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通过德雷克海峡的水输送进行多年研究。 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运输，但观测和计算机模型表明，控制运输的动态平衡在这里特别有效。 一系列海流计和压力记录反向回声测深仪将在4年内进行，以量化南极绕极流的输送和动态。 每年将通过声学遥测收集数据，使仪器不受干扰，直到项目结束时恢复。南大洋被认为对气候变化特别敏感，对过去30年来增加的风做出反应，并且在过去50年中比全球海洋变暖得更多。 拟议的观测将解决总ACC运输的季节和年际变化，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）计划征集，但拟议的项目有助于实现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一系列活动，将扩大国际极地年的遗产。这些数据和发现将被报告到可公开访问的档案中，并提交给科学文献发表。这是加州大学圣地亚哥分校和罗得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.