Collaborative Research: North Pole Station: A Distributed Long-Term Environmental Observatory

北极环境观测站（NPEO）的目的是帮助跟踪和了解北极环境的持续变化，并通过为其他极地科学和气候调查提供数据和基础设施资源，增加北极长期环境数据的可用性。NPEO于2000年首次成立，包括一个固定在海冰上的浮标自动漂流站、一个海洋系泊站和机载水文测量站。北极是进行长期测量的绝佳地点。在罗蒙诺索夫脊的侧翼附近，它已被证明是上层海洋锋面结构变化和沿脊流动的大西洋水变化的敏感地点。北极探险的历史提供了海洋和海冰观测的基准。北极漂流站的部署填补了国际北极浮标计划（IABP）漂流浮标覆盖的地理空白。对那里冰层厚度的时间序列观测提供了一种独特的跨极漂移海冰测量方法。航空水文测量可以到达其他方法难以到达的关键区域。NPEO的观测对于了解北极环境变化对生态系统、土著社区和整个社会的影响是必要的。NPEO通过为北极中部的研究活动提供基础设施和数据，加强了研究基础设施。

The purpose of the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) is to help track and understand ongoing changes in the arctic environment, and to increase the availability of long-term environmental data in the Arctic by providing a data and infrastructure resource for other polar science and climate investigations. NPEO was first established in 2000 and includes an automated drifting station of buoys fixed to the sea ice, an ocean mooring, and airborne hydrographic surveys. The North Pole is an excellent location for long-term measurements. Near the flank of the Lomonosov Ridge, it has proven to be a sensitive site for changes in upper ocean frontal structure and changes in the Atlantic water flowing along the ridge. A history of expeditions to the North Pole provides a benchmark of ocean and sea ice observations. The drifting station deployment at the North Pole fills a geographic gap in drifting buoy coverage of the International Arctic Buoy Program's (IABP). Time series observations of ice thickness there provide a unique measure of sea ice in the Transpolar Drift. The airborne hydrographic surveys reach critical areas that are difficult to reach by other means.NPEO observations are necessary to understand the impacts of a changing Arctic environment on ecosystems, indigenous communities and society at large. NPEO enhances the infrastructure for research by providing basic infrastructure and data for research activities in the central Arctic.