Interaction of Air, Sea Ice, and Ocean Around Antarctica

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Weather observation networks of key observables such as surface air pressure (SAP) and surface air temperature (SAT) are the foundation of numerical weather prediction (NWP) and also of climate modeling. These observations in the Southern Ocean and the sea-ice around the Antarctic continent remain some of the most poorly observed regions of the planet. This proposal offers to extend measurement capabilities (SAP, SAT - air and sea), sea ice motion and ocean temperature to 200 m depth) through the deployment of a number of drifting buoys, based on those routinely used in the Arctic ice buoy program. As well as their potential use in NWP (e.g. AMPS, used operationally in USAP), the collected data will be compared to existing reanalysis fields such as the NCEP/NCAR and ECMWF efforts. and made avaialble to interested USAP researchers. Target areas will include the Amundsen and Ross Sea regions, especially polynas, which may serve to increase operational forecast skill in the McMurdo area. Other impacts of the proposed research include public outreach through existing educational awareness programs at the lead institution.