Collaborative Research: Observing the Atmospheric Boundary over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

南极洲西部的近地表大气是地球上变暖最快的地方之一。这种大气变暖，沿着海洋强迫，正在促成冰盖融化，从而导致全球海平面上升。设想开展一项观测活动，重点是南极洲西部冰盖上空的大气边界层。将使用南极西部冰盖分水岭野外营地的30米高的仪器塔进行一系列可靠的全年自主大气和表面测量。在该项目的第二年将进行另一次无人驾驶航空系统实地活动，并将通过对边界层深度进行取样来补充南极西部冰盖高塔观测，南极边界层这一更广泛的主题显然支持一系列研究活动，包括湍流混合的物理学、其参数化和对气象预报的限制，甚至气候影响，例如表面质量和能量平衡。随着Thwaites WAIS计划的到来，一套可观测数据将是NSF/NERC（英国）Thwaites联合实地活动的一个受欢迎的补充。该提案的气象学家率先在南极开发了30米高的塔（TT）和无人机系统（UAS），并且能够成功地开展和分析这项工作。反过来，这些观测的潜力，以促进我们的理解，如何与冰盖的空气交换热量是高的。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The near surface atmosphere over West Antarctica is one of the fastest warming locations on the planet. This atmospheric warming, along with oceanic forcing, is contributing to ice sheet melt and hence rising global sea levels. An observational campaign, focused on the atmospheric boundary layer over the West Antarctic ice sheet, is envisioned. A robust set of year-round, autonomous, atmospheric and surface measurements, will be made using an instrumented 30-m tall tower at the West Antarctic ice sheet divide field camp. An additional unmanned aerial system field campaign will be conducted during the second year of this project and will supplement the West Antarctic ice sheet tall tower observations by sampling the depths of the boundary layer.The broader subject of the Antarctic ABL clearly supports a range of research activities ranging from the physics of turbulent mixing, its parameterization and constraints on meteorological forecasts, and even climatological effects, such as surface mass and energy balances. With the coming of the Thwaites WAIS program, a suite of metrological observables would be a welcome addition to the joint NSF/NERC (UK) Thwaites field campaigns. The meteorologists of this proposal have pioneered 30-m tall tower (TT) and unmanned aerial system (UAS) development in the Antarctic, and are well positioned to successfully carry out and analyze this work. In turn, the potential for these observations to advance our understanding of how the atmosphere exchanges heat with the ice sheet is high.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.