Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project | History | Current Research Activities

In addition to the Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project, these Arctic Ocean research efforts are also currently in progress.

Western Arctic Shelf-Basin Interactions (SBI)

SBI is a multi-year, multi-disciplinary program sponsored jointly by the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs and the High-latitude branch of the Office of Naval Research. The overall goal is to understand how the Arctic shelves communicate with the interior basin from a coupled physical--biogeochemical standpoint. The premise is that this system is in a delicate balance that could be upset by global change, which in turn could have important ramifications. These include possible melting of portions of the polar ice cover, changes in export of water to the global ocean, and alteration of the food web with significant consequences for native populations. From the physical oceanographic perspective the goal is straightforward: understand how shelf water is transferred, at the continental shelfbreak, to the interior basin in order to help maintain the "cold halocline" of the Arctic Ocean. This is the salty layer at mid-depth which shields the surface ice cover from the warm deep water. If this shield is weakened, there is more than enough heat contained in the underlying Atlantic-origin water to start melting the ice from below.

References:

On the web: WHOI Edge of the Arctic Shelf virtual cruise website
On the web: University of Tennessee SBI website

Arctic/Subarctic Ocean Fluxes Programme (ASOF)

The Arctic and Subarctic Ocean Flux (ASOF) programme aims to monitor and understand the oceanic fluxes of heat, salt and freshwater at high northern latitudes and their effect on global ocean circulation and climate. ASOF plans to construct a coordinated, circum-Arctic ocean flux monitoring system. The system will provide the long-term measurements critical to understanding the factors that control the global thermohaline circulation and its influence on global climate.

References:

On the web: ASOF website

A Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH)

Scientists investigating the arctic environment have collected significant new data in recent years because of improved access to the central Arctic Ocean, new technologies, and better agency and international cooperation. With these new data, researchers have noted unexpected changes in the Arctic. These include:

lower sea-level atmospheric pressure
increased air temperature over most of the Arctic, but lower temperatures over eastern North America and Greenland
changed ocean circulation and rising coastal sea level
warmer Atlantic waters penetrating farther in the Arctic Ocean
reduced sea ice cover
thawing permafrost

Through SEARCH, government agencies will cooperate to understand the full scope of the changes going on in the Arctic. Scientists will research exactly how the observed changes relate to the Arctic's natural variability and if the changes indicate the start of a major climate shift in the North.

References:

On the web: SEARCH website

Arctic Community-wide Hydrological Analysis and Monitoring Program (Arctic-CHAMP)

The Arctic Community-wide Hydrological Analysis and Monitoring Program (CHAMP) is a new initiative aimed at understanding the physical, biological, and biogeochemical controls on the components of the integrated arctic hydrologic cycle, and addressing linkages between the land and ocean.

References:

On the web: CHAMP website

North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO)

Beginning in spring 2000, an international research team supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has conducted annual expeditions each April to the North Pole to take the pulse of the Arctic Ocean and learn how the world's northernmost sea helps regulate global climate. The team establishes a group of un-manned scientific platforms, collectively called an observatory, to record data throughout the remainder of the year on everything from the salinity of the water to the thickness and temperature of the ice cover. With the experience gained from early versions of the Observatory, the number of research projects has begun to expand covering an even broader range of sciences.

References:

On the web: NPEO website

Joint Western Arctic Climate Study (JWACS)

The Joint Western Arctic Climate Study (JWACS) is a scientific collaboration of more than 130 researchers from Canada, the United States, Japan and China. 2002 was the first of a six-year program, and is one of the most diverse and complicated international Arctic research initiatives ever undertaken by Canada. The JWACS program spans the Canadian Basin and the Mackenzie Shelf examining the impacts of climate variability on living and physical ocean processes. Research topics include atmospheric science, oceanography, climate change, potential effects of oil and gas exploitation and marine mammal observations.