U.S./Chinese Ship of Opportunity Sampling Program Phase II

这项工作是与中国极地研究所联合开展的一个项目的继续，该项目将沿着革命制度党的南极补给船R/V雪龙号所走的路线测量威德尔海北部的上层海洋结构。这些观测是从消耗性仪器获得的，补充了威德尔海西北部不同断面上的现有水文观测，以及韦德尔-斯科舍省汇合带系泊流速仪阵列的数据。这项工作建立在科学小组在过去四年里在R/V雪龙号上成功获得的一系列一次性水温仪和电导率-温度深度探测器的基础上。这艘船从西向东穿越韦德尔海，使之有可能获得一系列原本无法获得的海洋探测数据。这一信息特别重要，因为上层海洋温度和盐度、海冰边缘和极外气候特征之间已经建立了很强的关联。研究表明，就南极与低纬气候特征和指数之间的联系而言，印度洋地区是一个异常区。在这里，南极绕极流最接近大陆，而南极绕极波在现有数据中最不能很好地表达。船上已经安装了必要的软件和硬件仪器，并与中国南极科学家建立了良好的工作关系。

This work is the continuation of a joint project with the Polar Research Institute of China to make measurements of the structure of the upper ocean in the northern Weddell Sea along the route taken by the PRI's antarctic supply vessel, R/V Xue Long. The observations, obtained from expendable instruments, complement existing hydrographic observations along various transects through the northwestern Weddell Sea region and data from moored current meter arrays in the Weddell-Scotia confluence zone. This effort builds upon a successful series of expendable bathythermographs and conductivity-temperature-depth probes obtained by the science party on board the R/V Xue Long for the past four years.The west-to-east transit of the Weddell Sea by the ship makes it possible to obtain a series of ocean soundings that are otherwise unobtainable. The information is particularly important because strong correlative links between the upper ocean temperature and salinity, the sea ice edge, and extra-polar climate features have been established. It has been shown that the Indian Ocean sector is an anomalous region with respect to connections between antarctic and lower latitude climatic features and indices. Here the Antarctic Circumpolar Current makes its closest approach to the continent and the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave is least well expressed in the existing data. The necessary instrumentation, both software and hardware, has been installed in the ship and an excellent working relationship with Chinese antarctic scientists has been developed.