West Antartctic Ice Shelf- Ocean Interactions

概况和学术价值：该项目扩展并结合了历史和最近的海洋数据集，以调查沿西南极冰盖太平洋大陆边缘的冰-海-相互作用。综合研究的重点是寒冷的罗斯海和温暖的阿蒙森海大陆架及其附近截然不同的环境，现有的测量数据分别可以追溯到1958年和1994年。在覆盖面更广的罗斯海大陆架上，海洋站和横断面的多次重新定位被用来扩展我们对长期海洋淡水和世界物质平衡的知识-S最大的冰架。在更崎岖的阿蒙森海大陆架上，包含了地球上融化最快的冰架-S，对观测到的温盐变化的持续研究也在寻找外陆架浅滩和脆弱的冰架搁浅带之间的联系。这项跨学科的工作更新了以前关于冰架对海洋热强迫的响应的研究，并使用化学示踪剂来测量大陆架、深水和底层水的变化以及生产率的变化。广泛的影响：最近和潜在的未来海平面上升速率是研究区域观测揭示的冰和海洋变化的主要大范围影响。最重要的问题是，全球和地区的海平面是会逐渐加速，从而避免碳使用量的减少，还是会迅速导致重大的社会和经济动荡。外国船只获得的合作和数据也被用来更好地了解这些陆架海和冰架快速变化的原因，以及相关的更广泛的影响。重新网格化、重新编辑或重新整理的数据将被存档，并在必要时通过演示文稿、出版物和新闻稿提供结果。这项建议不需要在南极进行实地考察这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Overview and Intellectual merit:This project extends and combines historical and recent ocean data sets to investigate ice-ocean-interactions along the Pacific continental margin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The synthesis focuses on the strikingly different environments on and near the cold Ross Sea and warm Amundsen Sea continental shelves, where available measurements reach back to ~1958 and 1994, respectively.On the more extensively covered Ross Sea continental shelf, multiple reoccupations of ocean stations and transects are used to extend our knowledge of long-term ocean freshening and the mass balance of the world?s largest ice shelf. On the more rugged Amundsen Sea continental shelf, which contains the earth?s fastest melting ice shelves, continuing research on observed thermohaline variability also pursues connections between outer shelf shoals and vulnerable ice shelf grounding zones. This interdisciplinary work updates a prior study of ice shelf response to ocean thermal forcing, and uses chemical tracers to measure changes in shelf, deep and bottom water transformations and production rates.Broader Impacts :Recent and potential future rates of sea level rise are the primary broad-scale impacts of the ice and ocean changes revealed by observations in the study area. The overriding question is whether global and regional sea levels will accelerate gradually, allowing carbon usage reductions to head off the worst consequences, or so rapidly that they will contribute to major social and economic upheavals.Collaborations and data acquired by foreign vessels are also utilized tobetter understand the causes of rapid change in these shelf seas and ice shelves, along with associated wider implications. Data that are re-gridded, re-edited or newly collated will be archived, and results made available via presentations, publications, and press releases if warranted. This proposal does not require fieldwork in the AntarcticThis 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.