Scientists have proposed a new ocean-sea ice-atmosphere observing system between the Ross Sea and Casey station, to monitor changes in this understudied part of Antarctica’s ice-covered marine environment.
Australian Antarctic Program sea-ice scientist Dr Petra Heil, and atmospheric scientist Dr Simon Alexander, along with colleagues from New Zealand and Korea, reviewed recent studies in the region, and its governance requirements, to help refine the focus and design of a Ross Sea-far East Antarctic Region (RSfEAR) observing system.
“Polar processes are critical in shaping Earth’s climate and ecosystems. But our understanding of the interactions between the Antarctic ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, and their role in the Earth’s physical, chemical and biological processes is incomplete, especially near the coast where glaciers meet the sea ice and ocean,” Dr Heil said.
“While there have been repeat or long-term studies at some Antarctic locations, the region in the far East Antarctic and Ross Sea is largely understudied and poorly observed.
“This region connects a number of ice shelves and areas of open water known as ‘polynyas’, which promote sea-ice growth and underpin a diverse and rich ecosystem.”
EAIS and WAIS are East and West Antarctic Ice Sheet; CS, Casey Station; LD, Law Dome; CA, Cape Adare; ER, Eastern Ross; NIS, Nansen Ice Shelf; RIS, Ross Ice Shelf; TG, Totten Glacier; NG, Ninnis Glacier; MUIS, Moscow University Ice Shelf; DaIT, Dalton Iceberg Tongue; HG, Holmes Glacier; DiG, Dibble Glacier; DG, Dalton Glacier; DIT, Drygalski Ice Tongue; MP, Mertz Polynya; TNBP, Terra Nova Bay Polynya; MSP, McMurdo Ice Shelf Polynya; RSP, Ross Sea Polynya; WI, Windmill Islands; Dd’US, Dumont d’Urville Sea; MIZ, Marginal Ice Zone. Photo: Heil et al. (2023) Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1206119
Writing in Frontiers in Marine Science this month, the research team proposed a range of observing initiatives based on existing activities, knowledge gaps and future needs.
The observing system should include:
- moored oceanographic instruments to study ocean chemistry and physics
- remote sensing technologies on satellites, aircraft, drifting buoys and autonomous underwater vehicles, for sea-ice and ecosystem monitoring
- automatic weather stations on land and at sea
- integration of observations in models
“Once rolled out and refined, RSfEAR will provide the backbone to extend deeper onto the continent and further out to sea, for a full longitudinal Antarctic-Southern Ocean observatory,” Dr Heil said.
