Implementation of a multipurpose Arctic Ocean Observing System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stein Sandven ◽  
Hanne Sagen ◽  
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller ◽  
Peter Vo ◽  
Marie-Noelle Houssais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Acoustic Thermometry ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Global Coverage ◽  
Cable Systems ◽  
Ocean Observing ◽  
Observing Systems

<p>The central Arctic Ocean is one of the least observed oceans in the world. This ice-covered region is challenging for ocean observing with respect to technology, logistics and costs. Many physical, biogeochemical, biological, and geophysical processes in the water column and sea floor under the sea ice are difficult to observe and therefore poorly understood. Today, there are technological advances in platforms and sensors for under-ice observation, which offer possibilities to install and operate sustained observing infrastructures in the Arctic Ocean. The goal of the INTAROS project is to develop integrated observing systems in the Arctic, including improvement of data sharing and dissemination to various user groups. INTAROS supports a number of systems providing data from the ocean in delayed mode as well as in near-real time mode, but only a few operate in the ice-covered areas.</p><p>Autonomous observing platforms used in the ice-free oceans such as Argo floats, gliders, and autonomous surface vehicles cannot yet be used operationally in ice-covered Arctic regions. The limitation is because the sea ice prevents these underwater platforms from reaching the surface for satellite communication and geopositioning. To improve the Arctic Ocean Observing capability OceanObs19 recommended ‘to pilot a sustained multipurpose acoustic network for positioning, tomography, passive acoustics, and communication in an integrated Arctic Observing System, with eventual transition to global coverage’. Acoustic networks have been used locally and regionally in the Arctic for underwater acoustic thermometry, geo-positioning for floats and gliders, and passive acoustic. The Coordinated Arctic Acoustic Thermometry Experiment (CAATEX) is a first step toward developing a basin-scale multipurpose acoustic network using modern instrumentation.</p><p>To provide secure data delivery, submarine cables are needed either as dedicated cabled observatories or as hybrid cable systems (sharing the cable infrastructure between science and commercial telecommunications), or both combined. Several large-scale cabled observatories existing coastal areas in world oceans, but none on the Arctic Ocean. At OceanObs19 it was recommended to transition (telecom+sensing) SMART subsea cable systems from present pilots to trans-ocean implementation, to address climate, ocean circulation, sea level, tsunami and earthquake early warning, ultimately with global coverage. Cabled observatories, either stand alone or branching from a hybrid system, could provide power and real time communication to support connected water column moorings and sea floor instrumentation as well as docking mobile platforms. Subsea cable developers are looking into the possibility to deploy a communication cable across the Arctic Ocean from Europe to Asia, because this offers a much shorter route compared to the terrestrial cables.</p><p> An international consortium of leading scientists in ocean observing with experience in state-of-the-art technologies on platforms, sensors, subsea cable technology, acoustic communication and data transmission plan to establish a project to implement and test the system based on experience from the CAATEX experiment and other Arctic observing system experiments. The INTAROS project is presently developing a Roadmap for an integrated Arctic Observing System, where multipurpose ocean observing systems will be one component.</p>

scholarly journals Modelling the effect of boundary scavenging on Thorium and Protactinium profiles in the ocean

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 7853-7896 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Roy-Barman
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Lateral Transport ◽  
Transport Reaction ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Boundary Scavenging

Abstract. The "boundary scavenging" box model is a cornerstone of our understanding of the particle-reactive radionuclide fluxes between the open ocean and the ocean margins. However, it does not describe the radionuclide profiles in the water column. Here, I present the transport-reaction equations for radionuclides transported vertically by reversible scavenging on settling particles and laterally by horizontal currents between the margin and the open ocean. Analytical solutions of these equations are compared with existing data. In the Pacific Ocean, the model produces "almost" linear 230Th profiles (as observed in the data) despite lateral transport. However, omitting lateral transport biased the 230Th based particle flux estimates by as much as 50%. 231Pa profiles are well reproduced in the whole water column of the Pacific Margin and from the surface down to 3000 m in the Pacific subtropical gyre. Enhanced bottom scavenging or inflow of 231Pa-poor equatorial water may account for the model-data discrepancy below 3000 m. The lithogenic 232Th is modelled using the same transport parameters as 230Th but a different source function. The main source of 232Th scavenged in the open Pacific is advection from the ocean margin, whereas a net flux of 230Th produced in the open Pacific is advected and scavenged at the margin, illustrating boundary exchange. In the Arctic Ocean, the model reproduces 230Th measured profiles that the uni-dimensional scavenging model or the scavenging-ventilation model failed to explain. Moreover, if lateral transport is ignored, the 230Th based particle settling speed may by underestimated by a factor 4 at the Arctic Ocean margin. The very low scavenging rate in the open Arctic Ocean combined with the enhanced scavenging at the margin accounts for the lack of high 231Pa/230Th ratio in arctic sediments.

