North Pole Environmental Observatory CTD surveys: Springtime temperature and salinity measurements in the Arctic Ocean by aircraft, 2000 - 2008 (NODC Accession 0057592)

The investigators propose to take annual springtime, large-scale airborne surveys of the Arctic Ocean. These surveys will be in two regions: the central Arctic Ocean (annual surveys), and the southern Beaufort Sea (biannual surveys). They will thus sample the two main circulation features of the Arctic Ocean, the Transpolar Drift Stream and the Beaufort Gyre. In both cases, the researchers will leverage existing operational capabilities when possible, such as the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) in the central Arctic and US Navy Ice Camps in the Beaufort Sea. The proposed surveys have two main goals: (a) observe Arctic Ocean change by taking sea ice and ocean sections across frontal features, and (b) advance the understanding of seasonal variability in the sea ice upper ocean system to map the growth and melt of ice and to reduce seasonal bias in comparisons of past and future hydrographic records.

本研究团队拟开展北冰洋每年春季的大规模航空科考调查。本次调查将覆盖两个区域：中央北冰洋（年度调查）与波弗特海南部（一年两次调查）。调查将对北冰洋两大主要环流系统——穿极漂流（Transpolar Drift Stream）与波弗特环流（Beaufort Gyre）开展采样观测。
研究团队将尽可能利用现有运行观测设施，例如位于中央北冰洋的北极环境观测站（North Pole Environmental Observatory，NPEO）以及波弗特海域的美国海军冰营。
本次拟开展的调查设有两大核心目标：（a）通过跨锋面特征的海冰与海洋断面观测，监测北冰洋环境变化；（b）深化对海冰-上层海洋系统季节变率的认知，以厘清海冰的生长与消融过程，并降低过往与未来水文记录对比中的季节偏差。