Oceanography of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas

9418151雅各布斯这个项目将处理、分析和报告先前资助的对阿蒙森海和别林豪森海大陆架进行的第一次系统海洋学研究的结果，其中包括温度和盐度剖面图、海洋化学水样采样和连续精密水深测量。上升的温暖深水覆盖了阿蒙森和别林豪森冰架，并被发现为海冰和边缘冰架提供了大量的热量。区域降水量大，历史上常年保持冰盖。然而，在过去的几年里，卫星图像显示，冰层正在急剧消退，在早先被冰覆盖的地区，大片开放水域持续了整个冬天。这些异常的冰层分布很可能伴随着地表水性质的变化，也可能伴随着深层垂直环流的变化。有迹象表明，有利于海冰减少的条件可能会向西向罗斯海迁移，并可能影响到近几十年来南极半岛西侧的逐渐拍打。目前的项目将通过与沿海冰川和浮冰的相互作用来调查陆架水和深水的产生，并利用大量关于地球化学、生物和冰冻圈环境的辅助数据。该项目在两次巡航中使用了纳撒尼尔·B·帕尔默号：一次是在1993-1994年的夏末，随后的一次是在9月和10月，以观察冬季后期的情况。***

9418151 Jacobs This project will process, analyze, and report the findings of the previously funded first systematic oceanographic study of the continental shelves of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas, which included temperature and salinity profiling, water sampling for ocean chemistry, and continuous precision bathymetry. Upwelling warm deep water covers the Amundsen and Bellingshausen shelves and was found to deliver significant amounts of heat to the sea ice and fringing ice shelves. The regional precipitation is heavy, and has historically maintained a perennial ice cover. However, within the last few years satellite images have shown that the ice has been receding dramatically, with large areas of open water persisting through the winter in sectors that earlier had been ice-covered. These anomalous ice distributions are likely to have been accompanied by altered surface water properties, and possibly changes in the deep vertical circulation. There are indications that the conditions favoring a reduction in the sea ice may migrate westward toward the Ross Sea, and may have influenced a gradual wapming over recent decades on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The current project will investigate the production of shelf water and deep water through interactions with coastal polynyas and floating ice, and make use of a large body of ancillary data on the geochemical, biological, and cryospheric environment. The project made use of the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in two cruises: one in the late austral summer 1993-1994, and a subsequent cruise in September and October to observe late winter conditions. ***