Surface Energy Balance on West Antarctica and the Ross Ice Shelf

大气变暖是南极半岛冰架消失的一个主要因素。在南极洲西部，海洋变暖目前被认为是冰架和冰原接地线的最大压力来源。冰架支撑的丧失和接地线的退缩可能已经导致了思韦茨冰川不可逆转的损失。为了改进预测模型，需要更多关于冰架上的水致压裂和接地线附近的海洋冰崖不稳定性的数据。该项目将有助于进一步了解导致南极西部和罗斯冰架表面融化的大气环流和太阳辐射。为了支持这个项目，并从这项工作中吸收南极科学，加州大学圣地亚哥分校的教育工作者将赞助一个系列研讨会，为模范的初中和/或高中科学教师设计，以满足这一需求。教师参与者将被精心挑选，因为他们展示了领导能力，最终将成为“大师”科学教师骨干的一部分，他们将作为当地的领导者，传播应对NGSS的战略和工具。Eng。向全县的教师分发。对于夏季野外季节的要求，加州大学圣地亚哥分校的科学家将部署一套仪器来测量下行和净短波和长波通量，感热通量和潜热通量，以及近地表气象学。这套仪器将在满足电力需求的情况下自给自足，并将在一架双水獭飞机上进行现场支持。研究人员计划将该套房部署为一个由2-3名野外人员组成的偏远冰营，在每个采样的夏季野外季节进行长达一个月的测量。在改进耦合气候模式参数化的背景下，将对这些测量结果进行分析和解释，以确定控制南极洲西部地表融化的中尺度条件。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Atmospheric warming has been a major factor in the loss of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. In West Antarctica, oceanic warming is presently regarded as the largest source of stress on both the ice-shelves and at the grounding lines of the ice sheets. The loss of ice shelf buttressing and grounding line retreat may have already induced irreversible loss of Thwaites Glacier. To advance predictive models more data is needed regarding both water-induced fracturing on an ice shelf and marine ice cliff instability near the grounding line. This project will help advance understanding of atmospheric circulation and solar radiation over West Antarctica and the Ross Ice Shelf that lead to surface melting. In support of this project, and incorporating Antarctic science from this work, UCSD educators will sponsor a workshop series for exemplary middle and/or high school science teachers designed to address this need. Teacher participants will be carefully selected for their demonstrated leadership skills and will eventually become part of an cadre of "master" science teachers who will serve as local leaders in disseminating strategies and tools for addressing the NGSS (Ca Next Gen. of Sci. Eng. Stds.) to teachers throughout the county.For the summer field seasons requested, UCSD scientists will deploy a suite instruments to measure downwelling and net shortwave and longwave fluxes, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and near-surface meteorology. This suite of instruments will be self-reliant with power requirements and will be supportable in the field with a single Twin Otter aircraft. The investigators plan to deploy this suite as a remote ice camp with a field party of 2-3 personnel, making measurements for at up to one month during each of the sampled summer field seasons. These measurements will be analyzed and interpreted to determine mesoscale conditions that govern surface melt in West Antarctica, in the context of improving coupled climate model parameterizations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.