SIBER SPIS sept 2011.pdf - IMBER

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SIBER Science Plan and Implementation Strategy Imp l e m e n t a t i o n st r a t e g y In order to deliver its goals and objectives SIBER will focus on promoting three major areas of science activity: 1) remote sensing studies, 2) modeling studies and 3) in situ observation and potential for leveraging existing infrastructure. All of these will require close collaboration and multidisciplinary integration of knowledge obtained by teams of researchers operating throughout the IO. To link these three areas there will be a continual process of integration and synthesis, drawing together the outputs of the various activities (Fig. 21). This will be an ongoing process that will gather speed over the course of the program. The three major areas of science activity are discussed below; the remote sensing studies are presented first as they lay the initial observational foundation for the SIBER science program and provide the 1st order descriptive data for the subsequent sections on modeling and field activities. There are currently varying levels of detail in the different sections; the balance will be appropriately redressed SIBER as SIBER SIBER becomes activities established and further develops the plans and strategies in each of the activity areas. Modeling studies Remote sensing data feeds into models Models extend remote sensing data Remote sensing studies Workshops Website Communication Collaboration Outreach Field data feeds into models Models highlight fieldwork gaps In situ observations Remote sensing guides field observations Field observations validate and extend remote sensing studies Fi g u r e 21: Simplified representation of SIBER activities illustrating links between the three main areas: modeling studies, remote sensing studies and in situ observations, all of which will be guided by close collaboration and multidisciplinary integration of knowledge from research groups operating throughout the IO. The three main activity areas and their outputs will be linked together through workshops and other communication strategies, resulting in a responsive and dynamic program. 48
SIBER Science Plan and Implementation Strategy Re m o t e s e n s i n g s t u d i es The obvious starting point for carrying out regional studies in the IO is through the application of remote sensing to characterize physical and biological variability of these systems. Relevant measurements, with corresponding representative mission(s) with NASA as a principal contributor, include satellite ocean color (SeaWiFS, MODIS-Aqua), sea surface temperature (SST) (NOAA/AVHRR, MODIS-Terra/Aqua), sea surface height (SSH) (T/P and Jason), surface vector winds (QuikSCAT) and precipitation (TRMM). Remote sensing should be applied specifically to study the seasonal variability and transitions in IO boundary current systems, to define and characterize the dominant scales of spatial variability and also to characterize interannual variability, especially as it relates to climate change. Interdisciplinary remote sensing studies must seek to elucidate both the physical (SST and SSH) and biological (chlorophyll and primary production) dynamics and understand the impact of physical oceanography on biological processes in the IO. In addition to studies based upon the US deployed satellites noted above, opportunities exist to utilize remote sensing data obtained via other national agencies or multi-national consortia. For example, India’s Oceansat-1 and recently launched Oceansat-2 provide physical (SST and wind) and ocean color measurements starting from 1999; straightforward provision of these high-resolution data to non-Indian scientists needs to be ensured. The European Space Agency (ESA) has also launched a number of satellite missions (e.g. ERS-1,2 and Envisat) that provide ongoing measurements of ocean color (MERIS), SST (AATSR), SSH (RA-2) and winds (ASCAT). In addition, since November 2009, ESA’s SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission has been providing the first regular global mapping of sea surface salinity (SSS) (Berger et al., 2002). This remote sensing capability will soon be reinforced with the launch of NASA’s Aquarius mission that will also provide SSS measurements (Lagerloef et al., 2008). The continuous observations of SSS provided by SMOS and Aquarius will address a manifest need that SIBER should capitalize on, given the influence that the hydrological cycle exerts on the dynamics of the northern and eastern IO. As with boundary current studies, satellite observations can and should play a central role in studying seasonal, intraseasonal and interannual biogeochemical variability of equatorial waters of the IO. Many of the phenomena discussed above in Theme 2 are amenable to satellite studies, i.e. characterization of the typical annual cycle in surface temperature, sea surface height, chlorophyll and primary production and the physical and biogeochemical responses to perturbations associated with the IOD, the MJO, Wyrtki Jets and other high frequency forcing phenomena such as cyclones. Retrospective studies should be motivated. The satellite SST measurements based upon the AVHRR have been reprocessed and extend back in time to 1981, i.e. that is a 30-year record. This record has been used to demonstrate warming globally, including the prominent response observed in the IO (Arguez et al., 2007). In the often cloudy regions of the IO, the SST microwave data (TMI and AMSR-E) are very useful, thanks to their ability to “see through clouds” and monitor strong cooling under convective systems (e.g. Duvel et al., 2004; Harrison and Vecchi, 2001). Ocean color data acquired by SeaWiFS, MODIS and other orbiting sensors extend from 1997 to the present. These datasets have already been utilized to reveal anomalous biological distributions during IOD manifestations (Murtugudde et al., 1999; Wiggert et al., 2002) and phytoplankton bloom characteristics along the equator and within the STIO (Lévy et al., 2007; Uz, 2007; Wiggert et al., 2009) and blooms associated with the MJO in the SCTR (McCreary et al., 2009; Resplandy et al., 2009). However, more comprehensive elaboration of IO bloom dynamics and biophysical processes, and how these are impacted by the IOD, are needed. There has also been considerable effort in recent years to extend the utility of ocean color measurements from SeaWiFS and MODIS to provide estimates of net primary production and phytoplankton physiological state (Behrenfeld et al., 2005; Behrenfeld et al., 2009) and 49
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