Autonomous Ice Mass Balance Buoys for an Arctic Observing Network: A Continuation Proposal

北冰洋的范围和厚度的变化？S海冰覆盖是全球变暖最明显的指标之一。为了改进预测，使我们能够在季节到十年的时间尺度上预测和计划未来冰盖的变化，我们需要了解推动观察到的变化的过程。一个特别令人感兴趣的领域是温度驱动的冰盖质量平衡。物质平衡是指冬季的冰增长量和夏季的融化量之间的平衡。物质平衡是一个关键的气候变化指标，因为它结合了冰层顶部和底部加热和冷却的影响。如果随着时间的推移出现净变暖，那么冰层将会变薄。相反，净降温会导致更厚的冰。我们项目的目标是通过维护安装在北冰洋浮冰上的自主冰质量平衡(IMB)浮标网络，为北极观测网络做出贡献。这些浮标的观测使我们能够探索海冰厚度正在发生什么变化以及这些变化是如何发生的，从而提高了我们对全球环境这一复杂而重要的组成部分的理解。更广泛的影响包括为达特茅斯学院？S女性科学计划和收养浮标？为中学生准备的节目。我们项目的主要目标是：1)每年采购和部署至少5个IMB浮标，以扩大网络覆盖范围；2)处理和存档来自这些浮标的数据，以确保所有研究人员和感兴趣的用户能够充分、自由、公开和立即获得这些数据。实现第一个目标的关键是浮标技术的进步，创造出一种生产成本更低、更容易部署的IMB版本，旨在为日益普遍的季节性海冰覆盖而设计。我们将继续战略性地部署IMB，与互补的大气和海洋仪器协调，以优化整个北冰洋的观测。我们还将继续加强我们强大的国内和国际合作，以最大限度地扩大整个北极盆地的IMB网络范围，并将与部署相关的后勤成本降至最低。最终结果将是一个综合的大气-冰-海洋观测阵列，它全面描述了冰盖对大气和海洋强迫的反应。

Changes in the extent and thickness of the Arctic Ocean?s sea ice cover are among the most pronounced indicators of our warming global temperatures. In order to improve predictions that enable us to anticipate and plan for future change in ice cover on seasonal to decadal time scales, we need to understand the processes driving the observed change. An area of particular interest is the temperature-driven mass balance of the ice cover. The mass balance is the balance between the amount of ice growth in the winter and the amount of melt in the summer. Mass balance is a key climate change indicator since it combines the impact of heating and cooling at the top and bottom of the ice. If there is net warming over time, then there will be thinning of the ice. Conversely, net cooling leads to thicker ice. The objective of our project is to contribute to the Arctic Observing Network by maintaining a network of autonomous ice mass balance (IMB) buoys, installed in the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean. The observations from these buoys enable us to explore what changes in sea ice thickness are taking place and how these changes occur, thereby improving our understanding of this complex and important component of the global environment. Broader Impacts include contributing to Dartmouth College?s Women in Science Program and an ?adopt a buoy? program for middle school students. The primary objectives of our project are to: 1) procure and deploy a minimum of 5 IMB buoys per year, to increase network coverage, and 2) process and archive the data from these buoys to ensure that they are fully, freely, openly, and immediately accessible to all researchers and interested users. A key to achieving the first objective is an advancement in buoy technology, creating a version of the IMB that costs less to produce, is easier to deploy, and is designed for deployment in the increasingly prevalent seasonal sea ice cover. We will continue to strategically deploy the IMBs in coordination with complementary atmospheric and oceanographic instruments to optimize the observations throughout the Arctic Ocean. We will also continue to build on our strong national and international collaborations, to maximize the extent of the IMB network across the Arctic Basin and to minimize the logistic costs associated with deployment. The end result will be an integrated atmosphere-ice-ocean observing array providing a comprehensive description of the response of the ice cover to atmospheric and oceanic forcing.