Canada Basin Experiment (CBEX) to Investigate Mechanisms of Sea Ice Thickness Variability and Freshwater Content Changes
Abstract
We propose to take advantage of an excellent opportunity to greatly expand observations of sea ice thickness by instrumenting with Upward Looking Sonars (ULSs), Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and Bottom Pressure Recorders (BPRs) an array of six moorings that will be deployed during the Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE) conducted by Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution during 2016–2017. These observations will be complimentary to the sea ice thickness and ocean parameters observations maintained by the Beaufort Gyre Observing System (BGOS) field program since 2003. The combined number of sea ice and ocean measuring points will be nine providing unprecedented coverage of the Canada Basin for quantifying spatial variability in all seasons at multiple scales. The collected data will: • Provide the CANAPE program with Eulerian sea ice thickness data and ocean data at the mooring locations and over the region for the period of the experiment to provide better understanding of results of CANAPE measured acoustics; • Coordinate CBEX measurements in 2016 and 2017 with satellite and aircraft altimetrybased sea ice observational programs including the ICEBridge studies; • Investigate relationships between sea ice volume changes in the Canada Basin and changes in the freshwater content; • Examine the mechanisms that drive variability of sea ice thicknesses for the purposes of adding to the predictability of sea ice conditions in the future, by validating and improving numerical models of the Arctic Ocean contributing to the solutions of the major goals and scientific tasks of the Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observing Synthesis (FAMOS); • Measure sea ice velocities (using ADCP instruments) to determine sea ice motion for converting ice draft time series to spatial probability density distributions. Upper ocean velocities will also be used to infer upper ocean turbulence, shear, and stress for identifying the major causes of sea ice thickness changes. • Investigate seasonal changes in the dynamics of the upper ocean mixed layer based on processed ADCP and ULS data, sea ice concentrations from satellites, and atmospheric forcing data and to analyze spatial and temporal variability of ocean bottom pressure based on BPR data for better definition of the geoid which is a gravitational equipotential surface that most closely conforms to the mean sea surface. The major products of scientific and practical importance will be the processed observational data from ULSs, ADCPs, and BPRs instruments and a synopsis of how and why sea-ice conditions and water stratification in the Canada Basin have evolved since 2003 to 2017 with a focus on conditions observed during 2016-2017 CBEX observations. The project will provide sound estimates of the consequences to sea ice of changes in any of the forcing mechanisms, and causal mechanisms of sea-ice variability at different time scales, which will be essential for more reliable sea ice predictions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512782
Entities
People
- Andrey Proshutinsky
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution