ARCSS Program | Co-oP Concept Paper Submissions By Author

Patricia Matrai

Response: Ocean-Atmosphere-Sea Ice- Snowpack (OASIS) Interactions

Response: Air-surface chemical exchange

Response: Patricia Matrai Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, ME, USA pmatrai@bigelow.org
Paul Shepson Purdue University, IN, USA pshepson@purdue.edu
Jan W Bottenheim Meteorological Service of Canada, Canada Jan.Bottenheim@ec.gc.ca
Harry Beine C.N.R. * IIA, Rome, Italy harry@iia.cnr.it
Also in the OASIS coordinating committee:
Florent Domine CNRS * LGGE, France florent@lgge.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr
Christopher Krembs University of Washington, WA, USA ckrembs@apl.washington.edu
Len Barrie WMO, Switzerland LBarrie@wmo.int
Don Perovich CRREL, NH, USA donald.k.perovich@erdc.usace.army.mil

Response: OASIS mission: Determine the importance of OASIS chemical, physical and biological exchange processes on tropospheric chemistry, the cryosphere, and the marine environment, and their feedback mechanisms in the context of a changing climate.
The five overarching scientific questions are:

-What is the nature of feedback loops between OASIS exchange processes and global climate change?
-What are the fundamental physical, chemical, and biologically-mediated chemical exchange processes involving halogens, DMS, NOx, O3, VOCs, POPs, Hg, S-constituents, particulate matter, and CO2 in the Polar regions?
-What is the relationship of OASIS exchange processes with the marine cryosphere (ice/snow) and the underlying Polar Ocean?
-What is the relationship of OASIS exchange processes with the chemistry, physics and biology of airborne gases, aerosol particles and cloud/snow formation?
-Environmental pollution: what is the impact on, and by, OASIS exchange and the role of long term changes?

Answering these questions will require an integrated multidisciplinary effort, which includes both an experimental phase focused on field and laboratory work, and a closely coupled modeling exercise. A Science Plan was prepared following a 1st workshop held in 2002 that has been extensively vetted by the international science community involved in studies of air-surface chemical exchange in the Arctic. A draft Implementation Plan was prepared before, during and after a 2nd open community workshop held in 2005. Both living documents form the basis of the OASIS Co-oP now being proposed to ARCSS and available at the OASIS web site (www.OASIShome.net).

Response: OASIS will address how the air-surfaces exchange processes affect atmospheric chemical composition, and control the input of toxic chemicals to the Arctic Ocean system. As the nature and extent of Arctic snow and ice cover is changing, OASIS will assess the associated impact on, and by, climate change, and the human and ecosystem impacts of air-surface exchanges of chemical species. The OASIS program will produce essential data and knowledge, leave a legacy for continued polar research, and will inspire, educate and involve the general public, school-age children, and decision-makers worldwide.
Given that the atmosphere forms the upper boundary of the entire Arctic region, the exchange processes that occur there integrate over the entire system, including humans.
Since the atmosphere effectively has no transport barriers, it interacts with the global system importing and export gases, particulate matter and moisture. OASIS plans to study such interactions.

Response: OASIS is linked to a number of international organizations and activities, including AMAP, The World Climate Research Program Core Activity CliC (Climate and Cryosphere) (http://clic.npolar.no/), and the IGBP programs IGAC (International Global Atmospheric Chemistry) under the AICI (Air Ice Chemical Interactions) activity, and SOLAS (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study). There are further strong links with the IGAC/SOLAS activity HitT (Halogens in the Troposphere). Links to networks such as IABP, NPEO and AOOS are essential. An important part of OASIS is expected to take place during the upcoming International Polar Year 2007/09 (IPY). OASIS-IPY is fully endorsed as IPY program (#38)
(http://www.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=38%20%20).

We are eager to expand to a coordinated Polar research effort and identify further collaborative connections and opportunities. The research envisaged is of a multidisciplinary nature: it necessarily spans many aspects of Polar Studies, e.g., marine cryosphere (snow, ice; biology, chemistry, physics), oceanography (biology, chemistry, physics), atmospheric sciences (chemistry, physics, meteorology, climate), social scientists and human dimension, modeling (chemistry, climate, OASIS) and education/outreach.

Response: More than 30

Response: More than 30

Response: Social scientists since many of the OASIS compounds of interest, such as mercury, ozone, lead, and POPs, are toxic in addition to being atmospherically important chemical species whose exchange processes are highly relevant to climate. These processes should be anticipated to change substantially as sea ice and snow cover change in the Arctic with global climate change.

Response: Web Conferences
Shared electronic workspace (wiki)
Electronic email list

Response: --No answer received on this question--