Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

A year-round study of Antarctic Sea Ice Biogeochemistry  (BASICS (Biogeochemistry of Antarctic Sea Ice and the Climate System))

Outline
BASICS is an international project proposed by the members of the Belgian SIBClim consortium (Sea Ice Biogeochemistry in a Climate Change Perspective) associated to members of ISPOL network, that aims to carry out year-round study of Antarctic sea ice physics and biogeochemistry in order to better understand and budget exchanges of energy and matter across the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interfaces, and to quantify their potential impact on fluxes of climatically important gases (CO2, DMS) and carbon export to the deep ocean. The research will also focus on the controls on the main biogeochemical cycles in sea ice covered area. Among them, the poject will investigate the iron cycle, in order to decipher its impact on the sympagic and pelagic communities and address more generally the question of iron limitation in the HNLC Southern Ocean. Recent field studies carried out by the consortium provided evidence that pack ice is a very dynamic biogeochemical system from early spring to mid-summer. Among others, as the seasons progress, pack ice sustains significant CO2 fluxes and switches from “source” to “sink” to the atmosphere, shows transition from high winter-spring dissolved iron concentration (more than an order of magnitude above sea water) to summer consumption/release, sees large DMSP build-up and degradation into DMS and DMSO, a.s.o… BASICS aims to fill-up spatial and temporal gaps in our current knowledge of sea ice biogeochemistry and related physical processes, namely winter first year pack ice and landfast sea ice all year round. The ARISE and ISPOL experiments have demonstrated the need and feasibility of an interdisciplinary approach combining expertise on trace gas measurements, turbulent and radiative fluxes at the air-ice interface, physical properties of the sea ice cover, biology and geochemistry of sea ice, heat, mass and momentum exchange in the sea ice - ocean boundary layer and carbon export to the deep ocean. BASICS will build-up on the same research methodology. a) Winter First-year pack ice: running of a series of short-term (5-6 days) process studies along an icebreaker track from the MIZ (marginal ice zone) to the Antarctic coast, the location of which will be chosen on the basis of ships availability and implementation of the ASPeCt climatology data base. Each process study will combine the various approaches outlined above b) Year-round landfast sea ice: surveys along a transect from the coast seawards in one of the wintering Antarctic stations (Dumont d’Urville, Scott Base, McMurdo, Neumeyer, other..). Basic measurements in the autumn and winter will be reinforced by a fuller approach in the spring and summer.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Antarctic sea ice yearly covers and uncovers about 16 millions of km2. It shelters sustained biological activity interacting with physico-chemical processes that affect the carbon, silica, sulphur and iron cycles at the global level. Little is know, yet, on the processes at work, the main controlling factors and the quantitative impacts (themes 1, 2 and 3). BASICS will tackle these issues and provide mechanisms and data sets to refine and fuel sea ice biogeochemical models to be coupled to larger ocean-atmosphere descriptive and prognostic models. BASICS also develops new technologies relevant to theme 4.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The partnership in BASICS will mimic the effective collaborative network of ISPOL. It will include university and national program investigators from Belgium, Germany, U.K., The Netherlands, Finland, France, USA and Australia. Additional partners will evidently be welcome.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
a) Winter First-year pack ice: a meridional transect in either the Ross Sea, the Dumont d’Urville Sea, or the Weddell Sea, depending on ship’s availabilities b) Year-round landfast sea ice: an Antarctic Base with wintering facilities and easy sea ice access all year round (Dumont d’Urville, Scott Base, McMurdo, Neumayer…)

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: a) Winter First-year pack ice: 04 to 06 2007      b) Year-round landfast sea ice: 02 2008 to 02 2009      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
a) icebreaker with sea ice work facilities b) accommodation and logistic support in an Antarctic station, with local travelling, laboratory and field help facilities: 1. 1-2 scientist for the winter period 2. a team of scientists (10 to 15 with potential rotation of personnel) during the spring - summer period

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
No. BASICS will however build-up a data base on sea ice biogeochemistry and its potential impact on the global Climate. This will be available for inputs into new models. New analytical techniques (iron concentration, iron isotopes; DMS and derivatives in sea ice…) will also be developed in the BASICS framework.

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

Belgium does not own national polar facilities like icebreakers or permanent field stations. The project will therefore have to rely on the support of foreign countries. There might however be several options amongst the international collaborators involved in the project

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
BASICS has been submitted for endorsement by National Committees of several partners and, internationally, by SCAR-ASPeCt (Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate) in the framework of an ongoing “process studies” initiative of its Science Plan, and by IGBP/SCOR/WCRP - SOLAS (Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Studies)

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

BASICS will be an international integration of the Belgian SIBClim project (2002-2007) and of various national efforts developed during the last decades by the partner teams. It will extend the work on spring/summer pack ice, initiated during the ARISE and ISPOL experiments, to winter pack ice and landfast sea ice.

How will the project be organised and managed?
Coordination of the BASICS project will be ensured by a Project Steering Committee including a delegate of each of the scientific teams involved. SC meetings will coordinate and integrate the activities of each group inside the project, both before, during and after the fieldwork. It will also be the necessary link with the polar operators that support the activities in the field. These will be invited to join the SC meetings. Detailed management of national contributions is left to the respective groups. The SC will also organize workshops to share the data sets and organize the modalities of data dissemination.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Fieldwork and data handling will involve young scientists in the framework of the funding infrastructure. Progress of field activities will be relayed to the public by means of a website linked to the polar operators network. Other potential platforms for communications issues are SOLAS Belgium and IPF (International Polar Foundation).

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data will be stored in a dedicated data base, established by the consortium. Data will be made available to the scientific community after a stipulated period during which their use will be restricted to the investigators. The ASPeCt, IODE, CDIAC …data bases, would be adequate locations for general dissemination purposes.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The participating subprograms will seek funding from national and international agencies. SIBClim members will, for example, submit a funding proposal to the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office for the 2005-2009 period.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Prof Jean-Louis Tison
DSTE - Glaciologie CP 160/03
Université Libre de Bruxelles
50, av. F.D. Roosevelt - B1050 Bruxelles
1050
Belgium

Tel: +33 (0)2 650 22 25
Mobile: no
Fax: +33 (0)2 650 22 26
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation