US/Chinese Collaborative Study: Investigation of Bottom Water Formation in Prydz Bay, Antarctica

关于南大洋印度洋段南极底层水(AABW)形成过程的描述仍然很少。与南极大陆研究较充分的地区的AABW地层一样，这种有助于推动全球海洋温盐环流的稠密冷水的源区对全球气候的影响是不确定的。将结合(年度)大陆架和斜坡系泊、中国破冰船“雪龙”号上的季节性(夏季)水文测量，以及历史和卫星数据的综合，更好地约束普里兹湾地区的大陆架过程和大气-海洋-冰相互作用。尽管研究地点看起来很偏远，但AABW形成速度的变化可能会通过影响全球热量收支和未来几十年海平面上升而对北半球气候产生影响。该项目还寻求促进中美研究人员之间的国际合作。收集到的数据将通过国家海洋学数据中心和中国北极南极数据中心广泛传播给海洋学界。

Processess governing the formation of Antarctic bottom water (AABW) in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean remain poorly described. As with AABW formation in more well studied regions of the Antarctic continent, global climate impacts of the source regions of this dense, cold water that help drive the global ocean thermohaline circulation are uncertain. A combination of (annual) continental shelf and slope moorings, seasonal (summer) hydrographic surveys on board the Chinese icebreaker M/V Xuelong, together with synthesis of historic and satellite data will be used to better constrain shelf processes and the atmosphere-ocean-ice interactions in the Prydz Bay region. Despite the seeming remoteness of the study site, changes in the formation rate of AABW could potentially have impact on northern hemisphere climate via effects on the global heat budget and through sea-level rise in the coming decades. The project additionally seeks to promote international collaboration between Chinese and US researchers. The data collected will be broadly disseminated to the oceanographic community through the National Oceanography Data Center and Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Data Center.