Autonomous Ice Mass Balance Buoys for an Arctic Observing Network

Please find the near real time data available at http://imb.crrel.usace.army.mil/ This award supports the deployment of ice mass balance (IMB) buoys as part of the Arctic Observing Network (AON) and the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH). The autonomous, ice-based drifting buoys measure, delineate and, importantly, attribute thermodynamically-driven changes in the thickness of the ice cover. The IMBs will be deployed strategically and in coordination with other elements of AON to optimize the observation of changes and trends in sea ice throughout the Arctic Basin. The Broader Impacts of this award are many. IMB data have and will continue to assist large-scale modeling efforts to improve the treatment of ice growth and decay in GCMs and to assess the relative impact of ice thermodynamics on the observed changes in the Arctic sea ice cover. Results will also provide baseline data to support the development of instruments and algorithms to remotely sense snow depth, ice thickness, and the onset of freeze-up. More generally, this work presents an extraordinary opportunity to capture the attention and imagination of the public and of schoolchildren. The centerpiece of active commitment to educational outreach will be the design and implementation of the Adopt-a-Buoy program, where K-12 students will have the opportunity to name and follow a designated buoy after it is deployed in the Arctic. Our participation in a recently funded Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT), Polar Environmental Change with Dartmouth College, will facilitate the involvement of graduate students.

可从http://imb.crrel.usace.army.mil/获取近乎实时的相关数据。本资助项目支持部署冰质量平衡浮标（ice mass balance, IMB），作为北极观测网（Arctic Observing Network, AON）与北极环境变化研究（Study of Environmental Arctic Change, SEARCH）的组成部分。这款自主式冰基漂流浮标可对海冰覆盖层厚度的热力驱动变化进行测量、描绘，并明确其成因，这一点尤为重要。冰质量平衡浮标将结合北极观测网的其他组成部分进行战略性部署，以优化对整个北极海盆内海冰变化与趋势的观测。本资助项目的拓展影响颇为丰富：冰质量平衡浮标数据此前已助力多项大规模建模工作，以改进全球环流模式（Global Circulation Model, GCM）中海冰生长与消融的模拟方案，并评估冰热力学过程对北极海冰覆盖层观测变化的相对影响，未来也将持续发挥此类作用；相关研究结果还将提供基准数据，助力开发用于遥感雪深、海冰厚度以及冻结起始时间的仪器与算法。更广泛而言，本项目为吸引公众与在校学生的关注与兴趣提供了绝佳契机。本项目教育推广工作的核心内容为设计并实施“认领浮标”计划：在浮标部署至北极海域后，K12阶段的学生可为其命名并追踪该浮标的运行轨迹。我们参与了近期获资助的综合研究生教育与研究实习计划（Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program, IGERT）——与达特茅斯学院合作开展的极地环境变化研究项目，这将助力研究生参与到本项目中来。