Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Search for the Oldest Firn Interstitial Air in IPY  (SOFIA-IPY)

Outline
Firn interstitial air contains a remarkable history of the rise in global-scale air pollution. This includes major and minor greenhouse gases (GHGs), substances responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion (ODSs), and precursors of tropospheric ozone formation and oxidising capacity (the latter controls the abundance of many GHGs and ODSs). Since larger volumes of air can be extracted from firn than from ice cores, researchers are now building up a much more complete picture of the extent and complexity of human impact on the chemistry of the global atmosphere. Recent modelling studies suggest that it should be possible to obtain firn air records spanning more than 150 years, encompassing much of the period from the industrial revolution to the present day. It is important to carry out this work soon: the oldest firn is slowly but inexorably being ‘closed-off’ by continued surface snow accumulation, hence the earliest part of the record is being irretrievably ‘lost’ with every passing year.It is intended to mount an international effort to model the likely locations for optimum old firn air retrieval in both the Antarctic and the Arctic (Greenland). This would be followed by surveying and, finally, by deployment of field teams to drill for, and extract, the firn interstitial air. Shallow ice below the firn would also be drilled to provide an extended time scale (several hundred years) for some species.The extracted air would be pumped into ultra-clean/stable sample flasks at high pressure. After extensive analysis of the collected air by multiple laboratories around the world, the remaining air would be preserved as a ‘bank’, leaving a lasting legacy of “old air” samples. These would be curated by a Steering Group that would oversee the issuing of sample aliquots for further analysis as analytical techniques improve, and as interests in other (or presently unknown) gases develop. This effort is particularly important in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) where records are shorter and more sparse than in the SH. The vast majority of pollutants are released in the NH, and many are sufficiently short-lived to not be well represented in Antarctic firn air. Bi-polar measurements also provide invaluable information on species sources, sinks and atmospheric lifetimes.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The project directly addresses Theme 2. It will provide the longest and most complete bi-hemispheric record to date of the rise in GHGs, ODSs, and related pollutants over the period of 19th and 20th century (or earlier) industrial and technological development. This will allow the nature and scale of the anthropogenic chemical perturbation of the natural atmosphere to be assessed. The perturbations will be related to radiative forcing of climate, to stratospheric ozone and chemistry, and to changes in atmospheric chemical processing. Models will be used to reconstruct composition and fluxes on hemispheric and interhemispheric scales, addressing Theme 3, and provide predictions of atmospheric response to future global pollution scenarios.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
International collaboration is critical due to the widespread nature of the “search” across Antarctica and Greenland, and the need share expensive logistics. This programme grows out of existing and long-standing international collaborations on firn air science in the EU, USA and Australia. SOFIA-IPY would likely fall under the umbrella of IPICS (separate IPY EoI).

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Exact locations will be determined by the initial modelling work, but will most likely include the highest, coldest, and most remote parts of the Antarctic Plateau, and the Arctic (the Greenland ice cap is likely to be the only suitable geographic region in the NH).

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 06/07 – 08/07      06/08 – 08/08      
Antarctic: 01/07 – 02/07      01/08 – 02/08      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Field work support for shallow drilling/firn extraction is required (minimum 2 or 3 campaigns per hemisphere). Small, relatively light, field teams can be deployed using light aircraft. Every opportunity would be made to take advantage of logistics provided by larger field activities. In this respect there would be strong linkage to the IPICS-IPY (see above), although site criteria are different for SOFIA than IPICS; nevertheless shared transport and base logistics could be exploited. Several campaigns from which SOFIA could benefit are at proposal or planning stage; some specifically for IPY. These include shallow drilling/firn air campaigns at South Pole, Concordia Station, Komsomoskaya, Dome A, Aurora basin, Vostok megadunes (Russia), etc.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Yes. An unique “bank” of firn interstitial air, plus the longest and most comprehensive database ever assembled on the history of global air pollution.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own national polar operator
Another national polar operator
National agency
Military support

Several field teams will need to be mobilised: there are several with the necessary experience and equipment. As in the past there would be a mixture of national and multinational teams.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes, Dutch National IPY Committee: endorsements from other National Committees will be sought.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes
Largely a new programme, although it might ultimately be considered as an autonomous subproject under IPICS-IPY.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be managed by a dedicated Steering Group which will, in the initial stages, coordinate the identification of sample sites and designation of field tasks to national/multinational teams. In the post-IPY phase the same group will oversee the curation of the firn air ‘bank’, and the database. The latter will be made publicly accessible after a set period to allow for protection of IP during the publication phase (to be determined). Such a management structure has been used successfully during similar previous CEC-funded multinational projects (e.g. FIRETRACC and CRYOSTAT).

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
SOFIA-IPY will have a dedicated web site linked to the public database. More educational and media outreach activities will be developed as the programme is refined. Several partners identified here have excellent records in these areas and have fully-found public relations offices (eg. BAS, LGGE, NOAA, CSIRO, etc.). Some are higher education establishments (UEA, Utrecht, Copenhagen) running polar-related training activities (e.g. PhD and MSc programmes).

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
We have formerly made use of the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) as public free-access portal because of the many value-added features available (web-pages, on line visualisation, automatic data management, discussion fora, etc.). We have also previously made data available through the World Data Center for Atmospheric Trace Gases which has a popular public portal “Trends Online”.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
National funding.European international funding (CEC).

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr William Sturges
University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences
University Plain
Norwich
NR15 1RL
UK

Tel: +44-1603-592018
Mobile:
Fax: +44-1603-452420
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information