|
Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic - Argo Floats Entry ID: SIMBA_Argo_Floats |
||||||||
|
[
Update this Record
]
|
Summary
|
Abstract:
Argo profiling floats were deployed during the SIMBA cruise. A total of 23 floats were deployed along the cruise track from Punta Arenas to the Bellingshausen Sea. These floats drifted at a depth of 1000 meters; at 10-day intervals, each float sank to a depth of 2000 m and then ascended to the sea surface over a period of approximately 6 hours, collecting a CTD profile as it ascended. Many of the floats were also equipped with dissolved oxygen sensors. Once on the sea surface, the floats transmitted their data to a satellite and descended again to 1000 m to begin another 10-day cycle. Each float was capable of collecting 200 or more profiles in this manner. The floats were equipped with ice-avoidance software in order to decrease the probability that they could be crushed by drifting ice while transmitting on the sea surface. As the floats ascended between depths of 50 and 30 meters, they examined the median temperature in this depth range; if the temperature was below a critical temperature that was indicative of ice cover above (chosen to be -1.77°C), the float turn off its buoyancy pump in order to stop its ascent. In such a case, the float decelerated and then stopped at a depth of about 3 meters; the float then stored the data collected and descended back to 1000 m. This process continued for as many profiles and 10-day intervals as necessary until the float was able to reach the sea surface, at which time it transmitted all stored profiles. Each float stored as many as 70 high-resolution profiles in this manner, or nearly 2 years’ worth of data. The floats all used the relatively high-bandwidth Iridium satellite system for communication. After the NB Palmer departed Punta Arenas, floats were deployed in Drake Passage and then along the ice edge, near the 2000 m isobath. A few floats were reprogrammed so that they can be deployed in shallower water on the shelf, where the ice cover is more permanent. Leading up to and during week 1 of field work (Sep 23-29) seventeen expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) were deployed in conjunction with 17 Argo floats between 62 south and 69S. The remaining floats were deployed in conjunction with a CTD cast from the vessel. Purpose: The main goal of this work was to begin to extend the Argo array into ice-covered waters and to sample the high-latitude water column below sea ice under winter conditions. An analogous array of 23 floats, also supplied by the University of Washington, were deployed in the Antarctic south of Australia during the same time frame from the vessel Aurora Australis. |
Related URL
|
Link:
VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE
|
Parent DIF
|
This data set description is a member of a collection. The collection is described in Project ID: SIMBA Drift Station |
Geographic Coverage
| N: -61.85 | S: -70.683 | E: -64.05 | W: -94.85 |
|
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date: 2007-09-01 |
| Stop Date: 2007-10-31 |
Location Keywords
|
CONTINENT
> ANTARCTICA
GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > BELLINGSHAUSEN SEA |
Science Keywords
| CRYOSPHERE >SEA ICE >ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS [Definition] |
| CRYOSPHERE >SNOW/ICE >ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS [Definition] |
| OCEANS >OCEAN CHEMISTRY >OXYGEN [Definition] |
| OCEANS >SEA ICE >ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS [Definition] |
| OCEANS >SEA ICE >ICE TEMPERATURE [Definition] |
| CRYOSPHERE >SEA ICE >SNOW DEPTH [Definition] |
ISO Topic Category
|
CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE
ENVIRONMENT OCEANS |
Platform
| SV >Snow Vehicle [Information] |
| GPS >Global Positioning System Satellites [Information] |
| R/V NBP >R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer [Information] |
Instrument
| ARGOS >ARGOS Data Collection and Position Location System [Information] |
| GPS/IMU >Global Positioning System/Inertial Measurement Unit |
Project
| NSF/OPP >Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation [Information] |
| IPY >INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR [Information] |
| ANTARCTIC SEA ICE >Antarctic Sea Ice in International Polar Year [Information] |
| SIMBA >Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic [Information] |
| SIMBA DRIFT STATION >Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic-SIMBA Drift Station [Information] |
Access Constraints
| None |
Keywords
| Argo Floats |
Data Set Progress
| IN WORK |
Originating Center
| Laboratory for Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics UTSA |
Data Center
|
National Snow and Ice Data Center
[Information]
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org
| ||||||
Personnel
|
STEPHEN
ACKLEY Role: INVESTIGATOR Phone: +1 1 210 341 6556 Email: sackley at pol.net, Stephen.ackley at utsa.edu Contact Address: 118 W Castle Ln City: San Antonio Province or State: Texas Postal Code: 78213 Country: USA |
|
JESSICA
JIMENEZ Role: DIF AUTHOR Phone: 956-451-9288 Email: Jessica.jimenez_eng at yahoo.com Contact Address: 3407 Ivy Ave City: Hidalgo Province or State: Texas Postal Code: 78557 Country: USA |
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date:
2012-02-16
Last DIF Revision Date:
2012-04-20
Future DIF Review Date:
2012-02-16
| [ Update this Record ] |
