Artificial Submarine Curtains Won’t Save West Antarctica’s Retreating Glaciers
Some researchers have recently proposed the construction of artificial structures – submarine curtains or walls – to stop the warming ocean from getting to the most rapidly melting glaciers in West Antarctica.If effective, these interventions could save trillions of dollars in avoided coastal impacts.But such a large-scale operation in one of the most inaccessible places on Earth is estimated to cost US$50 billion–100 billion to build and another US$1 billion a year to maintain. It could also have negative impacts on the rest of the ice sheet and marine life in the Southern Ocean.
RRS Sir David Attenborough Begins Research Mission in the Southern Ocean
polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough are headed to the Weddell Sea to investigate how carbon dioxide moves and transforms in the Southern Ocean.The ship departed Tuesday from Punta Arenas, Chile for the 30-day scientific expedition.As the carbon in the seawater rises to the surface near Antarctica, it interacts with the atmosphere, ice, and microscopic plants and animals, called phytoplankton and zooplankton, near the ocean surface, before descending to the ocean depths. By understanding more about this process, the researchers hope to improve models that make predictions about our future
Canada and Spain Scientists Establish Antarctic Ocean Observatory
Canadian and European experts in polar observation are joining forces in a new partnership that will see Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) operating a subsea observatory at the Spanish Antarctic Station, providing year-round, near real-time data on ocean conditions there. This is the first time that ONC will extend its ocean monitoring outside Canadian waters.This partnership between ONC, a University of Victoria initiative, and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) will advance scientific understanding of one of the most underobserved parts of the planet, the Southern Ocean, or the Antarctic Ocean.
Australian Research Vessel Heads South to Study Clouds
edge.The aim of the 60-day voyage is to explore how links between physics, biogeochemistry, plankton, aerosols and clouds influence the Earth’s climate. Changes in the Southern Ocean would have profound implications, influencing the rate of climate change, the productivity of the Antarctic ecosystem, and the future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Changes in the Antarctic Ice Sheet, in turn, would affect the rate of sea level rise.Recently published research has shown the “overturning circulation” of Antarctic waters driving global ocean currents may be slowing down, affecting
DISCOVERY: High-Res Mapping Tech Helps Find New Hydrothermal Vent Field
to stewarding new technologies that allow us to fully map and characterize the seafloor.” The 30-day expedition began on 24 October 2023 in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), Charles Darwin Foundation, and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute (INOCAR).Other participating institutions included Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of Victoria, Dalhousie Press Release University, University of Ottawa, The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, The United States Geological Survey, University of Quebec
Deep-sea Probe Recovered from Southern Ocean
a small net.“With a successful debut after a great team effort, we now have some ideas to refine the design and operation of the recovery device.” A range of science agencies in Hobart are enmeshed in the life of this BGC-Argo float – it is owned by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science (IMAS); it was deployed by an Australian Antarctic Program Partnership voyage in 2020; float preparation and data delivery, funded by IMOS, was managed by CSIRO. Dr Benoit Legresy, CSIRO oceanographer and chief scientist of the research voyage that picked up the float, said:
US Issues Draft RFP for New Antarctic Research Vessel
The U.S.' National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a draft request for proposal (RFP) for its Antarctic Research Vessel (ARV) Integrator requirement.According to NSF, the draft represents a functionally complete RFP with sections A through M, released to provide transparency and early exposure for what is a robust requirement.NSF said it seeks feedback from industry on the whole of the RFP, be that technical or contractual requirements, instructions to offerors and evaluation criteria, or small business engagement. By inviting questions NSF desires to enhance mutual understanding by reducing
New Hydrothermal Vent Found Near Galápagos
to “Trail of the Crabs.”The 30-day expedition began on August 13, 2023 on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), Charles Darwin Foundation, and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute (INOCAR). Other participating institutions included University of Rhode Island, Lehigh University, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, United States Geological Survey, Harvard University, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.“Scientists have known since the early 2000s that
Researchers Study the Fast Gulf Stream Currents
UK-US collaboration that is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, the University of Southampton, the University of Liverpool, the Scottish Association of Marine Science, the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Miami are involved in this project
February 2024
