Shelf-Basin Exchange in the Chukchi Sea

观测到的北冰洋夏季海冰覆盖率持续下降，部分原因是海水携带的热量。这些热量通过太阳的直接加热和来自大西洋和白令海的热量流的输送进入北冰洋。来自大西洋的温暖的海水被地下较冷的海水与海冰的直接接触隔绝了。该项目将开发一个模型，综合我们对北冰洋重要物理过程的理解，将模型输出与观测结果进行比较，使用该模型来增加对负责调节海冰热通量的过程的理解，并了解这些过程中观测到的近期趋势。利用高分辨率区域数值模式结合近期和历史观测，研究了大陆架断裂向盆地内部的交换，以及冰的融化。该模式是在天气大气场和白令海峡气流的强迫下实际配置的海洋/海冰耦合模式。将诊断负责质量、热量、淡水和示踪剂交换的物理过程。模型中的环流和通量将与原位系泊和水文数据进行比较。拟议研究的目标是更好地了解北冰洋太平洋部分跨大陆架交换的过程，它们与内部冰融化的关系，以及它们在不断变化的北极气候中可能发生的变化。区域模式的重点是诊断大陆架-盆地交换的机制，并将其与该地区的基本强迫机制（白令海峡流和大气流）联系起来。区域模式的效率允许进行大量的计算，并允许检验与交换有关的假设。这种基于过程的方法允许对控制物理的一般理解，并对其他区域和强迫情景具有更广泛的影响。首席研究员在麻省理工学院- whoi物理海洋学联合项目中教授研究生水平的课程，该项目期间开发的材料将纳入他的课程。他还参与了GFD暑期学校，并将在暑期学校讲授从这项研究中获得的理解。本项目还将通过WHOI暑期学生奖学金项目免费招募数学和物理专业优秀的本科生参与模型分析。PI还维护一个网站，为更广泛的受众总结和突出他的研究兴趣。

The observed ongoing decline of summer sea ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean results, in part, from heat carried by ocean waters. This heat enters the Arctic Ocean by direct solar heating and by the transport of heat with flows from the Atlantic Ocean and Bering Sea. The warm waters from the Atlantic Ocean are isolated from direct contact with the sea ice by subsurface colder waters. This project will develop a model that synthesizes our understanding of important physical processes in the Arctic Ocean, compare the model output to observations, use the model to increase understanding of the processes responsible for modulating heat flux to the sea ice, and understand the observed recent trends in those processesThe principal investigator proposes to study processes that lead to water mass transformation within the Chukchi Sea, exchange across the shelfbreak to the basin interior, and the melting of ice using a very high resolution regional numerical model in conjunction with recent and historical observations. The model is a realistically configured coupled ocean/sea ice model forced by synoptic atmospheric fields and flow through Bering Strait. Physical processes responsible for exchange of mass, heat, freshwater, and tracers across the shelfbreak will be diagnosed. The circulation and fluxes in the model will be compared with in-situ mooring and hydrographic data. The objectives of the proposed study are to better understand the processes responsible for cross shelf exchange in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean, their relation to ice melt in the interior, and how they might change in a changing Arctic climate. The focus of the regional model is to diagnose the mechanisms responsible for shelf-basin exchange and relate them to the basic forcing mechanisms in this region (flow through Bering Strait and the atmosphere). The efficiency of the regional model allows for large numbers of calculations to be carried out, and for hypotheses relating to exchange to be tested. Such a process-based approach allows for a general understanding of the controlling physics with broader implications for other regions and forcing scenarios.The principal investigator teaches graduate level classes in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Physical Oceanography, and the material developed during this project will be incorporated into his classes. He has also been involved in the GFD summer school and will offer summer school lectures about the understanding gained from this study. Undergraduate students strong in mathematics and physics will also be recruited to work on the model analysis through the WHOI Summer Student Fellowship program at no cost to this project. The PI also maintains a web site that summarizes and highlights his research interests for a broader audience.