Enhancement of ocean and sea ice in situ observations in the Arctic under the Horizon2020 project INTAROS
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Moeller1, Hanne Sagen2, Peter Voss3, Mikael Sejr4, Thomas Soltwedel5, Truls Johannessen6, Marie-Noelle Houssais7, Andreas Rogge8, Ian Allan9, Frank Nilsen10, Angelika Renner11, Lars Henrik Smedsrud6, Nicholas Roden6, Jean-Pierre Gattuso12, Laurent Chauvaud13, Claudie Marec13, Bin Cheng14, Andrew King9, Christine Provost7, Marcel Babin15 and Mathilde Sørensen16, (1)Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot, Poland, (2)Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway, (3)Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, København K, Denmark, (4)Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus, Denmark, (5)Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany, (6)University of Bergen, Geophysical Institute, Bergen, Norway, (7)CNRS-LOCEAN, Paris, France, (8)Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research, Section Benthopelagic Processes, Bremerhaven, Germany, (9)Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo, Norway, (10)The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway, (11)Institute of Marine Research, Tromsø, Norway, (12)CNRS-INSU, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Villefranche-sur-mer, France, (13)CNRS-UIEM, Brest, France, (14)Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland, (15)Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval & CNRS, Québec, QC, Canada, (16)University of Bergen, Department of Earth Sciences, Bergen, Norway
Abstract:
The H2020 project Integrated Arctic Observation System (INTAROS) aspires to increase the temporal and geographic coverage of
in situ observations and add new key geophysical and biogeochemical variables in selected regions of the Arctic. By using a combination of mature and new instruments and sensors in integration with existing observatories, INTAROS aims to fill selected gaps in the present-day system and build additional capacity of the Arctic monitoring networks for ocean and sea ice.
Three reference sites have been selected as key locations for monitoring ongoing Arctic changes: Costal Greenland, paramount for freshwater output from the Greenland ice sheet; North of Svalbard (covering the region from shelf to deep basin) - the hot-spot for ocean-air-sea ice interactions, and heat and biological energy input to the European Arctic; and Fram Strait - the critical gateway for exchanges between the Arctic and the World oceans. The existing observatories in the reference sites have been extended with new moorings and novel autonomous instrumentation, in particular for biogeochemical measurements and sea ice observations. Bottom-mounted instruments have been also implemented for seismic observations. A distributed observatory for ocean and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas includes non-stationary components such as ice-tethered observing platforms, float, gliders, and ships of opportunities, collecting multidisciplinary observations, still missing from the Arctic regions. New sensors, integrated platforms and experimental set-ups are currently under implementation during a two-year long deployment phase (2018-2020) with an aim to evaluate their sustained use in a future iAOS. New observations will be used for integration of new data products, demonstration studies and stakeholder consultations, contributing also to ongoing and future long-term initiatives (e.g. SAON).
