Collaborative Research: Dynamics and Transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in Drake Passage

拟议的工作是对南极绕极流（ACC）通过德雷克海峡的水运输的多年研究。德雷克海峡作为一个阻塞点，不仅在地理上非常适合测量随时间变化的输运，而且观测和计算机模型表明，控制输运的动力平衡在这里特别有效。在为期4年的时间里，一系列的海流计和记录压力的反向回声测深仪（CPIES）将被部署，以量化南极绕极流的输送和动力学。数据将通过声波遥测技术每年收集一次，在项目结束前不干扰仪器。据信，南大洋对气候变化特别敏感，对过去三十年来风的增加做出了反应，而且在过去五十年里，南大洋的变暖程度明显高于全球海洋。所建议的观测将解决总ACC输送的季节和年际变化，以及其垂直和横向结构。虽然没有专门提交给国际极地年（IPY）项目征集，但拟议的项目有助于国际极地年了解极地地区环境变化的目标，并代表了国际极地年时间框架内的活动脉搏，将延长国际极地年的遗产。数据和发现将报告给可公开访问的档案，并提交科学文献发表。这是加州大学圣地亚哥分校和罗德岛大学之间的科学合作。

The proposed work is a multi-year study of the transport of water through Drake Passage by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Drake Passage acts as a chokepoint that is not only well suited geographically for measuring the time-varying transport, but observations and computer models suggest that dynamical balances which control the transport are particularly effective here. An array of Current Meters and Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounders (CPIES) will be set out for a period of 4 years to quantify the transport and dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Data will be collected annually by acoustic telemetry, leaving the instruments undisturbed until recovered at the end of the project. The Southern Ocean is believed to be especially sensitive to climate change, responding to winds that have increased over the past thirty years, and warming significantly more than the global ocean over the past fifty years. The proposed observations will resolve the seasonal and interannual variability of the total ACC transport, as well as its vertical and lateral structure. Although not submitted specifically to the International Polar Year (IPY) Program Solicitation, the proposed project contributes to the IPY goal of understanding environmental change in polar regions and represents a pulse of activity in the IPY time frame that will extend the legacy of the IPY. The data and findings will be reported to publicly accessible archives and submitted for publication in the scientific literature. It is a scientific collaboration between the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Rhode Island.