A New Observing System for the Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean and the Antarctic shelf seas have been undergoing massive changes for several years. Sea ice cover, for example, is declining dramatically, large parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet are being lost, and deep-water formation appears to be declining. “The full implications of these abrupt changes for the local and global climate and the ecosystems remain unclear. We are currently unable to predict these changes,” explains SYNCHRONY principal investigator Prof. Dr. Alexander Haumann, who heads the AWI-LMU Joint Research Group for Southern Ocean–Climate Interactions (SO-CLIM) at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and holds a professorship at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU). The oceanographer adds: “This knowledge gap is largely due to insufficient observational data and the inaccurate or missing representation of processes in Earth system models. Urgent action and enhanced international cooperation are therefore required not only to better observe and understand the complex changes in the coupled ocean-ice-atmosphere-biosphere system, but also to provide the basis for polictical decision-making that will protect this region in the long term.”

Joint cross-platform missions and circumpolar, multidisciplinary observation networks are indispensable for this effort in this vast and inaccessible region—yet they are still not available to a sufficient extent. Major international initiatives in the coming years will be key building blocks in closing this observational gap: Antarctica InSync (2027 to 2030), the 5th International Polar Year 2032/2033, and the implementation of the European Ocean Pact. They build on the existing efforts of networks such as SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) and SOOS (Southern Ocean Observing System).

Read More at: Alfred Wegener Institute

Moments on-board Polarstern. Waves (Photo Credit: Alfred Wegener Institute / Mario Hoppmann)