Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Synoptic Circum-Antarctic Climate-processes and Ecosystem study  (SCACE)

Outline
The overarching goal of SCACE is to use the outstanding chance provided by the IPY for a truly international collaboration to collect a unique data set, which will serve as a benchmark for comparison with existing data to identify and quantify polar changes and which thus leaves a legacy for future generations of earth scientists. SCACE aims at welding together a broad range of ocean science and climate disciplines in order to address currently elusive questions such as: · Which physical, biological and chemical processes regulate the Southern Ocean system and determine its influence on the global climate development? · How sensitive are Southern Ocean processes and systems to natural climate change and anthropogenic perturbations? The Southern Ocean is critically involved in the machinery driving earth´s climate. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) connects all the other oceans. Thus it plays a major role in the global transports of heat and fresh-water and the ocean-wide cycles of dissolved substances. It harbours a series of distinct ecosystems that displace each other with changing climate regimes. Upwelling of deep water masses results in an extraordinary high supply of plant macronutrients, which could sustain much higher primary production and hence CO2 uptake than however observed. While the Southern Ocean thus exerts a control on earths climate, it is itself sensitive to climatic changes, which may occur on various time scales and affect the biota. There are, however, also direct anthropogenic influences on the ecosystem, namely by harvesting marine living resources such as krill. Although much progress has been made since the last IPY in documenting the Southern Ocean hydrographic and biographic features, in quantifying fluxes and in understanding the dominating forcing, there is still a big gap in knowledge, especially with regard to the interaction of physical, chemical and biological processes. While this gap in knowledge is basically due to the remoteness of the area and its inhospitality for humans, it is also due to the fragmentation of research as carried out usually. SCACE strives for performing in quasi-synoptic manner sections that cross the ACC and extend to the Antarctic continent at several key longitudes. A synoptic circumpolar assessment is the only way to document the current state of the polar environment without bias introduced by interannual variability, but is extremely demanding and needs the cooperative effort of almost all nations engaged in Antarctic research.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Theme 1: Synoptic observations of the Antarctic circumpolar ocean circulation, the distribution of water masses and sea ice, their chemical properties, and of the spatial variation of the polar ecosystem.Theme 2: A data set that serves as a benchmark for comparison with existing data to quantify polar changes Theme 3: A better description of the complex interaction of the physical, chemical and biological systems and an improved assessment of the role of the Southern Ocean in the global cycles of heat, water and carbon. Theme 4: Identification of food-web structures that connect the ocean surface to the deep-sea floor.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
- collaboration in international programmes such as Southern Ocean-GLOBEC (Global Ecosystem Dynamics), CAML (Census of Antarctic Marine Life), ANDEEP (Antarctic Benthic Deep-sea Biodiversity) and CLIVAR/CLiC (Climate Variability/Climate and Cryosphere ) - cooperation building on existing agreements between the Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI) and leading polar research institutions in many other countries.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Southern Ocean. Array of quasi-synoptic sections that cross the ACC and extend to Antarctica, repeating sections previously occupied during e.g. the IGY or WOCE, in accordance with IPY strategy of the CLIVAR/CliC/SCAR S. O. Panel. To perform the Greenwich meridian section, a ship time application for POLARSTERN has been submitted.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: 12/2007 – 02/2008            

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Ice-breaking research vessels, e.g. POLARSTERN. Due to the interdisciplinary character of SCACE, all participating research vessels will usefully be shared by other related projects.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
no

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

The proposers employer, the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HGF), coordinates polar research in Germany and provides the equipment and logistics necessary for polar expeditions. Possible additional funds from national agencies.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The German IGY committee will meet on 11th January, 2005, and is expected to endorse this EoI. SCACE will contribute to German national projects (e.g. BMBF-LAKRIS, HGF-MARCOPOLI, DFG Salp Project) that have been positively reviewed. SCACE is listed as project number 80 in the ICSU IPY Planning Group framework document.

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?
Expansion

Contribution to international programmes GLOBEC, CAML, ANDEEP, CLIVAR/CLiC,IAnZone (International Antarctic Zone Programme), CCAMLR (Convention Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), ICCED (Integrated Analysis of Circumpolar Climate Interactions and Ecosystem Dynamics), GEOTRACES. Bi-polar through links to IPY initiatives SPACE (Synoptic Pan-Arctic Climate and Environment study) and BIPOMAC (Bipolar Climate Machinery).

How will the project be organised and managed?
As SCACE is designed as a contribution to several international programmes, it will benefit from their existing organisational structures. It will also benefit from the management structures of the involved institutions. Nevertheless, due to its wide scope, it is foreseen that SCACE establishes its own steering committee that will adapt to IGBP data handling and management structures. Timely delivery of the data from each of the cruises, which contribute a section to SCACE, will be the responsibility of the chief scientists, who also have to take care of a close cooperation between the different disciplinary groups of the ship-board parties.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
As an interdisciplinary project, SCACE is ideal for students and young scientists to expand their knowledge. Participation of media representatives in the cruises and the AWIs public relations department for early public visibility. At a later stage, results will be presented during conferences, on web sites and in international journals.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
The data will be made available (together with the primary data) on established databases such as PANGAEA, a facility connected to the Alfred-Wegener-Institut.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
For the German side, part of the funding will be received from the Alfred-Wegener-Instituts participation in the HGF-Programme MARCOPOLI, from the BMBF-Project LAKRIS and from the DFG Salp Project. Additional funding will however be needed and appropriate proposals will be submitted to DFG ‘Schwerpunktprogramm Antarktisforschung’ and to the European Union.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
The SCACE sections will be composed of measurements by CTD, ADCP, zooplankton acoustics, continuous plankton recorder, various plankton nets, AUV (autonomous undulating vehicle) under sea ice and geochemical sampling gear (Multicorer, Bottom Lander with in situ probes). With regard to the food-web coupling from the ocean surface to the deep-sea floor, SCACE shares most ideas with the IPY-Initiative ANDEEP-SYSTCO.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Volker Strass
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI)
Postfach 120161
Bremerhaven
D-27515
Germany

Tel: +49 471 4831 1822
Mobile: 01758056809
Fax: +49 471 4831 1797
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation