Collaborative Research: Impacts of the Changing Seasonality of Wind-driven Mixing on the Arctic System

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该奖项将支持一项研究，该研究解决了这样一个假设，即北极季节性开放水域的扩大范围和持续时间有可能重塑上层海洋的性质和分层，极大地改变混合层的深度，至少在一个数量级上加强内部波场，从而加强盐斜和斜斜的湍流混合。如果足够强烈，这种增强的混合可能会将太平洋的营养物质和热量带到北冰洋表面和光带，对生态系统、表面通量和海冰形成的反馈产生影响。这是一项跨学科研究，将分析过去和当前研究项目的数据，并使用理论和数值模拟来解决四个主要问题：1。考虑到观测到的海冰范围和风，对北极内风驱动的混合层深度的潜在影响和观测到的影响是什么？北冰洋内波场的观测和潜在变化是什么？一个更有能量的波场所暗示的增加的混合率的时空变化是什么？这种增强的混合对北极生态系统和热/淡水平衡有什么影响？这项研究对不同的受众有许多“更广泛的影响”。从科学的角度来看，这项对北冰洋混合的全系统影响的研究旨在量化预期的变化，并初步探讨物理和生态系统的影响。这些变化的基础是影响到食物链上的生存猎人，也考虑到石油/天然气和矿物勘探对环境的影响。这项研究的结果还将用于华盛顿大学的跨学科北极科学课程，并通过在西雅图主要科学博物馆太平洋科学中心举行的年度极地科学周末的特别海洋混合展览“你厨房里的海洋”，向学校和公众介绍北极和北极变化。研究人员还将通过与西雅图的青年专业国际网络和马萨诸塞州和缅因州的科学学院组织演讲和活动，接触新的群体。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This award will support a study that addresses the hypothesis that the expanding extent and duration of seasonal open water in the Arctic has the potential to reshape the properties and stratification of the upper ocean, dramatically altering mixed layer depths, strengthening the internal wave field by at least an order of magnitude, thereby enhancing turbulent mixing in the halocline and pycnocline. If sufficiently strong, this enhanced mixing could bring nutrients and heat from the Pacific Ocean into the Arctic Ocean surface and photic zone, with implications for ecosystems, surface fluxes and feedbacks to sea-ice formation. This is an interdisciplinary study that will analyse data from past and current research programs, and use theory and numerical modeling to address four major questions:1. Given observed sea-ice extent and winds, what are the potential and observed impacts on wind-driven mixed layer depth within the Arctic?2. What is the observed and potential change in the internal wave field of the Arctic Ocean?3. What is the spatial and temporal variation of the increased mixing rates implied by a more energetic wave field?4. What are the impacts of this enhanced mixing on Arctic ecosystem and heat/freshwater balances?This study has numerous 'Broader Impacts' for a variety of audiences. Scientifically, this study of the system-wide impacts of Arctic Ocean mixing aims to quantify anticipated changes, and make the initial foray into physical and ecosystem implications. These are the basis of changes with implications up the food-chain through to subsistence hunters, and are also considerations for the environmental impacts of oil/gas and mineral exploration. Results of the study will also be used in inter-disciplinary Arctic science courses at the University of Washington, and bring the Arctic and Arctic Change to schools and the general public via a special ocean mixing exhibit 'The Ocean in Your Kitchen' at the annual Polar Science Weekend at the Pacific Science Center, Seattle's main science museum. The investigators will also reach new groups by organizing presentations and activities with the Young Professional International Network in Seattle and Science Cafés in Massachusetts and Maine.