Scientific Research in Polar Seas: ERICON Science Perspective 2015-2030

A publication of a Science Perspective developed by the international polar research community within The European Research Icebreaker Consortium (ERICON) Aurora Borealis project is now released. The document “Scientific Research in Polar Seas: ERICON Science Perspective 2015-2030” is  based on the deliberations of  two scientific panels within two workshops (Strasburg 2010 and Vienna 2011).

The philosophy of this Science Perspective of the ERICON project is to explicitly acknowledge the importance of carrying out research in the Central Arctic Ocean and Antarctic ice-infested waters throughout the entire year. Understanding the past and future changes of the polar regions is essential, as our present knowledge about these changes and their impacts on humans and natural resources is far smaller than in any other regions of the world. The Science Perspective is not intended to cover in detail all the research that can be carried out in polar regions, but to identify the outstanding scientific questions most relevant for understanding the processes underlying changes currently taking place. Many of these questions can only be identified and addressed through novel technology.
This Science Perspective will provide a basis for future scientific investigations of polar regions and define a ”decadal” strategy for European cooperation in Polar Science.

You can download the Science Perspective and additional project deliverables under:

http://www.eri-aurora-borealis.eu/en/news_and_media/downloads/ericon_science_perspective/

http://www.eri-aurora-borealis.eu/en/news_and_media/downloads/other_deliverables/

Project homepage: http://www.eri-aurora-borealis.eu/en/home/

Report Release and Webinar Announcement: Seasonal-to-Decadal Predictions of Arctic Sea Ice: Challenges and Strategies

A new report, entitled "Seasonal-to-Decadal Predictions of Arctic Sea Ice: Challenges and Strategies" is now available from the Polar Research Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. To download a free PDF of the prepublication version of the report, please go to: http://dels.nas.edu/Report/Seasonal-Decadal-Predictions-Arctic/13515.

Understanding and projecting future sea ice conditions is important to a growing number of stakeholders, including local populations, natural resource industries, fishing communities, commercial shippers, marine tourism operators, national security organizations, regulatory agencies, and the scientific research community. However, gaps in understanding the interactions between Arctic sea ice, oceans, and the atmosphere, along with an increasing rate of change in the nature and quantity of sea ice, is hampering accurate predictions. Although modeling has steadily improved, projections by every major modeling group failed to predict the record breaking drop in summer sea ice extent in September 2012. Establishing sustained communication between the user, modeling, and observation communities could help reveal gaps in understanding, help balance the needs and expectations of different stakeholders, and ensure that resources are allocated to address the most pressing sea ice data needs. The report explores major challenges in sea ice prediction and identifies methods, observations, and technologies that might advance capabilities to predict the extent of sea ice over seasonal to decadal timescales.

A post-release briefing has been scheduled for November 29th at 10:30am EST in Washington, DC at the NAS building, Room 250, located at 2101 Constitution Ave NW. Co-chair, Jackie Richter-Menge, will present the report's findings and answer questions. Please RSVP to Liz Finkelman at efinkelman@nas.edu by November 23rd. 

In addition, a webinar presentation and discussion on report highlights with co-chairs Jackie Richter-Menge and John Walsh will be held Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Registration information is available on the website above.
For further information, please contact: Katie Thomas Email: kcthomas@nas.edu

Join firn-densification model inter-comparison project

At the University of Washington they are developing a modular community firn-evolution model funded by the ICEICS PIRE grant at Oregon State (http://iceics.science.oregonstate.edu/).
Because they want to incorporate the best ideas and physical descriptions of firn from existing models, they are organizing a firn-densification model inter-comparison project and hope researchers will join the project.
What: Numerous glaciological research questions involve physical processes in firn; however, for this project they are focusing on cold firn, which is targeted at understanding firn air (See link above).
They will compare new and existing firn-densification models with a standard suite of boundary conditions, including temperature and accumulation rate.  Model developers are asked to run their model and provide output to be included in the suite of results.  Model-comparison tests will incorporate synthetic and observation-based boundary conditions.  They hope that a community model-comparison paper will result from all the contributions.
Why: They wish to compare the response behavior of current firn models to pertinent questions.  For example, what is the variance among current models in response to temperature perturbations?  In response to accumulation-rate perturbations?  How well can different models replicate observations?  The goal is to determine the most-pertinent physics for a transient firn model under a wide rage of climate conditions.  This will guide future improvements in firn modeling.
When: They hope to initiate the first simple inter-comparisons by January 18 and will provide a set of boundary conditions for this initial stage of the project.  Further goals, tests, and target dates (e.g. at EGU, April 7-12) will be established as the group develops.
Who: All are welcome to contribute results and modeling expertise.
For more information please contact:
jdrees@uw.edu
www.ess.earthweb.washington.edu/~jdrees

New model of the geothermal heat flux under the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets available

The new models are available for download at:

http://websrv.cs.umt.edu/isis/index.php/Greenland_Basal_Heat_Flux
http://websrv.cs.umt.edu/isis/index.php/Antarctica_Basal_Heat_Flux

The dataset is based on low resolution observations collected by the CHAMP satellite between 2000 and 2010, and was produced following the technique of Fox Maule et al. (2005). Questions about the dataset should be addressed to Michael Purucker (michael.e.purucker@nasa.gov).

Please email Michael Purucker if you use this data, so you can get notified when improved resolution data becomes available.

Ice Bits Newsletter Fall 2012 Now Available

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) announces that the Fall 2012 issue of the Ice Bits newsletter, the quarterly update of IDPO and Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) activities, is now available at: http://www.icedrill.org/news/icebits.shtml
Topics include:

• Field Support to Antarctic Projects
• Future Plans for the DISC Drill
• Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions AGU Town Hall Meeting
• 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology
• Intermediate Depth Logging Winch Now Available for Community Use
• Educational Outreach
• Visit Us on Facebook
• NSF Solicitation for Ice Coring and Drilling Program for the Office of Polar Programs
• U.S. SCAR Office and ANSWER News Digest Move to Ohio State University
• South Pole 1500 m Ice Core
• Requesting Ice Drilling Support

Download the newsletter at: http://www.icedrill.org/news/icebits.shtml
Visit The U.S. Ice Drilling Program on the web at: http://www.icedrill.org/