Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

The study of the dynamics of Terra Nova Bay POLYnya by the combined use Envisat/ASAR Wide Swath and PASsive microwave AMSR-E images.  (POLYSARPAS)

Outline
While both the Arctic and Antarctic possess a permanent sea ice cover, in the Antarctic the seasonal cycle is much greater than in the Arctic, with the ice extent varying from 4 x 10^6 km2 in summer to 18 x 10^6 km2 in winter. As the sea ice cover expands in winter, areas of water occur, poleward of the ice limit, which do not freeze but remain open to the atmosphere through all or part of the winter. These regions of open water are called polynyas. Processes inside polynyas are significant for the sea ice zone as a whole. Being regions of intense heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere, polynyas can behave as "ice factories" contributing a significant fraction of total annual sea ice production; it has been estimated, for instance, that the small polynya in Terra Nova Bay contributes 10% of the ice production in the Ross Sea. The study of Antarctic polynyas has been hampered by difficulties of access. To understand the role of Antarctic coastal polynyas in the ice and energy budgets of the Antarctic, it is necessary to combine remote sensing studies with concurrent field experiments on the nature of the ice in the polynya and the nature and magnitude of the ocean processes which are occurring.Remote sensing studies of polynyas have received a major impulse by the advent of two important observation tools: 1) the ASAR instrument on Envisat satellite, with its onbord recording capability and a spatial resolution, in the Wide Swath mode, of 150m; 2) the low-resolution passive microwave radiometer AMSR-E on NASA EOS satellites (Terra and Aqua) with a pixel size of 6.25 Km. The National Snow and Ice Data Center produces, and makes available to the scientific community, daily sea-ice concentration maps from AMSR-E data.We propose to study the dynamics of extension of Terra Nova Bay polynya by means of these two new tools. The choice of Terra Nova Bay polynya is self-evident as the Italian Antarctic Base "Mario Zucchelli" is located in that area. The size of Terra Nova Bay polynya will be followed on day by day basis with AMSR-E images; in correspondence of a full opening of the polynya, ASAR WS images will be acquired from ESA archive, these latter offering a detailed description of polynya conditions. Polynya size data will be compared with wind information to be obtained by the Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations Project of the University of Wisconsin (uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu/aws.html). In addition, important cases with wide fluctuations of polynya size, will be simulated by means of a limited-area meteorological model.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
A significant advance in the study of antarctic polynyas is provided by the recent availability of new remote sensing tools.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
This project will be carried on in strict collaboration with DAMTP, Polar Oceanography Group, University of Cambridge, U.K.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The area of interest is Terra Nova Bay, around 74.5S 164E. No field work is proposed

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: 03/06 -10/07      03/07 - 10/08      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
None

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The project will leave as legacy a set of computer programs (software) to process microwave (active and passive) satellite imagery for polar applications.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
It was submitted to PNRA (Italian National Program for Antarctic Research) as part of a proposal to study convection processes in the Ross Sea.

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?
New
It is part of a proposal submitted to PNRA, the Italian National Program for Antarctic Research.

How will the project be organised and managed?
It will be managed by the Consorzio PNRA which already manages all the operations of the Italian Antarctic Program.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Since the early years PNRA has paid a special attention to EOC issues. Satellite imagery represents an excellent tool for the dissemination of a "polar culture".

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
PNRA will take care of the data of this project as it does for the data of all research projects.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The project is part of a more general proposal to PNRA. It requires minor funding as AMSR-E images can be downloaded free of charge from JPL PODAAC web site while Envisat/ASAR images are obtained free of charge from ESA as part of a Cat.1 approved project.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
No

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Flavio Parmiggiani
via Gobetti 101, Bologna


40129
Italy

Tel: +39051 639 8009
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Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information