Observing and Understanding the Ocean below Antarctic Sea Ice and Ice Shelves (OASIIS)

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Overview

While changes in the Southern Ocean have widespread consequences for the planet, the paucity of observations in this part of the ocean hinders research. The OASIIS working group aims to develop a detailed implementation plan for an under-ice observing system. This truly global consortium led by Richard Coleman, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, has members from the UK, US, Australia, Germany, China, South Africa and Sweden.

How OASIIS contributes to POGO priority areas

POGO advocates for a global coverage in the ocean observing system, which is why addressing the imbalance of available observation systems between the northern and southern hemisphere is at the heart of the POGO Strategy. OASIIS is aiming to make use of the global network that POGO offers to develop transformative technologies that could greatly advance under-ice observations, by bring together expertise, capabiltites and capacity of leading ocean science and technology institutions.

The high latitude Southern Ocean and Antarctic margin includes several physical environments (1-5), each with distinct characteristics that mean a different mix of platforms is needed to observe each one. 1: Open ocean shallower than 2000m depth, 2: Deep ocean, 3: Continental shelf and slope, 4: Ice shelf cavities, 5: Sea ice and ice-ocean-atmosphere interaction (from “Seeing Below the Ice: A strategy for observing the ocean beneath Antarctic sea ice and ice shelves”, 2014, SOOS report, 57 pp).

Status: Complete Working group

Year: 2016 - 2017

Working group website

http://www.soos.aq/activities/cwg/oasiis

Members involved

IMAS logo

Partners involved

Working group Participants

Leader

  • Richard Coleman, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia
  • Esmee van Wijk, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia

Organisational contributors

  • Louise Newman, SOOS IPO, Australia
  • Jenna Patterson, UTAS/Antarctic Gateway, Australia
  • Stephanie Thielebeule, AWI, Germany
  • Olaf Boebel, AWI, Germany

Participants

  • Laura Herraiz Borreguero, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia
  • Mike Meredith, British Antarctic Survey, UK
  • Alexander Brearley, British Antarctic Survey, UK
  • Oscar Schofield, Rutgers University, USA
  • Lynne Talley, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA
  • Olaf Boeble, Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany
  • Susan Wijffels, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia
  • Steve Rintoul, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation / Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre​, Australia
  • Ben Galton-Fenzi, Australian Antarctic Division, Australia
  • Jiuxin Shi, Ocean University of China, China
  • Sebastian Swart, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research / University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Anna Wåhlin, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Fabien Roquet, Stockholm University, Sweden
  • Craig Lee, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, USA
  • Dan Costa, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
  • Kevin Speer, Florida State University, USA

Related documents

OASIIS Working Group Report 2017
OASIIS Fact Sheet
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