Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #168:DEEP Sea Polar ObservaTorieS  (DEEPSPOTS)

Outline
Deposition on the seafloor of selected areas of Weddell Sea and flank of Gakkel Ridge of two multidisciplinary long-term autonomous observatories for at minimum one year of monitoring with the following instruments (all rated minimum 350 bars): very broad band seismomenters, scalar and fluxgate magnetomenter, hydrophones, gravity meter, CTD, ADCP, transmissometer, 3D-ACM currentmeter, chemical electrode analyser and water sampler. Under construction following instruments: UV/Vis spectrophotometer, thermocouples and nuclear spectrophotometer. Under design: mass spectrometer. Continuous acquisition of geophysical, oceanographic and chemical data for base studies and interdisciplinary correlation. Arctic site should fall within the thin crust Gakkel Ridge area, where hydrothermal plume activity might be stronger than at any other ocean ridge yet studied, with implications on tectonics; offers the opportunity to make enhancement on global heat flow anomaly or “missing heat” studies and measurements, geochemistry. In detail: Gakkel ridge: active tectonic, local and regional seismicity; chemical environment for biota; geochemical measurements on major, minor and trace elements, radionuclides, gas; thermal budget and modelling of off-axis fluxes; oceanographic physical parameters and trend recording and extrapolation; axial and flank influences, if any, on deep sea water mass behaviour. Effect of human input on chemistry. Possible integration of the observatory with other devices devoted to long term monitoring, aimed to hazard warning. Antarctic site should be located in the Weddell Sea not far from Scotia Sea, characteristic of a larger area of yet unexplored features on tectonics, geodynamics and geomagnetism (e.g. the South Atlantic Anomaly). The installation of an observatory integrated with the moorings planned in SON project enhance the presence of long-term monitoring devices, devoted also to the acquisition of continuous oceanographic and chemical monitoring of the deep seawater strata, essential in geochemical, biogeochemical and environmental statements. Chemical monitoring for: the fate of iron also in relationship with the Antarctic Circumpolar current, mercury, carbon and nitrogen cycle, and others. Gas content, radionuclides and stable isotopes. Complexation and speciationof polyvalent elements studies, related to thermo dynamical and redox state. Chemico-physical study and characterisation of water masses (melted ice, sea ice or seawater), deep-sea water formation and circulation model. Polar ecosystem studies based on environmental factors, that contribute on theevolution of highly specialised habitats (or even to the possible regression of present systems); how climatic variations, if any, cause ecological alteration.Comparison of two poles results.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Geophysical, oceanographic and environmental devices, time referenced by unique high precision clock, describe the status of poles regard to tectonics, geomagnetism, chemical and chemico-physical environment (Theme 1), the variations and trends (2).The multidisciplinary allows wide modelling, and integration with other measurements conducted within other projects. Possible integration of the observatory with other devices aimed to hazard warning (3 and 4). The unique position of the poles is an advantage for ecosystem and earth studies since the observation of new mostly undisturbed environment with new techniques, developing new method for observation, and furnishing hints for new generation of scientists (5).

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
DEEPSPOTS wants to integrate and to collaborate with projects having complementary needs (such as SON project). Growing partnership, derived also from GEophysical and Oceanographic STation for Abyssal Researches (GEOSTAR) EC. projects, comprises: CNR, OGS, Tecnomare S.p.A (Italy), Technische FachHochschule Berlin and AWI (Germany), Sercel (France), and Jo ef Stefan Institute (Slovenia).

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Selected areas shoud are: Weddell Sea, not far from Antarctic peninsula, and according to the cooperation with SON project; Arctic, not far to the Gakkel Ridge.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 07/07-07/08            
Antarctic: 12/07- 12/08            

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Ice breaker with A frame and DGPS and DP, like Polarstern. An Ice Breaker with central moon pool for observatory management should be very good, permitting all the deposition recovery operation even in case of high state sea. In any case, no problem to share with other projects.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
DEEPSPOTS intend to establish a wider consortium of international structures involved in seafloor monitoring, even for hazard warning purposes. Our facilities are ready for this, being a legacy, specially in arctic, if common interest will be established between several partners that can share facilities and resources.

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

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Expression of interest is in the process of being considered by the Italian national committee for IPY. This project is natural expression and expansion of former funded EC project GEOSTAR 1,2,3, ASSEM, ESONET and national Antarctic programme projects MABEL 1 and 2.

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

As already written, DEEPSPOTS is not completely a new project, it is the "evolution" of other projects and among them PNRA projects MABEL.

How will the project be organised and managed?
2005 Constitution of a project Steering Committee able to integrate with other group for project clustering. Web DEEPSPOTS site. Jan 2006 -April 2007. Partners meeting, observatories requirements definition, site precise selection based on literature and unpublished data; observatories configuration and lab and basin cold tests. Cruise timetable organisation. May 2007. Start of logistic preparation. June July 2007. Deposition. Start of Arctic mission August October 2007. Antarctic observatory preparation. Logistics. December 2007. Observatory on Weddell Seafloor. Febr 2008 Partner meeting. August 2008. Arctic observatory recovery. Maintenance. Dec 2008. Antarctic observatory recovery. Jan 2008-Dec 2008. Data analysis, discussion and dissemination. Final meeting.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
First step is the publication of a WEB site, with project guidelines and the progress report will be outlined, as example news section anddownload areas.Student training will be encouraged, addressing a couple of PhD position; exhaustive reports will be made also through mass-media, student conferences and seminars.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Relational database will be first prepared. Data, stored in memory of the observatories, will be retrieved at recovery phase. Raw data and database for both low and high frequency rate instruments, and will be organised, involving JCADM and ICSU and others, according to general rules.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
DEEPSPOTS is the evolution of EC and National projects, focused on deep sea multidisciplinary observatories in several configuration, single and network systems (GEOSTAR 1, 2 and ORION EC project); MABEL projects, funded by National Antarctic Programme, are the starting point for Polar deep-sea monitoring. These are the principal funding organisation.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Since 1995 our group is involved in deep sea monitoring, designing, assembling and testing benthic multidisciplinary long-term (with near/real time observatory management) autonomous monitoring observatories and related instruments. One short and four long-term missions were successfully performed, while two are now on. Five European projects allowed these results. For DEEPSPOTS, some collateral actions are foreseen, focused mainly on chemical monitoring capacity. This observatory class is the expression of multidisciplinary and modularity concept. Based on this, is our intention, in the framework of IPY recommendations, to integrate and to collaborate with international groups that intend to perform whichever sea monitoring.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr  Massimo Calcara
Via di Vigna Murata 605, Roma


00143
Italy

Tel: 00390651860372/341
Mobile: no
Fax: 00390651860338
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation