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  4. Monitoring Arctic Polynyas from Space (MAPS)

Monitoring Arctic Polynyas from Space (MAPS)

Research project
Active research
Project period
2023 - ongoing
Project owner
University of Gothenburg
Financier
Swedish Space Agency (SNSA)
Area
Sustainability and environment Science and Information Technology
Topic
Climate Research Physical Geography Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences Oceanography Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Remote sensing

Short description

Polynyas, open water regions within the winter sea ice cover , are crucial to the Arctic climate and ecosystem. These openings expose warm water to the surface, triggering air-sea interactions and new ice formation, while also influencing deep water formation, oxygen transport and nutrient fluxes. Besides, if we could predict them accurately, they could be used for navigation. Hence, monitoring and forecasting polynya openings in the Arctic Ocean is crucial.

Objective

Current operational sea ice models cannot successfully predict both temporal and spatial information of polynya openings. The objective of MAPS is to fill in this research gap by creating the first forecasting system of sea ice tailored to Arctic polynyas, based on remotely-sensed observations of the drivers that control polynya openings, and to incrementally increase the resolution of that system to allow for near-real-time monitoring of polynyas via their effect on the atmosphere.

Department of Earth Sciences
Earth Sciences is the studying of the Earth and its history as well as the processes that operate in and on the Earth's…
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