scholarly journals Echinoderes pterus sp. n. showing a geographically and bathymetrically wide distribution pattern on seamounts and on the deep-sea floor in the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea (Kinorhyncha, Cyclorhagida)

ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 771 ◽  
pp. 15-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Yamasaki ◽  
Katarzyna Grzelak ◽  
Martin V. Sørensen ◽  
Birger Neuhaus ◽  
Kai Horst George
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Distribution Pattern ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Mediterranean

Kinorhynchs rarely show a wide distribution pattern, due to their putatively low dispersal capabilities and/or limited sampling efforts. In this study, a new kinorhynch species is described,Echinoderespterussp. n., which shows a geographically and bathymetrically wide distribution, occurring on the Karasik Seamount and off the Svalbard Islands (Arctic Ocean), on the Sedlo Seamount (northeast Atlantic Ocean), and on the deep-sea floor off Crete and on the Anaximenes Seamount (Mediterranean Sea), at a depth range of 675–4,403 m. The new species is characterized by a combination of middorsal acicular spines on segments 4–8, laterodorsal tubes on segment 10, lateroventral tubes on segment 5, lateroventral acicular spines on segments 6–9, tufts of long hairs rising from slits in a laterodorsal position on segment 9, truncated tergal extensions on segment 11, and the absence of any type-2 gland cell outlet. The specimens belonging to the populations from the Arctic Ocean, the Sedlo Seamount, and the Mediterranean Sea show morphological variation in the thickness and length of the spines as well as in the presence/absence of ventromedial sensory spots on segment 7. The different populations are regarded as belonging to a single species because of their overlapping variable characters.

INTAROS synthesis of gap analysis of the existing Arctic observing systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Pirazzini ◽  
Michael Tjernström ◽  
Stein Sandven ◽  
Hanne Sagen ◽  
Torill Hamre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Reference Level ◽  
Data Handling ◽  
Network Concept ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Observing Systems

<p>A comprehensive assessment of a substantial subset of Arctic observing systems, data collections and satellite products across scientific disciplines was carried out in INTAROS, also including data repositories and a brief scientific gap analysis. The assessments cover a multitude of aspects such as sustainability, technical maturity and data handling for the entire chain from observation to users, including metadata procedures and availability to data. Community based environment monitoring programs were surveyed and assessed separately; they do not form part of the present assessment.</p><p>The assessed observing systems were first ranked according to general sustainability and other aspects, were analyzed subsequently. While the range of sustainability is large, it was found that high scores on all other aspects, such as for data handling and technical maturity, are more likely for systems with high sustainability. Moreover, many systems with high sustainability, as well as advanced systems for data handling and availability in place, resulted from national commitments to international monitoring or infrastructure programs, several of which are not necessarily particular to the Arctic.</p><p>Traditionally, terrestrial and atmospheric observation network assessments build on the network concept with a “comprehensive” level including all observations, a “baseline” level of an agreed subset of sustained observations, and a “reference” level, with observations adhering to specific calibrations and traceability criteria. Examples from atmospheric observations are the “comprehensive” global GCOS radiosounding network, the “baseline” GUAN (GCOS Upper Air Network) and “reference” GRUAN (GCOS Reference Upper Air Network) networks. With the lack of in-situ observations especially from the Arctic Ocean and the logistical difficulties to deploy new stations, it was concluded that this concept does not work well in the Arctic.</p><p>In summary, we recommend that:</p><ul><li>advancement in Arctic observing should be done in international global or regional programs with well-established routines and procedures, rather than to invest in new Arctic-specific programs</li> <li>investments in new instruments and techniques be done at already established sites, to benefit interdisciplinary studies and optimize infrastructure costs</li> <li>more observations be based on ships of opportunity and that a subset of ocean, sea-ice and atmosphere observations always be made on all research expeditions, regardless of their scientific aim</li> <li>the funding structures for science expeditions is reviewed to maintain, and preferably increase, the number of expeditions and to safeguard funding for appropriate data handling and storage</li> <li>observing-network concept for the atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean is revised, so that coupled reanalyses represent the “comprehensive level”, satellite observations complemented with available in-situ data is the “baseline level”, while scientific expeditions is the “reference level”. This requires substantial improvements in reanalysis, better numerical models and data assimilation, better satellite observations and improved data handling and accessibility for scientific expeditions.</li> </ul>

Acoustic thermometry in the Arctic Ocean

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Mikhalevsky ◽  
Alexander N. Gavrilov
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Acoustic Thermometry ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

scholarly journals How well does wind speed predict air-sea gas transfer in the sea ice zone? A synthesis of radon deficit profiles in the upper water column of the Arctic Ocean

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 3696-3714 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Loose ◽  
R. P. Kelly ◽  
A. Bigdeli ◽  
W. Williams ◽  
R. Krishfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Gas Transfer ◽  
The Arctic Ocean
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