Search for Damocles S4D activities in 2007-2008Workshops

1/ S4D workshop in Paris October 29-31, 2007. S4D modeling workshop in Paris (http://www.oasys-research.de/s4d_workshop/agenda)

was concerned with new atmospheric reanalysis products. This workshop was reported during the last Search SSC in Washington DC in November 2007.

Andrey Proshutinsky compared the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis to data from a Russian drifting station.(ftp://oasys-research.de/outgoing/s4d/Proshutinsky-NCAR-NP-data-validation-Paris-2007.ppt).

Talks from David Bromwich (ftp://oasys-research.de/outgoing/s4d/Bromwich_WRF.pdf) and John Cassano (ftp://oasys-research.de/outgoing/s4d/Cassano.ppt)

were dealing with a regional atmospheric reanalysis (Arctic).

2/ S4D workshop in Reykjavik January 2008 mainly covering task (WP5.1) of Damocles. NWP improvements. Harald Schyberg and Per Karlberg organizers.

At that workshop David Bromwich and Per Kalberg presented an assessment for the reliability of atmospheric reanalysis in the Arctic.

Presentation from Per Kalberg gave some information about ERA interim. (ftp://oasys-research.de/outgoing/s4d/Bromwich_reanalysis.ppt, ftp://oasys-research.de/outgoing/s4d/Kalberg.ppt).

3/ S4D workshop in Palisades (NJ) March 2008. September 2008 Arctic sea-ice outlook.Following the S4D workshop in Palisades, the Arctic September 2008 outlook operated

throughout the summer and involved European as well as American partners

4/ S4D workshop in Oslo September 2008 mainly covering task WP5.5 of Damocles(see OASYS web site for more information). Grete Hovelsrud and Michael Karcher organizers.

Main subject concerned Merging human dimension and physical sciences.

5/ S4D workshop in Copenhagen, October 2008 mainly covering sea-ice data assimilationIn numerical models. Participants from Canada and USA in addition to European experts.

Workshop web site (http://www.oasys-research.de/iicwg-s4d_workshop)

Special S4D events

The summer school in Heraklion (Greece) dealt with underwater acoustics in particular for Polar Oceans (June 2008).

This was followed by a strong participation of acousticians to the Paris symposium on international acoustics.

Future of under sea ice acoustics was discussed by a large group of experts including US experts.

Good representation of S4D activities at the AGU in SF December 2008 and the Arctic Changes meeting in Quebec (8 – 12 December 2008).

The next S4D meeting is planned in Tromso end of January 2009 in the context of CliC

together with Hajo Eicken, Sebastian Gerland

We would like to propose a good representation of S4D during the next EGS in Vienna.

S4D field work activities in 2008

Regarding field work activities in 2008 in the central Arctic (deep basin) we continued our cooperation with CRREL for deploying IMB and with WHOI for ITP/POPS. A second array of smart Met buoys was deployed from Eureka in April 2008

(aircraft logistics).

In 2008 like in 2007, an intense activity was maintained during the summer months in the entire Arctic thanks to 7 icebreakers operating into the region:

Louis Saint Laurent and Amundsen from Canada, Xuelong from China,

Akademik Fedorov and Kapitan Dranitsyn from Russia, Polastern from Germany,

Oden from Sweden that was stationary at the North Pole from August to September 2008.

Also KV Svalbard from Norway operated in the Fram Strait area during springtime for iAOOS Norway

and summertime for Damocles (Tomography array and MOPS deployment)Also the cooperation with the NABOS group continued with Russian icebreaker Kapitan

Dranitsyn for recovering MMPs moorings along Arctic shelf break.

These moorings were deployed two years ago (September 2006) from Kapitan Dranitsyn, but could not be recovered last year due to sea-ice conditions.

Damocles contributed for three MMPs moorings sites along the shelf break from Svalbard up to Svernaya Zemlya.

The tomography array was successfully deployed in Fram Strait last August. That involved a strong cooperation with US scientists (WHOI and SCRIPPS)

Perspectives in 2009We need to continue surface array deployment (not necessarily ice tethered) with IMB, ITP/POPS and also AITP together with ULS floats and sea gliders.

IMB, ITP and AITP are transmitting data in near real time and that is a big advantage.

We need to continue tomography and moorings in Fram Strait in 2009-2010 + MMPs/MOPS moorings along Arctic shelf break.

In 2009 Damocles-like activities will continue through two new European programs:

ACOBAR and ATP (Arctic Tipping Points) both coordinated by Norway (Bergen and Tromso) for the next 4 years.

In the context of ACOBAR, we will continue field work activities in Fram Strait and High Arctic involving tomography and AITP + sea glider and ULS floats.

In the context of ATP, we will participate to the Chinare 2009 Arctic expedition. This project is more about Arctic marine ecosystems influenced by climate

change and arctic sea-ice retraction.

A third EU project is in preparation and concerns more the lower atmosphere, upper ocean and sea-ice interactions.

The polar5 German aircraft will be used for sounding the lower atmosphere and sea-ice with high resolution.

This EU project will be coordinated by Germany (AWI).We would like to speed up the development of AITP and under sea-ice

operating sea glider, by increasing cooperation between EU and the US. What about a joint venture?

We are looking for an extension of 18 months of the Damocles integrated project pending a decision of the EU commission.

The actual contract will end in December 2009.