Collaborative Research: Conference: Priorities for Future US-led Physical Oceanography Fieldwork in the Sub-polar Southern Ocean

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Southern Ocean play a key role in regulating sea level rise and our global climate. These regions are also some of the most challenging to conduct sustained observational programs due to the immense logistical difficulties in accessing them. Building on the success of large international ongoing observations efforts (such as Southern Ocean Carbon Climate Observations and Modelling and the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration), the need to reassess and align future US-led research and observational priorities for Southern Ocean physical oceanography is pressing. This project will host a workshop to discuss priorities for future US-led Southern Ocean science, emphasizing year-round observational approaches that can monitor the rapidly evolving sea ice-covered regions and Antarctic margins. While there have been substantial advances in our understanding of the Southern Ocean’s dynamics in recent years, local processes that govern the uptake of heat and carbon uptake, sea ice variability, and ice sheet stability are among the greatest sources of uncertainty in global climate models. A critical gap is the lack of consistent year-round observational measurements of the subpolar Southern Ocean. This workshop will facilitate community discussion concerning (1) key scientific and logistic needs to sustain the US’s leadership in Antarctic oceanography; (2) promising new observational approaches that extend measurements into traditionally limited winter periods; (3) ways to strengthen the research community, both by enhancing participation from traditionally underrepresented groups (including early career researchers) and improving the level coordination with international partners. The workshop, while primarily focused on physical oceanography, will convene researchers from various Southern Ocean subdisciplines and ensure participation that reflects the diversity of the broader scientific community. A summary document of the workshop’s activities and recommendations will be compiled and disseminated within two months of the event’s conclusion. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.