改进方面发挥越来越有用的作用。其他研究活动可以利用这些数据，并可能发现围绕这些数据的可用性设计现场方案是有利的。还建议编写观测报告，供更广泛的公众，特别是航海界使用。罗得岛大学海洋学研究生院为K-12社区提供了一个积极的基于网络的项目，并将探索这一领域的合作。