Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Maritime Arctic Radiation and Cloud Observations: POlynyas, Leads, and Over ice  (MARCO POLO)

Outline
It is recognized that the interaction between the surface and overlying atmosphere, especially in terms of cloud and aerosol radiative forcing, are important but undersampled and, therefore, poorly understood components of the climate system. Building on experience gained over 15 years of Arctic exploration aboard research icebreakers, we propose a project which will consist of collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing high accuracy atmospheric and radiative measurements for the study of cloud and aerosol radiative forcing. The activity will be concentrated in the circum-Arctic flaw lead system using cruise opportunities from US, Canadian and Russian icebreaking research vessels. Our past work has focused on similar measurements in the western Arctic. The IPY offers the valuable opportunity of extending and improving upon this research in the relatively unexplored eastern Arctic. Our earlier work in polynyas and the encompassing ice revealed that marked heterogeneity in clouds, radiation, and albedo exists over length and time scales that are not resolved in climate models or gridded analyses. This suggests that radiative fluxes, cloud forcing, surface heat budgets and their combined role in maintaining or depleting the Arctic ice pack is misrepresented in numerical weather predictions models, and therefore large-scale climate simulations. Accurate measurements collected over a diverse geography spanning a broad range of environmental conditions therefore become a prerequisite for improvements to model parameterizations and climate model predictions. Locally-constrained measurements do not necessarily have pan-Arctic applicability. Significant differences between the eastern and western Arctic flaw lead systems exist in terms of regional topography, sea ice rheology, aerosol trajectories and source regions, as well as the sign and magnitude of various climate indices. The resulting variability in cloud and aerosol radiative effects and their influence on ice formation within the circum-Arctic flaw lead are currently unknown. By deploying identical instrumentation on both sides of the Arctic basin during IPY we will capture these regional variations and determine the sensitivity of cloud and aerosol forcing to changing atmospheric and cryospheric patterns. These data will extend and improve upon our Arctic cloud and radiation database, adding both eastern Arctic measurements and aerosol time series for more accurate radiative transfer modeling and analyses of climate sensitivity. The localized, ship-based measurements will be extended to larger scales through comparative analysis with data from appropriate sensors on polar-orbiting satellites. This involves specification of local error characteristics in the remotely-sensed data which will lead to improvements in retrieval algorithms.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
* Advanced understanding of cloud and radiation at the Arctic surface * Quantification of cloud, radiation, and surface albedo feedbacks * Enhanced characterization of Arctic maritime atmosphere for radiative transfer and climate modeling * Improvements to satellite-derived cloud and radiation products

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The measurements will be taken in the eastern and western parts of the circum-Arctic flaw-lead system. Facilities sharing, data dissemination, and collaborative analysis will be shouldered by an international team, including scientists from both Canadian and Russian research groups. Further cooperation with other Arctic-minded science teams are being explored.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
We will sample within the Circum-Arctic flaw lead and high Arctic polynyas, in both the western and eastern Arctic.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 05-10/2006      05-10/2007      05-10/2008
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Lab and deck space aboard research icebreakers are necessary for siting sampling equipment and computers. Commitments from Russian and Canadian ships are in hand, and we are actively seeking others.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Yes, through the availabilty of equipment for future deployments.

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

Ship time and space has been allocated aboard international icebreakers and further collaborative opportunities are being explored.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
No, but a proposal will be submitted to US NSF.

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

This project builds upon existing and furthers new international collaboration and measurement of clouds and radiation in undersampled Arctic regions.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The work proposed is self-managed, and draws on existing international collaborations with several experienced Arctic research groups.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Cruise diaries will be posted on public web pages, and public lectures will be given both at the university and through existing community outreach programs. Undergraduate and graduate students will be involved at all stages of the project.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data will be distributed to the public and scientific community through a university web server and through appropriate national and international archive centers, such as the NSIDC.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Collection and analysis of these data will be submitted as a proposal for funding to the US NSF.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
From the experience gained in collaborative international research over the past 15 years, we continue in the spirit of prior IPYs, setting aside national concerns for the greater beenfit to science and community. Drawing on these strengths, we propose a project which will fulfill IPY themes while addressing serious shortfalls in current data archives and scientific understanding. The data stand as a legacy for incorporation into future analyses, providing useful context for graduate theses and dissertations.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Peter Minnett
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami
33149
USA

Tel: +1 (305) 421-4104
Mobile: no
Fax: +1 (305) 421-4622
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation