{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION"}
[{"awards": "2224760 Gooseff, Michael", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(162.87 -77)", "dataset_titles": "EDI Data Portal: McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200379", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Environmental Data Initiative (EDI)", "science_program": null, "title": "EDI Data Portal: McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER", "url": "https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/browseServlet?searchValue=MCM"}], "date_created": "Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Non-technical Abstract The McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER seeks to understand how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with existing landscape legacies to alter the structure and functioning of this extreme polar desert ecosystem. This research has broad implications, as it will help us to understand how natural ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. At the same time, this project also serves an important educational and outreach function, providing immersive research and educational experiences to students and artists from diverse backgrounds, and helping to ensure a diverse and well-trained next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Ultimately, the results of this project will help us to better understand and prepare for the effects of climate change and develop scientific insights that are relevant far beyond Antarctic ecosystems. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) make up an extreme polar desert ecosystem in the largest ice-free region of Antarctica. The organisms in this ecosystem are generally small. Bacteria, microinvertebrates, cyanobacterial mats, and phytoplankton can be found across the streams, soils, glaciers, and ice-covered lakes. These organisms have adapted to the cold and arid conditions that prevail outside of lakes for all but a brief period in the austral summer when the ecosystem is connected by liquid water. In the summer when air temperatures rise barely above freezing, soils warm and glacial meltwater flows through streams into the open moats of lakes. Most biological activity across the landscape occurs in summer. Through the winter, or polar night (6 months of darkness), glaciers, streams, and soil biota are inactive until sufficient light, heat, and liquid water return, while lake communities remain active all year. Over the past 30 years, the MDVs have been disturbed by cooling, heatwaves, floods, rising lake levels, as well as permafrost and lake ice thaw. Considering the clear ecological responses to this variation in physical drivers, and climate models predicting further warming and more precipitation, the MDV ecosystem sits at a threshold between the current extreme cold and dry conditions and an uncertain future. This project seeks to determine how important the legacy of past events and conditions versus current physical and biological interactions shape the current ecosystem. Four hypotheses will be tested, related to 1) whether the status of specific organisms are indicative ecosystem stability, 2) the relationship between legacies of past events to current ecosystem resilience (resistance to big changes), 3) carryover of materials between times of high ecosystem connectivity and activity help to maintain ecosystem stability, and 4) changes in disturbances affect how this ecosystem persists through the annual polar night (i.e., extended period of dark and cold). Technical Abstract In this iteration of the McMurdo LTER project (MCM6), the project team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (geological legacies, extreme seasonality, and contemporary climate change) and driven by microbial organisms. Since microorganisms regulate most of the world\u2019s critical biogeochemical functions, these insights will be relevant far beyond polar ecosystems and will inform understanding and expectations of how natural and managed ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. MCM6 builds on previous foundational research, both in Antarctica and within the LTER network, to consider the temporal aspects of connectivity and how it relates to ecosystem stability. The project will examine how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with the legacies of the existing landscape that have defined habitats and biogeochemical cycling for millennia. The project team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the MDV ecosystem is dependent upon legacies and the contemporary frequency, duration, and magnitude of ecological connectivity. This hypothesis will be tested with new and continuing monitoring, experiments, and analyses of long-term datasets to examine: 1) the stability of these ecosystems as reflected by sentinel taxa, 2) the relationship between ecological legacies and ecosystem resilience, 3) the importance of material carryover during periods of low connectivity to maintaining biological activity and community stability, and 4) how changes in disturbance dynamics disrupt ecological cycles through the polar night. Tests of these hypotheses will occur in field and modeling activities using new and long-term datasets already collected. New datasets resulting from field activities will be made freely available via widely-known online databases (MCM LTER and EDI). The project team has also developed six Antarctic Core Ideas that encompass themes from data literacy to polar food webs and form a consistent thread across the education and outreach activities. Building on past success, collaborations will be established with teachers and artists embedded within the science teams, who will work to develop educational modules with science content informed by direct experience and artistic expression. Undergraduate mentoring efforts will incorporate computational methods through a new data-intensive scientific training program for MCM REU students. The project will also establish an Antarctic Research Experience for Community College Students at CU Boulder, to provide an immersive educational and research experience for students from diverse backgrounds in community colleges. MCM LTER will continue its mission of training and mentoring students, postdocs, and early career scientists as the next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Historically underrepresented participation will be expanded at each level of the project. To aid in these efforts, the project has established Education \u0026 Outreach and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees to lead, coordinate, support, and integrate these activities through all aspects of MCM6. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 162.87, "geometry": "POINT(162.87 -77)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; ABLATION ZONES/ACCUMULATION ZONES; SOIL TEMPERATURE; DIATOMS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; PERMANENT LAND SITES; BUOYS; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; SEDIMENTS; SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS; FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS; VIRUSES; PHYTOPLANKTON; ACTIVE LAYER; FIELD SURVEYS; RADIO TRANSMITTERS; DATA COLLECTIONS; ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; LANDSCAPE; GROUND WATER; SNOW/ICE CHEMISTRY; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS; ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; HUMIDITY; GEOCHEMISTRY; SURFACE WINDS; RIVERS/STREAM; GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE; SNOW; LAND RECORDS; ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; AIR TEMPERATURE; GLACIERS; SNOW/ICE TEMPERATURE; SOIL CHEMISTRY; METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; WATER QUALITY/WATER CHEMISTRY; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS; MOORED; PROTISTS; STREAMFLOW STATION; Dry Valleys; LAKE/POND; LAKE ICE; SNOW DEPTH; AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; SNOW DENSITY; FIELD SITES", "locations": "Dry Valleys", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Gooseff, Michael N.; Adams, Byron; Barrett, John; Diaz, Melisa A.; Doran, Peter; Dugan, Hilary A.; Mackey, Tyler; Morgan-Kiss, Rachael; Salvatore, Mark; Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Zeglin, Lydia H.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e DATA COLLECTIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e RADIO TRANSMITTERS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e STREAMFLOW STATION; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e BUOYS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e BUOYS \u003e MOORED; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e BUOYS \u003e MOORED \u003e BUOYS", "repo": "Environmental Data Initiative (EDI)", "repositories": "Environmental Data Initiative (EDI)", "science_programs": "LTER", "south": -77.0, "title": "LTER: MCM6 - The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem", "uid": "p0010440", "west": 162.87}, {"awards": "2035078 Giometto, Marco; 2034874 Salesky, Scott", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1. A non-technical explanation of the project\u0027s broader significance and importance, that serves as a public justification for NSF funding. This part should be understandable to an educated reader who is not a scientist or engineer. Katabatic or drainage winds, carry high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Although katabatic flows are ubiquitous in alpine and polar regions, a surface-layer similarity theory is currently lacking for these flows, undermining the accuracy of numerical weather and climate prediction models. This project is interdisciplinary, and will give graduate and undergraduate students valuable experience interacting with researchers outside their core discipline. Furthermore, this project will broaden participating in science through recruitment of students from under-represented groups at OU and CU through established programs. The Antarctic Ice Sheet drives many processes in the Earth system through its modulation of regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulations, storage of fresh water, and effects on global albedo and climate. An understanding of the surface mass balance of the ice sheets is critical for predicting future sea level rise and for interpreting ice core records. Yet, the evolution of the ice sheets through snow deposition, erosion, and transport in katabatic winds (which are persistent across much of the Antarctic) remains poorly understood due to the lack of an overarching theoretical framework, scarcity of in situ observational datasets, and a lack of accurate numerical modeling tools. Advances in the fundamental understanding and modeling capabilities of katabatic transport processes are urgently needed in view of the future climatic and snowfall changes that are projected to occur within the Antarctic continent. This project will leverage the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of investigators (with backgrounds spanning cryospheric science, environmental fluid mechanics, and atmospheric science) to address these knowledge gaps. 2. A technical description of the project that states the problem to be studied, the goals and scope of the research, and the methods and approaches to be used. In many cases, the technical project description may be a modified version of the project summary submitted with the proposal. Using field observations and direct numerical simulations of katabatic flow, this project is expected--- for the first time---to lead to a surface-layer similarity theory for katabatic flows relating turbulent fluxes to mean vertical gradients. The similarity theory will be used to develop surface boundary conditions for large eddy simulations (LES), enabling the first accurate LES of katabatic flow. The numerical tools that the PIs will develop will allow them to investigate how the partitioning between snow redistribution, transport, and sublimation depends on the environmental parameters typically encountered in Antarctica (e.g. atmospheric stratification, surface sloping angles, and humidity profiles), and to develop simple models to infer snow transport based on satellite remote sensing and regional climate models This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "TURBULENCE; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; DATA COLLECTIONS; SNOW/ICE; SNOW; FIELD INVESTIGATION; AIR TEMPERATURE; HUMIDITY", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Salesky, Scott; Giometto, Marco; Das, Indrani", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e DATA COLLECTIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Snow Transport in Katabatic Winds and Implications for the Antarctic Surface Mass Balance: Observations, Theory, and Numerical Modeling", "uid": "p0010433", "west": null}, {"awards": "2219065 Hood, John", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "dataset_titles": "SPT Treasury Record of AGN With Historical Activity and Time-series (STRAWHAT) Catalog", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200460", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "SPT Treasury Record of AGN With Historical Activity and Time-series (STRAWHAT) Catalog", "url": "https://spt3g.ncsa.illinois.edu/datasets/spt_agn_lightcurves/"}], "date_created": "Mon, 19 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will investigate the change in brightness of objects known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using microwave telescopes. AGN are powered by matter falling onto supermassive black holes. The primary objective of this research is to undertake a study of AGN brightness fluctuations using light in multiple wavelengths. By studying the connections between the fluctuations at different wavelengths, we can learn what causes these fluctuations. The data produced under this project will be publicly released to enable other scientific investigations. The broader impacts of this project include the training of graduate students in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program. In addition, the researcher will continue to work with the NAACP (ACT-SO) and First Discoveries programs as a science mentor, advisor and teacher for local pre-K and high school students and classrooms. The researcher has introduced a new process that uses repurposed Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the South Pole Telescope to produce millimeter-wavelength light curves of AGN with the goal of conducting a multi-wavelength correlation study. This study will be use the measured correlations between different wavelength emissions from AGN to better understand the origin and production of observed gamma-ray emissions. This project will fund the first large-scale effort to use CMB data for AGN monitoring and will provide a foundational observing program/strategy that will be implemented in future CMB experiments. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 0.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE FLUX; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; South Pole Station", "locations": "South Pole Station", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Post Doc/Travel", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hood, John", "platforms": null, "repo": "GenBank", "repositories": "GenBank", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "OPP-PRF: Millimeter-wave Blazar Monitoring With Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments: A New Tool for Probing Blazar Physics", "uid": "p0010399", "west": 0.0}, {"awards": "1625904 TBD", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((166 -77.5,166.4 -77.5,166.8 -77.5,167.2 -77.5,167.6 -77.5,168 -77.5,168.4 -77.5,168.8 -77.5,169.2 -77.5,169.6 -77.5,170 -77.5,170 -77.75,170 -78,170 -78.25,170 -78.5,170 -78.75,170 -79,170 -79.25,170 -79.5,170 -79.75,170 -80,169.6 -80,169.2 -80,168.8 -80,168.4 -80,168 -80,167.6 -80,167.2 -80,166.8 -80,166.4 -80,166 -80,166 -79.75,166 -79.5,166 -79.25,166 -79,166 -78.75,166 -78.5,166 -78.25,166 -78,166 -77.75,166 -77.5))", "dataset_titles": "Sarah PCWS unmodified ten-minute observational data, 2020 - present (ongoing).; Skomik PCWS unmodified ten-minute observational data, 2022 - present (ongoing).", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200340", "doi": "https://doi.org/10.48567/h6qx-0613", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "AMRDC", "science_program": null, "title": "Skomik PCWS unmodified ten-minute observational data, 2022 - present (ongoing).", "url": "https://amrdcdata.ssec.wisc.edu/dataset/skomik-pcws-unmodified-ten-minute-observational-data-2022-present-ongoing"}, {"dataset_uid": "200341", "doi": "https://doi.org/10.48567/q4eh-nm67", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "AMRDC", "science_program": null, "title": "Sarah PCWS unmodified ten-minute observational data, 2020 - present (ongoing).", "url": "https://amrdcdata.ssec.wisc.edu/dataset/sarah-pcws-unmodified-ten-minute-observational-data-2022-present-ongoing"}], "date_created": "Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Our knowledge of Antarctic weather and climate relies on only a handful of direct observing stations located on this harsh and remote continent. This observing system reports meteorological measurements from an existing network of automatic weather stations (AWS) spread across a vast area. This MRI project will enable the development, testing and eventual deployment of a next generation of polar automatic climate and weather observing stations for unattended use in the Antarctic. The proposed new Automatic Weather Station (AWS) system will enhance the capabilities and accuracy of the meteorological observations, enabling climate quality measurements. This project will involve development of a more capable instrumentation core, with two major goals. The first goal is to lower the cost for an AWS electronic core to 3 times less than currently employed systems. The second is to enable an onboard temperature calibration capability, an innovative development for the Antarctic AWS. The capability for onboard calibration will add confidence in the critical climate measure of ambient temperature, along with other standard meteorological parameters. Observations made by a modernized AWS network will inform and extend future numerical climate modeling efforts, improve operational weather forecasts, capture weather phenomena, and support environmental science research in other disciplines. A theme of the project is the inclusion of community college students in all aspects of the effort. With an eye on training the next generation of research instrumentation expertise, while involving other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, undergraduate students will be involved in the development, testing and deployment of new AWS systems. As well as reporting, data analysis and publication of scientific knowledge, students intending to transfer to a 4-year university, as well as those pursuing electronics or electrical engineering associate degrees will be introduced to weather and climate topics. This MRI award was supported with funds from the Division of Polar Programs and the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, both of the Directorate of Geosciences.", "east": 170.0, "geometry": "POINT(168 -78.75)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ATMOSPHERIC WINDS; Madison Area Technical College; SNOW/ICE; SURFACE PRESSURE; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; HUMIDITY; AIR TEMPERATURE; METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; WEATHER STATIONS", "locations": "Madison Area Technical College", "north": -77.5, "nsf_funding_programs": null, "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lazzara, Matthew; Cassano, John; L\u0027\u0027Ecuyer, Tristan; Kulie, Mark", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e WEATHER STATIONS", "repo": "AMRDC", "repositories": "AMRDC", "science_programs": null, "south": -80.0, "title": "MRI: Development of a Modern Polar Climate and Weather Automated Observing System", "uid": "p0010396", "west": 166.0}, {"awards": "1643436 Donohoe, Aaron", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Partionining of CERES planetary albedo between atmospheric and surface reflection", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601579", "doi": "10.15784/601579", "keywords": "Antarctica; Southern Ocean", "people": "Donohoe, Aaron", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Partionining of CERES planetary albedo between atmospheric and surface reflection", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601579"}], "date_created": "Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will use observations and coupled climate model simulations to examine the causes of sea ice variability. Sea ice in the Southern Ocean has increased in area over the observational record but researchers have yet to agree on the cause. Researchers suggests that changes in surface winds, upper-ocean freshening, or internal ocean/atmosphere variability could be the main driver for the increase in sea ice area. This project will determine how much of the change in sea ice area from year to year is due to oceanic, atmospheric, and radiative processes. Reconciling the observation-based understanding with model representations of sea ice variability will improve confidence in projections of future changes in Southern Ocean sea ice. The goal of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the processes that drive Southern Ocean sea ice year-to-year variability and long term trends. This knowledge will provide insight into how Southern Ocean sea ice responded to greenhouse gas and ozone forcing in the past and how it will respond in the future. The energy budget of the coupled cryosphere/ocean/atmosphere climate system will be used as a framework to disentangle drivers and responses during sea ice loss events. The technique consists of: (i) calculating the coupled energy budget of the climate system at the monthly timescale, (ii) isolating the radiative impact of sea ice variability from the radiative impact of cloud variability in the observed satellite radiation record and (iii) analyzing the vertical structure of atmospheric energy transport to determine the vertical profile of energy transport into the atmospheric column. This framework will allow the investigators to distinguish whether ice loss events are triggered by oceanic processes, atmospheric dynamics, or radiative processes. Preliminary results show that a diversity of mechanisms can drive Southern Ocean sea ice variability in coupled climate models whereas observed sea ice variability appears to be dominated by atmospheric dynamics. The exploration of biases between models and observations in both the mean state and in specific processes will yield more accurate projections of the future of sea ice in the Southern Ocean.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AMD; Amd/Us; SEA ICE; United States Of America; COMPUTERS; ATMOSPHERIC WINDS; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; NSF/USA", "locations": "United States Of America", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Donohoe, Aaron; Schweiger, Axel", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "What Processes Drive Southern Ocean Sea Ice Variability and Trends? Insights from the Energy Budget of the Coupled Cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere System", "uid": "p0010336", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1744954 Lubin, Dan", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-148.81 -81.65)", "dataset_titles": "Siple Dome Surface Energy Flux", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601540", "doi": "10.15784/601540", "keywords": "Antarctica; Siple Dome; Spectroscopy", "people": "Lubin, Dan; Ghiz, Madison", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Siple Dome Surface Energy Flux", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601540"}], "date_created": "Wed, 02 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Atmospheric warming has been a major factor in the loss of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. In West Antarctica, oceanic warming is presently regarded as the largest source of stress on both the ice-shelves and at the grounding lines of the ice sheets. The loss of ice shelf buttressing and grounding line retreat may have already induced irreversible loss of Thwaites Glacier. To advance predictive models more data is needed regarding both water-induced fracturing on an ice shelf and marine ice cliff instability near the grounding line. This project will help advance understanding of atmospheric circulation and solar radiation over West Antarctica and the Ross Ice Shelf that lead to surface melting. In support of this project, and incorporating Antarctic science from this work, UCSD educators will sponsor a workshop series for exemplary middle and/or high school science teachers designed to address this need. Teacher participants will be carefully selected for their demonstrated leadership skills and will eventually become part of an cadre of \"master\" science teachers who will serve as local leaders in disseminating strategies and tools for addressing the NGSS (Ca Next Gen. of Sci. Eng. Stds.) to teachers throughout the county. For the summer field seasons requested, UCSD scientists will deploy a suite instruments to measure downwelling and net shortwave and longwave fluxes, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and near-surface meteorology. This suite of instruments will be self-reliant with power requirements and will be supportable in the field with a single Twin Otter aircraft. The investigators plan to deploy this suite as a remote ice camp with a field party of 2-3 personnel, making measurements for at up to one month during each of the sampled summer field seasons. These measurements will be analyzed and interpreted to determine mesoscale conditions that govern surface melt in West Antarctica, in the context of improving coupled climate model parameterizations. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -148.81, "geometry": "POINT(-148.81 -81.65)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ICE SHEETS; Siple Dome; USAP-DC; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; AMD; FIELD SURVEYS; Amd/Us; USA/NSF", "locations": "Siple Dome", "north": -81.65, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lubin, Dan", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -81.65, "title": "Surface Energy Balance on West Antarctica and the Ross Ice Shelf", "uid": "p0010296", "west": -148.81}, {"awards": "2127632 Rowe, Penny; 2127633 ZOU, XUN", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP; AP) has been warming faster than the global average since the mid-1960s. Concurrent mobilization of ice shelves has been associated with glacial discharge into the ocean, with important implications for global sea level rise. This work will enhance our understanding of the contributions of clouds, water vapor and surface radiation to warming over the WAP. Processes governing phase partitioning and amounts of supercooled liquid water are crucial for understanding surface melt, and will be explored. In addition, the role of clouds and moisture during foehn and atmospheric river (AR) events, will be characterized. Clouds and atmospheric water vapor have strong radiative signals that vary seasonally and with cloud properties. This work will lead to a better understanding of how clouds are impacting surface melt on the AP in the changing climate. In addition, the proposed work will include several undergraduate research projects. Finally, broader impacts include public outreach through participation in GeoWeek at Ohio State University and Polar Science Weekend at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, WA. It is crucial to human welfare to understand mechanisms responsible for the rapid pace of Antarctic ice loss. This work will lead to a better understanding of how clouds are impacting surface melt on the WAP in the changing climate. The project will use surface- and satellite-based measurements to characterize clouds and humidity. The project maximizes value by using a variety of previous, ongoing, and planned measurements made by an international group of collaborators, along with measurements and model (AMPS, Polar-WRF) results. These will be used to quantify clouds, water vapor, and radiation and their effects on the surface energy balance at three strategically-located stations: Rothera (upwind of the WAP), Marambio (downwind of the WAP) and Escudero (north of the WAP), in order to provide a detailed characterization of cloud radiative and precipitation-formation properties and their role in surface warming and melt events. These mechanisms lead to the following hypotheses: 1) Through their effect on the surface energy balance, clouds play an important role in surface warming on the AP; this role is seasonally varying and sensitive to cloud thermodynamic phase, 2) Radiative heating during foehn events is an important contributor to warming at the northern AP, and 3) The radiative effects of clouds and water vapor have strong influences on heating before and during AR events, with significant differences on the two sides of the WAP. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; FIELD SURVEYS; AMD; USA/NSF; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; Amd/Us; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Zou, Xun", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Cloud Radiative Impact on the Surface Energy Budget of the Antarctic Peninsula", "uid": "p0010295", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1341717 Ackley, Stephen; 1341606 Stammerjohn, Sharon; 1341513 Maksym, Edward; 1543483 Sedwick, Peter; 1341725 Guest, Peter", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -55,-177 -55,-174 -55,-171 -55,-168 -55,-165 -55,-162 -55,-159 -55,-156 -55,-153 -55,-150 -55,-150 -57.3,-150 -59.6,-150 -61.9,-150 -64.2,-150 -66.5,-150 -68.8,-150 -71.1,-150 -73.4,-150 -75.7,-150 -78,-153 -78,-156 -78,-159 -78,-162 -78,-165 -78,-168 -78,-171 -78,-174 -78,-177 -78,180 -78,178 -78,176 -78,174 -78,172 -78,170 -78,168 -78,166 -78,164 -78,162 -78,160 -78,160 -75.7,160 -73.4,160 -71.1,160 -68.8,160 -66.5,160 -64.2,160 -61.9,160 -59.6,160 -57.3,160 -55,162 -55,164 -55,166 -55,168 -55,170 -55,172 -55,174 -55,176 -55,178 -55,-180 -55))", "dataset_titles": "ASPeCt Visual Ice Observations on PIPERS Cruise NBP1704 April-June 2017; Expedition data of NBP1704; Impact of Convective Processes and Sea Ice Formation on the Distribution of Iron in the Ross Sea: Closing the Seasonal Cycle; NBP1704 CTD sensor data; NBP1704 Expedition Data; PIPERS Airborne LiDAR Data; PIPERS Meteorology Rawinsonde Data; PIPERS Meteorology Time Series; PIPERS Noble Gases; Sea Ice Layer Cakes, PIPERS 2017; SUMO unmanned aerial system (UAS) atmospheric data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601609", "doi": "10.15784/601609", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Mass Spectrometer; NBP1704; Noble Gas; Oceans; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer", "people": "Loose, Brice", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "PIPERS Noble Gases", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601609"}, {"dataset_uid": "601422", "doi": "10.15784/601422", "keywords": "Antarctica; CTD; CTD Data; NBP1704; Ocean Profile Data; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Salinity; Temperature", "people": "Stammerjohn, Sharon", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1704 CTD sensor data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601422"}, {"dataset_uid": "601183", "doi": "10.15784/601183", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciology; Ice Concentration; Ice Thickness; Ice Type; NBP1704; Oceans; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sea Ice; Snow Depth; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Visual Observations", "people": "Ackley, Stephen", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "ASPeCt Visual Ice Observations on PIPERS Cruise NBP1704 April-June 2017", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601183"}, {"dataset_uid": "601184", "doi": "10.15784/601184 ", "keywords": "Air Temperature; Antarctica; Atmosphere; Meteorology; Near-Surface Air Temperatures; PIPERS; Radiation; Sea Ice Temperatures; Temperature; Weather Station Data; Wind Direction; Wind Speed", "people": "Guest, Peter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "PIPERS Meteorology Time Series", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601184"}, {"dataset_uid": "601185", "doi": "10.15784/601185 ", "keywords": "Air Temperature; Antarctica; Atmosphere; Atmospheric Surface Winds; Meteorology; NBP1704; PIPERS; Pressure; Radiosonde; Rawinsonde; Relative Humidity; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Wind Direction; Wind Speed", "people": "Guest, Peter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "PIPERS Meteorology Rawinsonde Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601185"}, {"dataset_uid": "002663", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of NBP1704", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1704"}, {"dataset_uid": "601188", "doi": "10.15784/601188", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Laser Altimetry; Antarctica; LIDAR; PIPERS; Ross Sea; Sea Ice", "people": "Bertinato, Christopher; Locke, Caitlin; Bell, Robin; Xie, Hongjie; Dhakal, Tejendra", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "PIPERS Airborne LiDAR Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601188"}, {"dataset_uid": "001363", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1704 Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1704"}, {"dataset_uid": "601191", "doi": "10.15784/601191", "keywords": "Air Temperature; Antarctica; Atmosphere; Meteorology; NBP1704; PIPERS; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Southern Ocean; Temperature Profiles; UAV; Unmanned Aircraft", "people": "Cassano, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SUMO unmanned aerial system (UAS) atmospheric data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601191"}, {"dataset_uid": "200150", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "BCO-DMO", "science_program": null, "title": "Impact of Convective Processes and Sea Ice Formation on the Distribution of Iron in the Ross Sea: Closing the Seasonal Cycle", "url": "https://www.bco-dmo.org/project/815403"}, {"dataset_uid": "601207", "doi": "10.15784/601207", "keywords": "Antarctica; Digital Elevation Model; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Thickness; Ice Thickness Distribution; LIDAR; NBP1704; PIPERS; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sea Ice; Snow; Snow Depth; Surface Elevation", "people": "Maksym, Edward; Jeffrey Mei, M.; Mei, M. Jeffrey", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Sea Ice Layer Cakes, PIPERS 2017", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601207"}], "date_created": "Mon, 10 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Proposal Title: Collaborative Research: Seasonal Sea Ice Production in the Ross Sea, Antarctica (working title changed from submitted title) Institutions: UT-San Antonio; Columbia University; Naval Postgraduate School; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; UC@Boulder The one place on Earth consistently showing increases in sea ice area, duration, and concentration is the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Satellite imagery shows about half of the Ross Sea increases are associated with changes in the austral fall, when the new sea ice is forming. The most pronounced changes are also located near polynyas, which are areas of open ocean surrounded by sea ice. To understand the processes driving the sea ice increase, and to determine if the increase in sea ice area is also accompanied by a change in ice thickness, this project will conduct an oceanographic cruise to the polynyas of the Ross Sea in April and May, 2017, which is the austral fall. The team will deploy state of the art research tools including unmanned airborne systems (UASs, commonly called drones), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). Using these tools and others, the team will study atmospheric, oceanic, and sea ice properties and processes concurrently. A change in sea ice production will necessarily change the ocean water below, which may have significant consequences for global ocean circulation patterns, a topic of international importance. All the involved institutions will be training students, and all share the goal of expanding climate literacy in the US, emphasizing the role high latitudes play in the Earth\u0027s dynamic climate. The main goal of the project is to improve estimates of sea ice production and water mass transformation in the Ross Sea. The team will fully capture the spatial and temporal changes in air-ice-ocean interactions when they are initiated in the austral fall, and then track the changes into the winter and spring using ice buoys, and airborne mapping with the newly commissioned IcePod instrument system, which is deployed on the US Antarctic Program\u0027s LC-130 fleet. The oceanographic cruise will include stations in and outside of both the Terra Nova Bay and Ross Ice Shelf polynyas. Measurements to be made include air-sea boundary layer fluxes of heat, freshwater, and trace gases, radiation, and meteorology in the air; ice formation processes, ice thickness, snow depth, mass balance, and ice drift within the sea ice zone; and temperature, salinity, and momentum in the ocean below. Following collection of the field data, the team will improve both model parameterizations of air-sea-ice interactions and remote sensing algorithms. Model parameterizations are needed to determine if sea-ice production has increased in crucial areas, and if so, why (e.g., stronger winds or fresher oceans). The remote sensing validation will facilitate change detection over wider areas and verify model predictions over time. Accordingly this project will contribute to the international Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) goal of measuring essential climate variables continuously to monitor the state of the ocean and ice cover into the future.", "east": -150.0, "geometry": "POINT(-175 -66.5)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e LIDAR/LASER SOUNDERS \u003e LIDAR; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e XBT; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ECHO SOUNDERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MBES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e THERMOSALINOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "OCEAN MIXED LAYER; TRACE ELEMENTS; CARBON DIOXIDE; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; ICE GROWTH/MELT; AMD; BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPERATURE; SULFUR COMPOUNDS; NBP1704; HEAT FLUX; ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS; R/V NBP; USA/NSF; BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS; SNOW DEPTH; VERTICAL PROFILES; METHANE; POLYNYAS; CONDUCTIVITY; SEA ICE; Ross Sea; WATER MASSES; TURBULENCE; USAP-DC; Amd/Us", "locations": "Ross Sea", "north": -55.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Instrumentation and Support; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ackley, Stephen; Bell, Robin; Weissling, Blake; Nuss, Wendell; Maksym, Edward; Stammerjohn, Sharon; Cassano, John; Guest, Peter; Sedwick, Peter; Xie, Hongjie", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "BCO-DMO; R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Seasonal Sea Ice Production in the Ross Sea, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010032", "west": 160.0}]
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Project Title/Abstract/Map | NSF Award(s) | Date Created | PIs / Scientists | Dataset Links and Repositories | Abstract | Bounds Geometry | Geometry | Selected | Visible | |||||
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LTER: MCM6 - The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem
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2224760 |
2023-11-14 | Gooseff, Michael N.; Adams, Byron; Barrett, John; Diaz, Melisa A.; Doran, Peter; Dugan, Hilary A.; Mackey, Tyler; Morgan-Kiss, Rachael; Salvatore, Mark; Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina; Zeglin, Lydia H. |
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Non-technical Abstract The McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER seeks to understand how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with existing landscape legacies to alter the structure and functioning of this extreme polar desert ecosystem. This research has broad implications, as it will help us to understand how natural ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. At the same time, this project also serves an important educational and outreach function, providing immersive research and educational experiences to students and artists from diverse backgrounds, and helping to ensure a diverse and well-trained next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Ultimately, the results of this project will help us to better understand and prepare for the effects of climate change and develop scientific insights that are relevant far beyond Antarctic ecosystems. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) make up an extreme polar desert ecosystem in the largest ice-free region of Antarctica. The organisms in this ecosystem are generally small. Bacteria, microinvertebrates, cyanobacterial mats, and phytoplankton can be found across the streams, soils, glaciers, and ice-covered lakes. These organisms have adapted to the cold and arid conditions that prevail outside of lakes for all but a brief period in the austral summer when the ecosystem is connected by liquid water. In the summer when air temperatures rise barely above freezing, soils warm and glacial meltwater flows through streams into the open moats of lakes. Most biological activity across the landscape occurs in summer. Through the winter, or polar night (6 months of darkness), glaciers, streams, and soil biota are inactive until sufficient light, heat, and liquid water return, while lake communities remain active all year. Over the past 30 years, the MDVs have been disturbed by cooling, heatwaves, floods, rising lake levels, as well as permafrost and lake ice thaw. Considering the clear ecological responses to this variation in physical drivers, and climate models predicting further warming and more precipitation, the MDV ecosystem sits at a threshold between the current extreme cold and dry conditions and an uncertain future. This project seeks to determine how important the legacy of past events and conditions versus current physical and biological interactions shape the current ecosystem. Four hypotheses will be tested, related to 1) whether the status of specific organisms are indicative ecosystem stability, 2) the relationship between legacies of past events to current ecosystem resilience (resistance to big changes), 3) carryover of materials between times of high ecosystem connectivity and activity help to maintain ecosystem stability, and 4) changes in disturbances affect how this ecosystem persists through the annual polar night (i.e., extended period of dark and cold). Technical Abstract In this iteration of the McMurdo LTER project (MCM6), the project team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (geological legacies, extreme seasonality, and contemporary climate change) and driven by microbial organisms. Since microorganisms regulate most of the world’s critical biogeochemical functions, these insights will be relevant far beyond polar ecosystems and will inform understanding and expectations of how natural and managed ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. MCM6 builds on previous foundational research, both in Antarctica and within the LTER network, to consider the temporal aspects of connectivity and how it relates to ecosystem stability. The project will examine how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with the legacies of the existing landscape that have defined habitats and biogeochemical cycling for millennia. The project team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the MDV ecosystem is dependent upon legacies and the contemporary frequency, duration, and magnitude of ecological connectivity. This hypothesis will be tested with new and continuing monitoring, experiments, and analyses of long-term datasets to examine: 1) the stability of these ecosystems as reflected by sentinel taxa, 2) the relationship between ecological legacies and ecosystem resilience, 3) the importance of material carryover during periods of low connectivity to maintaining biological activity and community stability, and 4) how changes in disturbance dynamics disrupt ecological cycles through the polar night. Tests of these hypotheses will occur in field and modeling activities using new and long-term datasets already collected. New datasets resulting from field activities will be made freely available via widely-known online databases (MCM LTER and EDI). The project team has also developed six Antarctic Core Ideas that encompass themes from data literacy to polar food webs and form a consistent thread across the education and outreach activities. Building on past success, collaborations will be established with teachers and artists embedded within the science teams, who will work to develop educational modules with science content informed by direct experience and artistic expression. Undergraduate mentoring efforts will incorporate computational methods through a new data-intensive scientific training program for MCM REU students. The project will also establish an Antarctic Research Experience for Community College Students at CU Boulder, to provide an immersive educational and research experience for students from diverse backgrounds in community colleges. MCM LTER will continue its mission of training and mentoring students, postdocs, and early career scientists as the next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Historically underrepresented participation will be expanded at each level of the project. To aid in these efforts, the project has established Education & Outreach and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees to lead, coordinate, support, and integrate these activities through all aspects of MCM6. 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. | POINT(162.87 -77) | POINT(162.87 -77) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Snow Transport in Katabatic Winds and Implications for the Antarctic Surface Mass Balance: Observations, Theory, and Numerical Modeling
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2035078 2034874 |
2023-09-08 | Salesky, Scott; Giometto, Marco; Das, Indrani | No dataset link provided | 1. A non-technical explanation of the project's broader significance and importance, that serves as a public justification for NSF funding. This part should be understandable to an educated reader who is not a scientist or engineer. Katabatic or drainage winds, carry high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Although katabatic flows are ubiquitous in alpine and polar regions, a surface-layer similarity theory is currently lacking for these flows, undermining the accuracy of numerical weather and climate prediction models. This project is interdisciplinary, and will give graduate and undergraduate students valuable experience interacting with researchers outside their core discipline. Furthermore, this project will broaden participating in science through recruitment of students from under-represented groups at OU and CU through established programs. The Antarctic Ice Sheet drives many processes in the Earth system through its modulation of regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulations, storage of fresh water, and effects on global albedo and climate. An understanding of the surface mass balance of the ice sheets is critical for predicting future sea level rise and for interpreting ice core records. Yet, the evolution of the ice sheets through snow deposition, erosion, and transport in katabatic winds (which are persistent across much of the Antarctic) remains poorly understood due to the lack of an overarching theoretical framework, scarcity of in situ observational datasets, and a lack of accurate numerical modeling tools. Advances in the fundamental understanding and modeling capabilities of katabatic transport processes are urgently needed in view of the future climatic and snowfall changes that are projected to occur within the Antarctic continent. This project will leverage the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of investigators (with backgrounds spanning cryospheric science, environmental fluid mechanics, and atmospheric science) to address these knowledge gaps. 2. A technical description of the project that states the problem to be studied, the goals and scope of the research, and the methods and approaches to be used. In many cases, the technical project description may be a modified version of the project summary submitted with the proposal. Using field observations and direct numerical simulations of katabatic flow, this project is expected--- for the first time---to lead to a surface-layer similarity theory for katabatic flows relating turbulent fluxes to mean vertical gradients. The similarity theory will be used to develop surface boundary conditions for large eddy simulations (LES), enabling the first accurate LES of katabatic flow. The numerical tools that the PIs will develop will allow them to investigate how the partitioning between snow redistribution, transport, and sublimation depends on the environmental parameters typically encountered in Antarctica (e.g. atmospheric stratification, surface sloping angles, and humidity profiles), and to develop simple models to infer snow transport based on satellite remote sensing and regional climate models 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. | None | None | false | false | |||||
OPP-PRF: Millimeter-wave Blazar Monitoring With Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments: A New Tool for Probing Blazar Physics
