Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Alaska Ocean Observing System  (AOOS)

Outline
The Alaska Ocean Observing System’s (AOOS) mission is to provide quality processed data for use in information products and model forecasts to meet the needs of stakeholders including commercial, subsistence and sport fishermen, oil and gas developers, shipping interests, Alaska Native communities, resource managers, and researchers. AOOS products will be provided through a distributed, web-based information network and span a hierarchy of spatial scales from local to regional to hemispheric, and range temporally from real-time to seasonal and longer. For organizational purposes, the AOOS geographic area is divided into three regions: the Arctic (Beaufort and Chukchi Seas), the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, and the Gulf of Alaska. The Arctic offers special challenges due to its remoteness and the amplified role of climate change, which has a profound impact on the annual and inter-annual variability of sea ice and on coastal erosion. Major stakeholders in the Arctic include Native communities, subsistence hunters, the oil and gas industry, and the global community that looks to the Arctic for the climate change signal. This proposal will fund: • Improved sea ice forecasts through development of real time information on the sea ice edge and ice motion by enhancing the existing ice edge radar station at Barrow. Benefits include aid to navigation and shipping, safer subsistence hunting, and improved forecasts and mitigation of coastal erosion. • Improved forecasts and models of sea ice conditions through use of an airborne sea ice thickness instrument that can be flown from helicopters well offshore and over nearshore areas with landfast ice to provide estimates of thickness that cannot be gained by other means (satellites do poorly when the sensor sees both land and ocean). The improved forecasts and models will be specifically geared for regions of interest to shippers, oil and gas interests, and coastal communities. • Development of an Alaska Modeling and Analysis Center at the Arctic Region Supercomputer Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. One product will be nested ROMS models capable of real time data assimilation for the Alaska subregions. The MAC will also be used to explore the usefulness of other ocean circulation numerical models for Alaska seas and ice-covered waters and to examine observational data and model output for evidence of climate change. • Improved circulation models in the Bering Sea by increasing number of buoys and measurements in Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Aleutian Island passes. These models will provide important boundary conditions for Arctic circulation models.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The goal of AOOS is to establish a permanent observing system in the Arctic region that can be used to detect change over time and provide information products related to currents, winds, sea ice conditions, and ecosystem status for Arctic stakeholders, including the research community.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The AOOS Arctic region system is expected to be a major component of the international Arctic Observing Network, the Arctic Ocean Observing System, and the Global Earth Observing System of Systems. As AOOS and the national IOOS mature, collaborations with Canada, Russia and Japan, through the above programs and through PICES, are anticipated. See 3.6 below.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Initially, the Arctic Ocean Observing System will focus on coastal waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, and in particular, off Barrow and Prudhoe Bay.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 06/2006 - 2009            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Enhancements to the existing ice edge radar facility at Barrow to provide real-time transmission; airborne sea ice thickness instrument (IcePic) to be flown from helicopters; tide gauges with temperature and salinity sensors. In addition, a Modeling and Analysis Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in conjunction with the Arctic Region Supercomputer Center.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
In the early years, the primary legacy of infrastructure will be in the form of equipment, plus establishment of the Modeling and Analysis Center at UAF. The ultimate legacy will be the capabilities provided by a permanent observing system.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Commercial operator
Own support
Other sources of support

Logistical support will be provided by collaborating with other observing efforts, oil and gas industry support, and local community support.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes, AOOS has been endorsed as the Alaska regional association for the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), which is the U.S. coastal contribution to the Global Ocean Observing System(GOOS).

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?
Exp
AOOS is being developed as a permanent observing system for the Arctic, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska regions of Alaska. It will start in 2005, and continue thereafter, with expansions to the system.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be managed as the Arctic portion of the Alaska Ocean Observing System, a regional observing system that is part of the national Integrated Ocean Observing System. Additional funds are being sought to expand this portion of AOOS. AOOS will be consistent with IOOS plans and standards, but will be tailored to meet regional needs.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
An Education and Outreach Plan for AOOS is being developed in 2005, with the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium playing a lead role in that planning effort as well as subsequent implementation. Since the needs of AOOS stakeholders are the primary drivers of the program, education, outreach and communication will be major components in AOOS.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
A data management team will provide for data archiving, data sharing via web and LAS (Live-Access-Servers), maintenance of computer hardware, installation and maintenance of software, and development of visualization tools to aid in the dissemination and interpretation of real-time data streams. The University of Alaska will meet this need by developing a central hub in Fairbanks and following a Data Management and Communications plan consistent with that of the IOOS.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The project is funded through a $2 million earmark in the NOAA National Ocean Service’s FY 2005 budget for ocean observing program. That amount of funding is the minimum anticipated annually in the next three years, and is likely to be increased, as well as leveraged with additional funding sources.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Establishment of a comprehensive ocean observing system for the Arctic under AOOS will depend on extensive collaboration with other Alaska observing efforts, as well as collaboration with a multitude of other programs: e.g., those described in 1.7 above, as well as the Mooring-based Arctic Ocean Observing System (MAOOS); David Atkinsons Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in Arctic western North America and eastern Russia; and NEON - National Ecological Observatories Network.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Ms Molly McCammon
Alaska Ocean Observing System
1007 West Third Avenue, Suite 100
Anchorage, Alaska
99501
USA

Tel: 907-644-6703
Mobile: 907-227-7634
Fax: 907-644-6780
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information