Seal-Tag Hydrographic Observations in Ice-Ocean Fjords, Greenland

该项目涉及一种海洋哺乳动物传感器标记方法，该方法将允许沿着格陵兰冰盖外围进行持续的海洋学观测。这一努力的动力来自于去年夏天在格陵兰两个峡湾成功进行的环斑海豹试点项目。试验证明了该技术的可行性，该技术利用了在此类峡湾中度过大部分时间的环形密封件，并且可以适当地配备集成、位置跟踪、CTD和卫星通信仪器。这些观察结果将与格陵兰自然资源研究所的同事合作收集，并将在国家数据库、项目网站上存档，并几乎实时地向其他人广泛提供。该项目将解决北极观测网目前缺失的一个关键组成部分，即对格陵兰冰盖周边海洋温度和盐度的观测。该方法将为难以进入的格陵兰内峡湾地区的水文特性提供实用、可持续的数据流，从而进一步充实整个北极观测网的数据组合。这类观测需要改进物理学，从而可直接用于IPCC类耦合气候模型。这些数据的收集也将对研究格陵兰环斑海豹行为的研究人员具有巨大的价值。在冰海峡湾中，几乎没有这些海豹的行为数据，项目数据可以用来了解海豹的栖息地和分布，并最终了解它们对气候变化的可能脆弱性。

This project involves a marine-mammal sensor-tagging approach that will allow for sustained oceanographic observations along the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet. This effort is motivated by a successful pilot project involving ringed seals in two Greenland fjords this past summer. The pilot proved the viability of the technique, which makes use of ringed seals who spend the majority of their time in such fjords and who may be appropriately equipped with integrated, location-tracking, CTD, and satellite communication instrumentation. The observations, which will be collected in partnership with colleagues at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, will be archived in national data bases, on a project website, and made widely available to others in near real-time. This project will address a currently missing, critical component of the Arctic Observing Network, namely observations of ocean temperatures and salinities along the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The methodology will lead to a practical, sustainable data stream for hydrographic properties in the notoriously difficult to access regions of the Greenland inner fjords, thus further filling out the overall Arctic Observing Network data portfolio. Such observations are needed to develop improved physics that can subsequently be directly used in IPCC class, coupled climate models. The data collection will also be of immense value to researchers studying the behavior of the ringed seals in Greenland. Virtually no behavioral data exists for these seals in the ice-ocean fjords, and the project data can be used to learn about the habitat and distribution of the seals, and ultimately of their possible vulnerability to climate change.