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2219065 |
2022-12-19 | Hood, John |
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This project will investigate the change in brightness of objects known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using microwave telescopes. AGN are powered by matter falling onto supermassive black holes. The primary objective of this research is to undertake a study of AGN brightness fluctuations using light in multiple wavelengths. By studying the connections between the fluctuations at different wavelengths, we can learn what causes these fluctuations. The data produced under this project will be publicly released to enable other scientific investigations. The broader impacts of this project include the training of graduate students in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program. In addition, the researcher will continue to work with the NAACP (ACT-SO) and First Discoveries programs as a science mentor, advisor and teacher for local pre-K and high school students and classrooms. The researcher has introduced a new process that uses repurposed Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the South Pole Telescope to produce millimeter-wavelength light curves of AGN with the goal of conducting a multi-wavelength correlation study. This study will be use the measured correlations between different wavelength emissions from AGN to better understand the origin and production of observed gamma-ray emissions. This project will fund the first large-scale effort to use CMB data for AGN monitoring and will provide a foundational observing program/strategy that will be implemented in future CMB experiments. 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. | POINT(0 -90) | POINT(0 -90) | false | false | |||||
MRI: Development of a Modern Polar Climate and Weather Automated Observing System
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1625904 |
2022-12-12 | Lazzara, Matthew; Cassano, John; L''Ecuyer, Tristan; Kulie, Mark |
|
Our knowledge of Antarctic weather and climate relies on only a handful of direct observing stations located on this harsh and remote continent. This observing system reports meteorological measurements from an existing network of automatic weather stations (AWS) spread across a vast area. This MRI project will enable the development, testing and eventual deployment of a next generation of polar automatic climate and weather observing stations for unattended use in the Antarctic. The proposed new Automatic Weather Station (AWS) system will enhance the capabilities and accuracy of the meteorological observations, enabling climate quality measurements. This project will involve development of a more capable instrumentation core, with two major goals. The first goal is to lower the cost for an AWS electronic core to 3 times less than currently employed systems. The second is to enable an onboard temperature calibration capability, an innovative development for the Antarctic AWS. The capability for onboard calibration will add confidence in the critical climate measure of ambient temperature, along with other standard meteorological parameters. Observations made by a modernized AWS network will inform and extend future numerical climate modeling efforts, improve operational weather forecasts, capture weather phenomena, and support environmental science research in other disciplines. A theme of the project is the inclusion of community college students in all aspects of the effort. With an eye on training the next generation of research instrumentation expertise, while involving other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, undergraduate students will be involved in the development, testing and deployment of new AWS systems. As well as reporting, data analysis and publication of scientific knowledge, students intending to transfer to a 4-year university, as well as those pursuing electronics or electrical engineering associate degrees will be introduced to weather and climate topics. This MRI award was supported with funds from the Division of Polar Programs and the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, both of the Directorate of Geosciences. | POLYGON((166 -77.5,166.4 -77.5,166.8 -77.5,167.2 -77.5,167.6 -77.5,168 -77.5,168.4 -77.5,168.8 -77.5,169.2 -77.5,169.6 -77.5,170 -77.5,170 -77.75,170 -78,170 -78.25,170 -78.5,170 -78.75,170 -79,170 -79.25,170 -79.5,170 -79.75,170 -80,169.6 -80,169.2 -80,168.8 -80,168.4 -80,168 -80,167.6 -80,167.2 -80,166.8 -80,166.4 -80,166 -80,166 -79.75,166 -79.5,166 -79.25,166 -79,166 -78.75,166 -78.5,166 -78.25,166 -78,166 -77.75,166 -77.5)) | POINT(168 -78.75) | false | false | |||||
What Processes Drive Southern Ocean Sea Ice Variability and Trends? Insights from the Energy Budget of the Coupled Cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere System
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1643436 |
2022-06-10 | Donohoe, Aaron; Schweiger, Axel |
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This project will use observations and coupled climate model simulations to examine the causes of sea ice variability. Sea ice in the Southern Ocean has increased in area over the observational record but researchers have yet to agree on the cause. Researchers suggests that changes in surface winds, upper-ocean freshening, or internal ocean/atmosphere variability could be the main driver for the increase in sea ice area. This project will determine how much of the change in sea ice area from year to year is due to oceanic, atmospheric, and radiative processes. Reconciling the observation-based understanding with model representations of sea ice variability will improve confidence in projections of future changes in Southern Ocean sea ice. The goal of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the processes that drive Southern Ocean sea ice year-to-year variability and long term trends. This knowledge will provide insight into how Southern Ocean sea ice responded to greenhouse gas and ozone forcing in the past and how it will respond in the future. The energy budget of the coupled cryosphere/ocean/atmosphere climate system will be used as a framework to disentangle drivers and responses during sea ice loss events. The technique consists of: (i) calculating the coupled energy budget of the climate system at the monthly timescale, (ii) isolating the radiative impact of sea ice variability from the radiative impact of cloud variability in the observed satellite radiation record and (iii) analyzing the vertical structure of atmospheric energy transport to determine the vertical profile of energy transport into the atmospheric column. This framework will allow the investigators to distinguish whether ice loss events are triggered by oceanic processes, atmospheric dynamics, or radiative processes. Preliminary results show that a diversity of mechanisms can drive Southern Ocean sea ice variability in coupled climate models whereas observed sea ice variability appears to be dominated by atmospheric dynamics. The exploration of biases between models and observations in both the mean state and in specific processes will yield more accurate projections of the future of sea ice in the Southern Ocean. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | |||||
Surface Energy Balance on West Antarctica and the Ross Ice Shelf
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1744954 |
2022-02-02 | Lubin, Dan |
