Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Sea Ice Mass Budget of the Arctic (as part of an international Arctic Ocean Observing System iAOOS)  (SIMBA)

Outline
February 28th - March 2nd, a workshop titled "Sea ice mass budget of the Arctic: Bridging regional to global scales" will be held in Seattle. This workshop will focus on the relevance of the mass balance of sea ice to Arctic climate, biology, and social science. Synthesis of ideas, across the modelling and observing communities, will develop recommendations for future research goals related to improving our understanding of the Arctic sea ice mass budget. Leading to the implementation of interdisciplinary sea ice research in the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007/08. Discussions will draw upon progress in Global Climate Modeling and Arctic social sciences, and upon recent progress in sea ice research to determine sea ice processes that most impact polar and global systems. The workshop will provide recommendations for: (1) a integrative sea ice field and modeling program, and (2) a large scale, Pan-Arctic integrated sea ice observing system Examples of questions to be addressed are; 1) What is causing variability and change in the Arctic sea ice pack? 2) Could a trend in ice thickness be detected above the noise of natural variability? 3) What are the impacts of such changes on Arctic biology and humans? 4) Which processes need to be better understood and modelled to improve understanding of thcse impacts/processes? The workshop will identify pertinent research required to improve understanding of the Arctic sea ice mass balance variability, its causes and affects. It will be discussed how pan-Arctic sea ice observing may provide insight. Workshop participants will design a joint modelling/observation program to study the Arctic sea ice mass budget addressing the most pertinent issues raised. Following the workshop, funding will be sought to implement a SIMBA campaign. SIMBA will be multi-national, encompassing various international programs and researchers to accomplish its goals. Indeed the aim of the workshop is to bring together the sea ice community into a coordinated global effort to improve understanding of variability and change of Arctic sea ice thickness. This is a topic of global significance, and will bring advances to the wider polar community. It is also a topic of increasing media and political attention, and would be an exciting vehicle for IPY public outreach. SIMBA is very large in its scope; and we believe it is highly feasible as many of the components to monitor and model pan-Arctic sea ice mass balance are already in place or under development.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Sea ice is an indicator of climate change, and may amplify climate change through feedback mechanisms. It is a habitat for a rich marine ecosystem. These processes depend on the state (thickness distribution, motion and deformation) of the Arctic sea ice cover. SIMBA will advance understanding of variability and change in the Arctic pack, crucial for understanding the current state of the Arctic system. Model improvements will improve predictions of Arctic and Global environmental change. SIMBA will leave a legacy of a sea ice observing network, tailored to monitor change in a key component of the Arctic system.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Pan-Arctic monitoring of sea ice requires international co-ordination and collaboration. We will work with organisations such as the IABP, ESA, NASA and CliC to ensure observation plans are globally inclusive and a pan-Arctic sea ice monitoring system is achieved. SIMBA contributes to iAOOS and endeavours to integrate into Arctic Systemwide research.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Pan-Arctic: This objective driven, data management, observation and modelling programme will draw on field work throughout the Arctic Ocean and peripheral seas. Field work will be coordinated with and/or led by other programmes. SIMBA will drive initiatives to fill regional field work and observational gaps.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: Drawing on all previous sea ice campaigns      2007-2008 onwards      
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
A central project office is required to ensure efficient coordination. SIMBA will draw upon resources already available to implement a monitoring campaign (including planned cruises, ice camps, satellite missions and utilizing international programs such as IABP and ASOF). Modelling efforts will be coordinated through the AOMIP or GCM groups.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Yes. SIMBA will provide an international infrastructure to facilitate monitoring the Arctic sea ice state, through integrative modelling/observational approaches (with emphasis on monitoring climate scale change). SIMBA will also coordinate Arctic observations to provide an efficient and comprehensive sea ice observing system.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

The exact nature of logistical support will depend upon projects that join in collaboration with SIMBA. This will be discussed at the planning workshop to be held in early 2005.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes. This expression of interest is in the process of consideration by the US National Committee for IPY.

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

This project is a new initiative that will be seeking funding in 2005. After the workshop proposals will be prepared to support a joint observational-modelling study of the Arctic sea ice mass balance. SIMBA is supported by SEARCH (Study of Environmental Arctic Change), and SEARCH will provide a forum for central management and observation coordination.

How will the project be organised and managed?
SIMBA will have a central project office from which individual PI led projects will be coordinated. This will ensure maximum scientific impact with an efficient and coordinated observation campaign. Key data will be collected on a central database with open access, perhaps in near real time. It will be discussed at the workshop how best to approach management of the observation system and modelling campaign.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
There are many opportunities for public outreach in SIMBA. The central office may maintain a public information site. Opportunities for field research may bring teachers and students into the Arctic for hands-on research experience. SIMBA is a classic physical problem that could bring excitement to a classroom setting. A large community lead global interest project, crossing boudnaries between physical, biological and social science would be a fascinating example where the public can learn much about polar science.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
A central data bank will be maintained at an international data center (such as NSIDC with link to CliC). One of SIMBA's aims is to coordinate collection of data that will resolve the Arctic sea ice mass budget, and data archived will be made available publically.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
This project is a new initiative, and funding will be sought after the initial planning workshop (28/02/2005-02/03/2005). We will seek modest funding for a central office, and anticipate that currently implemented programmes will coordinate their efforts with SIMBA. The workshop may also spawn proposals for currently over-looked process studies, monitoring and modelling.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Though SIMBA is still in initial planning stages, it is growing support rapidly. For the modest outlay of centralised management, SIMBA will bring great advances in our knowledge of sea ice variability, current state and recent change. We believe that IPY should look to projects that are integrative in their approach and target key parameters in the polar systems. SIMBA will propel the sea ice community in a direction that compliments Arctic system wide research.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr  Jennifer Hutchings
International Arctic Research Center
930 Koyukuk Drive
Fairbanks, Alaska
99775
USA

Tel: +1 907 474 7569
Mobile: n/a
Fax: +1 907 474 2643
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation