Collaborative Research: EAGER: Microstructure Observations of Vertical Mixing and Heat Fluxes from Chipods Deployed on Arctic Observing Network Cruises

合作研究：EAGER：北极观测网络游轮上部署的 Chipods 对垂直混合和热通量的微观结构观测

• 批准号: 2234003
• 负责人: Aurelie Moulin
• 金额: $ 9.39万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-03-01 至 2025-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2234003&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; EAGER; Microstructure; Observations

Climate change is causing the Arctic Ocean to get warmer and Arctic sea ice to melt. These two effects are related, because a warmer ocean can melt sea ice faster, and when sea ice melts, more sunlight gets into the ocean, making it even warmer. Melted sea ice may also result in more ocean turbulence as it allows for bigger waves on the ocean surface. We do not fully understand how melting sea ice and a warming ocean influence each other, and it is difficult to make ocean measurements in the Arctic Ocean. Here we propose to use an existing dataset of turbulence observations to understand whether warming of Arctic waters is associated with ocean mixing, to identify regional patterns in mixing, and to quantify changes in recent years. These observations were made with a highly specialized instrument that can directly measure ocean turbulence, which has been infrequently used in the Arctic Ocean. Part of the proposed work is to develop new methods to interpret the data in this unique environment. Once these methods are developed, they may make long term monitoring of changes in Arctic turbulence possible. The motivation driving this work is to improve understanding of how Arctic climate change will affect interactions between the ocean and sea ice. This is an important goal both for Arctic coastal communities, who face a loss of sea ice and increasing coastal erosion, and for improving predictions of global climate. The proposal will support the early careers of two female scientists, and will also support a collaboration with the Birch Aquarium to develop an exhibit to explain Arctic climate change to a broad audience.Climate change is dramatically altering the Arctic Ocean, including the multidecadal loss of Arctic sea ice. Understanding potential feedbacks between sea ice loss and the warming Arctic Ocean is of critical importance to predicting and mitigating future climate change. Here we propose to use an existing dataset of 264 profiles of shipboard turbulence observations collected on two Arctic Observing Network cruises to assess the strength of vertical mixing in boundary current regions of the Arctic Ocean, and quantify any correlation between the strength of mixing and temperature of boundary currents (which have warmed in recent years); and identify regional patterns in mixing along the Arctic shelves and quantify any changes in mixing rates relative to prior studies. We aim to use the results to both improve our understanding of Arctic ocean mixing in a warming climate and inform future efforts to monitor changes in the Arctic mixing environment. These deployments represent some of the first uses of turbulence instruments in the Arctic ocean which can be routinely deployed on hydrography cruises, and processing and interpreting the resulting data will require new methods due to differences between the Arctic ocean and the lower latitude oceans where these instruments are usually deployed. Once completed, this analysis will provide information about changes in Arctic oceanic vertical mixing and how the vertical transport of heat and nutrients will evolve in a changing climate. The underlying objective of this work is to improve understanding of the Arctic climate and its likely trajectory in terms of vertical mixing rates along the margins. This aim is important regionally, as Arctic coastal communities face a loss of sea ice and coastal erosion, and globally for improving predictions of the future climate. Additionally, this proposal is structured to support the early careers of two female scientists, and will also support a collaboration with the Birch Aquarium to develop an exhibit to explain Arctic climate change to a broad audience.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.

气候变化导致北冰洋变暖，北极海冰融化。这两个效应是相关的，因为温暖的海洋可以更快地融化海冰，当海冰融化时，更多的阳光进入海洋，使其更加温暖。融化的海冰也可能导致更多的海洋湍流，因为它允许海洋表面出现更大的波浪。我们并不完全了解海冰融化和海洋变暖是如何相互影响的，而且很难在北冰洋进行海洋测量。在这里，我们建议使用现有的湍流观测数据集，以了解北极沃茨变暖是否与海洋混合，以确定区域混合模式，并量化近年来的变化。这些观测是用一种可以直接测量海洋湍流的高度专业化仪器进行的，这种仪器在北冰洋很少使用。拟议的工作的一部分是开发新的方法来解释在这种独特的环境中的数据。一旦这些方法被开发出来，它们可能使长期监测北极湍流的变化成为可能。推动这项工作的动机是提高对北极气候变化如何影响海洋和海冰之间相互作用的理解。这对面临海冰减少和海岸侵蚀加剧的北极沿海社区以及改善全球气候预测都是一个重要目标。该提案将支持两名女科学家的早期职业生涯，还将支持与伯奇水族馆合作开发一个展览，向广大观众解释北极气候变化。气候变化正在急剧改变北冰洋，包括北极海冰的数十年损失。了解海冰损失和北冰洋变暖之间的潜在反馈对于预测和减缓未来气候变化至关重要。在这里，我们建议使用现有的数据集的264个剖面的船上湍流观测收集的两个北极观测网络巡航，以评估在北冰洋边界流区的垂直混合的强度，并量化混合强度和边界流温度之间的任何相关性（近年来已经变暖）;并确定沿着北极大陆架的区域混合模式，并量化与先前研究相比混合率的任何变化。我们的目标是利用这些结果来提高我们对气候变暖中北冰洋混合的理解，并为未来监测北极混合环境变化的努力提供信息。这些部署代表了在北冰洋首次使用湍流仪器的一些情况，这些仪器可以例行部署在水文学巡航中，由于北冰洋与通常部署这些仪器的低纬度海洋之间的差异，处理和解释所产生的数据将需要新的方法。一旦完成，这项分析将提供有关北极海洋垂直混合变化的信息，以及热量和营养物质的垂直输送将如何在不断变化的气候中演变。这项工作的基本目标是提高对北极气候及其可能的轨迹的理解，在垂直混合率沿着边缘。这一目标在区域上很重要，因为北极沿海社区面临海冰减少和海岸侵蚀，在全球范围内对改善未来气候的预测也很重要。此外，该奖项旨在支持两名女性科学家的早期职业生涯，并将支持与桦树水族馆合作开发一个展览，向广大观众解释北极气候变化。该奖项反映了NSF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。