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Atmospheric warming has been a major factor in the loss of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. In West Antarctica, oceanic warming is presently regarded as the largest source of stress on both the ice-shelves and at the grounding lines of the ice sheets. The loss of ice shelf buttressing and grounding line retreat may have already induced irreversible loss of Thwaites Glacier. To advance predictive models more data is needed regarding both water-induced fracturing on an ice shelf and marine ice cliff instability near the grounding line. This project will help advance understanding of atmospheric circulation and solar radiation over West Antarctica and the Ross Ice Shelf that lead to surface melting. In support of this project, and incorporating Antarctic science from this work, UCSD educators will sponsor a workshop series for exemplary middle and/or high school science teachers designed to address this need. Teacher participants will be carefully selected for their demonstrated leadership skills and will eventually become part of an cadre of "master" science teachers who will serve as local leaders in disseminating strategies and tools for addressing the NGSS (Ca Next Gen. of Sci. Eng. Stds.) to teachers throughout the county. For the summer field seasons requested, UCSD scientists will deploy a suite instruments to measure downwelling and net shortwave and longwave fluxes, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and near-surface meteorology. This suite of instruments will be self-reliant with power requirements and will be supportable in the field with a single Twin Otter aircraft. The investigators plan to deploy this suite as a remote ice camp with a field party of 2-3 personnel, making measurements for at up to one month during each of the sampled summer field seasons. These measurements will be analyzed and interpreted to determine mesoscale conditions that govern surface melt in West Antarctica, in the context of improving coupled climate model parameterizations. 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. | POINT(-148.81 -81.65) | POINT(-148.81 -81.65) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Cloud Radiative Impact on the Surface Energy Budget of the Antarctic Peninsula
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2127632 2127633 |
2022-02-01 | Zou, Xun | No dataset link provided | This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP; AP) has been warming faster than the global average since the mid-1960s. Concurrent mobilization of ice shelves has been associated with glacial discharge into the ocean, with important implications for global sea level rise. This work will enhance our understanding of the contributions of clouds, water vapor and surface radiation to warming over the WAP. Processes governing phase partitioning and amounts of supercooled liquid water are crucial for understanding surface melt, and will be explored. In addition, the role of clouds and moisture during foehn and atmospheric river (AR) events, will be characterized. Clouds and atmospheric water vapor have strong radiative signals that vary seasonally and with cloud properties. This work will lead to a better understanding of how clouds are impacting surface melt on the AP in the changing climate. In addition, the proposed work will include several undergraduate research projects. Finally, broader impacts include public outreach through participation in GeoWeek at Ohio State University and Polar Science Weekend at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, WA. It is crucial to human welfare to understand mechanisms responsible for the rapid pace of Antarctic ice loss. This work will lead to a better understanding of how clouds are impacting surface melt on the WAP in the changing climate. The project will use surface- and satellite-based measurements to characterize clouds and humidity. The project maximizes value by using a variety of previous, ongoing, and planned measurements made by an international group of collaborators, along with measurements and model (AMPS, Polar-WRF) results. These will be used to quantify clouds, water vapor, and radiation and their effects on the surface energy balance at three strategically-located stations: Rothera (upwind of the WAP), Marambio (downwind of the WAP) and Escudero (north of the WAP), in order to provide a detailed characterization of cloud radiative and precipitation-formation properties and their role in surface warming and melt events. These mechanisms lead to the following hypotheses: 1) Through their effect on the surface energy balance, clouds play an important role in surface warming on the AP; this role is seasonally varying and sensitive to cloud thermodynamic phase, 2) Radiative heating during foehn events is an important contributor to warming at the northern AP, and 3) The radiative effects of clouds and water vapor have strong influences on heating before and during AR events, with significant differences on the two sides of the WAP. 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. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Seasonal Sea Ice Production in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
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1341717 1341606 1341513 1543483 1341725 |
2019-06-10 | Ackley, Stephen; Bell, Robin; Weissling, Blake; Nuss, Wendell; Maksym, Edward; Stammerjohn, Sharon; Cassano, John; Guest, Peter; Sedwick, Peter; Xie, Hongjie | Proposal Title: Collaborative Research: Seasonal Sea Ice Production in the Ross Sea, Antarctica (working title changed from submitted title) Institutions: UT-San Antonio; Columbia University; Naval Postgraduate School; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; UC@Boulder The one place on Earth consistently showing increases in sea ice area, duration, and concentration is the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Satellite imagery shows about half of the Ross Sea increases are associated with changes in the austral fall, when the new sea ice is forming. The most pronounced changes are also located near polynyas, which are areas of open ocean surrounded by sea ice. To understand the processes driving the sea ice increase, and to determine if the increase in sea ice area is also accompanied by a change in ice thickness, this project will conduct an oceanographic cruise to the polynyas of the Ross Sea in April and May, 2017, which is the austral fall. The team will deploy state of the art research tools including unmanned airborne systems (UASs, commonly called drones), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). Using these tools and others, the team will study atmospheric, oceanic, and sea ice properties and processes concurrently. A change in sea ice production will necessarily change the ocean water below, which may have significant consequences for global ocean circulation patterns, a topic of international importance. All the involved institutions will be training students, and all share the goal of expanding climate literacy in the US, emphasizing the role high latitudes play in the Earth's dynamic climate. The main goal of the project is to improve estimates of sea ice production and water mass transformation in the Ross Sea. The team will fully capture the spatial and temporal changes in air-ice-ocean interactions when they are initiated in the austral fall, and then track the changes into the winter and spring using ice buoys, and airborne mapping with the newly commissioned IcePod instrument system, which is deployed on the US Antarctic Program's LC-130 fleet. The oceanographic cruise will include stations in and outside of both the Terra Nova Bay and Ross Ice Shelf polynyas. Measurements to be made include air-sea boundary layer fluxes of heat, freshwater, and trace gases, radiation, and meteorology in the air; ice formation processes, ice thickness, snow depth, mass balance, and ice drift within the sea ice zone; and temperature, salinity, and momentum in the ocean below. Following collection of the field data, the team will improve both model parameterizations of air-sea-ice interactions and remote sensing algorithms. Model parameterizations are needed to determine if sea-ice production has increased in crucial areas, and if so, why (e.g., stronger winds or fresher oceans). The remote sensing validation will facilitate change detection over wider areas and verify model predictions over time. Accordingly this project will contribute to the international Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) goal of measuring essential climate variables continuously to monitor the state of the ocean and ice cover into the future. | POLYGON((-180 -55,-177 -55,-174 -55,-171 -55,-168 -55,-165 -55,-162 -55,-159 -55,-156 -55,-153 -55,-150 -55,-150 -57.3,-150 -59.6,-150 -61.9,-150 -64.2,-150 -66.5,-150 -68.8,-150 -71.1,-150 -73.4,-150 -75.7,-150 -78,-153 -78,-156 -78,-159 -78,-162 -78,-165 -78,-168 -78,-171 -78,-174 -78,-177 -78,180 -78,178 -78,176 -78,174 -78,172 -78,170 -78,168 -78,166 -78,164 -78,162 -78,160 -78,160 -75.7,160 -73.4,160 -71.1,160 -68.8,160 -66.5,160 -64.2,160 -61.9,160 -59.6,160 -57.3,160 -55,162 -55,164 -55,166 -55,168 -55,170 -55,172 -55,174 -55,176 -55,178 -55,-180 -55)) | POINT(-175 -66.5) | false | false |