HR: 09:50h
AN: OS41E-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Design and Planning for an Arctic Ocean Observatory on the Beaufort Shelf
AU: * Coakley, B
EM: Bernard.Coakley@gi.alaska.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska , Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Chayes, D
EM: dale@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Instrument Laboratory, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Proshutinsky, A
EM: aproshutinsky@whoi.edu
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Mailstop 29, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Weingartner, T
EM: weingart@ims.uaf.edu
AF: Institute of Marine Studies, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AB: Evidence is mounting that a complex suite of interrelated atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial changes are now underway in the arctic, affecting every part of the polar environment. Such changes are consistent with global climate modeling studies that consistently show the arctic to be one of the most sensitive regions to climate change. Understanding and quantifying these changes is complicated by the lack of time series data from the circum-arctic environment. Study of the Arctic Ocean is limited by sea ice and harsh weather that restrict access through much of the year. These constraints limit data acquisition and distort understanding of events, processes and biology of most of the Arctic Ocean. Without these data, it will not be possible to predict future change or the consequences of change. The Study of Arctic Environmental Change (SEARCH) program will develop capabilities for environmental monitoring, but cabled observatories are not now part of SEARCH. The planned Barrow Global Climate Change Research Facility will include a slant-drilled seawater intake, extending from on shore to beyond the ice gouge zone on the Beaufort Shelf. A cable could be routed through this intake to connect seafloor instrumentation to science support facilities in Barrow. In conjunction with existing facilities in Barrow that monitor the atmosphere and ocean surface, a seafloor observatory would permit study of the coupling between atmospheric and oceanographic processes and offer unique opportunities for research, environmental monitoring, education and the Barrow community. The proposed observatory could substantially augment SEARCH by collecting time series data on many processes and variables encompassing both regional and basin-wide length scales. For example, the larger spatial scales might be sampled using acoustic tomography and AUVs, while the highly variable shelf environment could be sampled from cabled moorings containing a variety of sensor systems. These measurements, combined with surface observations from Barrow, would open a window on the shelf, its biology, oceanography and geology. The data collected from these sensors, available in realtime over the Internet would be an outstanding educational resource as well.
DE: 4203 Analytical modeling
DE: 4219 Continental shelf processes
DE: 3022 Marine sediments--processes and transport
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting