HR: 0800h
AN: C21A-0966    [Abstracts]
TI: The International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) - An International Polar Year Every Year
AU: * Hanna, M
EM: mhanna@natice.noaa.gov
AF: National Ice Center, 4251 Suitland Road FB4- Room 2301, Washington DC, 20397 United States
AU: Rigor, I
EM: ignatius@apl.washington.edu
AF: Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory University of Washington 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 United States
AU: Ortmeyer, M
AF: Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory University of Washington 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 United States
AU: Haas, C
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute, Postfach 12 01 61, Bremerhaven, D-28359 Germany
AB: A network of automatic data buoys to monitor synoptic-scale fields of sea level pressure (SLP), surface air temperature (SAT), and ice motion throughout the Arctic Ocean was recommended by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1974. Based on the Academy's recommendation, the Arctic Ocean Buoy Program was established by the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), University of Washington, in 1978 to support the Global Weather Experiment. Operations began in early 1979, and the program continued through 1990 under funding from various agencies. In 1991, the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) succeeded the Arctic Ocean Buoy Program, but the basic objective remains - to maintain a network of drifting buoys on the Arctic Ocean to provide meteorological and oceanographic data for real-time operational requirements and research purposes including support to the World Climate Research Programme and the World Weather Watch Programme. The IABP currently has 37 buoys deployed on the Arctic Ocean. Most of the buoys measure SLP and SAT, but many buoys are enhanced to measure other geophysical variables such as sea ice thickness, ocean temperature and salinity. This observational array is maintained by the 20 Participants from 10 different countries, who support the program through contributions of buoys, deployment logistics, and other services. The observations from the IABP are posted on the Global Telecommunications System for operational use, are archived at the World Data Center for Glaciology at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (http://nsidc.org), and can also be obtained from the IABP web server for research (http://iabp.apl.washington.edu). The observations from the IABP have been essential for: 1.) Monitoring Arctic and global climate change; 2.) Forecasting weather and sea ice conditions; 3.) Forcing, assimilation and validation of global weather and climate models; 4.) Validation of satellite data; etc. As of 2003, over 450 papers have been written using the observations collected by the IABP. The observations from IABP have been one of the cornerstones for environmental forecasting and studies of climate and climate change, i.e. many of the changes in Arctic climate were first observed or explained using data from the IABP. The IABP is also evolving to better support the operational and research requirements of the community. For example, some of the Participants of the IABP have been deploying buoys which not only measure SLP and SAT, but also ocean currents, temperatures and salinity. Other buoys have been enhanced to measure the ice mass balance (IMB) using thermistor strings and pingers aimed at the top and bottom of the sea ice. Some of these ocean and IMB buoys are deployed in close proximity to each other in order to provide a myriad of concurrent observations at a few points across the Arctic Ocean. From these data we can also estimate time variations in other geophysical variables such as oceanic heat storage and heat flux. These stations provide critical atmospheric, ice, and upper ocean hydrographic measurements that cannot be obtained by other means. The Arctic and global climate system is changing. These changes threaten our native cultures and ecosystems, but may also provide economic and social opportunities. In order to understand and respond to these changes, we need to sustain our current observational systems, and for the Arctic, the IABP provides the longest continuing record of observations.
UR: http://iabp.apl.washington.edu
DE: 9315 Arctic region
DE: 4207 Arctic and Antarctic oceanography
DE: 4215 Climate and interannual variability (3309)
DE: 4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (1827)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting