Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

HOlocene VAriability in the ARctic Ocean  (HOVARO)

Outline
The goal of our project is a high-resolution investigation of the relationships between important components of the Arctic Ocean in the Holocene. Emphasis will be laid on the reconstruction of the water mass exchange with the adjacent ocean basins of the northern North Atlantic (the Nordic Seas) and the North Pacific (Bering Sea). We will analyze sediment cores of high temporal resolution (centuries to decades) from the eastern Arctic Ocean using various sedimentological, micropaleontological and geochemical methods (grain sizes, coarse fraction analysis, diatom analysis, stable oxygen and carbon isotopes of planktic and benthic foraminifers). Investigated areas include the northern Fram Strait, the Yermak Plateau, the Lena Trough, and the continental margins of the Kara, Laptev and East Siberian seas. The paleoclimatic data interpretation will be compared to climatic data series from the adjacent regions (ice cores, sediment cores, terrestrial data series). S! imulations with a coupled ocean-sea ice model of the Arctic Ocean will contribute to an improved understanding of basic climatic and oceanographic mechanisms and climatic teleconnections. Several methods will be used, but the close cooperation between model response and paleoclimatic data interpretation will play an essential role in our project. The activity is intended to represent a contribution to IPY lead project APEX ("Arctic Paleoclimate and its EXtremes; EoI #183).

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Anticipated results from our project will strongly improve our understanding of natural variability as the background of modern change in the Arctic (Theme 2) and of the the role of the Arctic in global change (Theme 3). We plan to investigate and sample scientifically unexplored areas of the Arctic (Theme 4). An improved understanding of the Arctic paleoclimate from proxy data ond model simulations will be important to improve and test prognostic climatic models which are used to predict living conditions (incl. economics, fishing, sea routes etc.) in the Arctic regions and, thus, contribute to advances regarding IPY themes 5 and 6.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The project is designed as a German-Russian cooperation. It is intended to represent a contribution to IPY lead project APEX ("Arctic Paleoclimate and its EXtremes; EoI #183) through the investigation of the natural variability of the Holocene, an extreme warm state of the Arctic's climate in the last 200,000 years.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
It is intended to obtain new sediment cores from the continental margins of the Kara and East Siberian seas.

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

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Participation in icebreaker cruises (R/V POLARSTERN cruises planned for 2007 and 2008)

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
No

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Another national polar operator

Shiptime on R/V POLARSTERN has been requested from the POLARSTERN users consortium.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Endorsement from the German IPY committee has been applied for.

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

The activity is intended to represent a contribution to IPY lead project APEX ("Arctic Paleoclimate and its EXtremes; EoI #183). The lead contact person is a member of the APEX Steering committee.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The lead contact person will be responsible for sample and data distribution and the supervision of sediment analyses. Model simulation will be performed by the Bremen/Bremerhaven modelling group in close contact with the cooperation partners in Kiel and Moscow.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
A HOVARO web page will be hosted at IFM-GEOMAR Kiel; synthesized results will be made available through this web site. 3 PhD students will be recruited to perform the analyses and develop the model simulations. By participation in APEX we will also use the APEX ways of dissemination of information.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data will be stored in the PANGAEA data bank of the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Bremerhaven (Germany) and available via WWW.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding has been applied for from the German Science Foundation (DFG).

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Robert Spielhagen
Academy of Sciences Mainz c/o IFM-GEOMAR Kiel
Wischhofstr. 1-3
Kiel
24148
Germany

Tel: (+49)-431-6002855
Mobile: no
Fax: (+49)-431-6002941
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation