OBJECTIVES

The Atlantic Ocean: A north-south cross section of the Atlantic ocean and its bathymetry. The South Pole seen to the far left is located on the ice covered continent, Antarctica. The North Pole to the far right is located within the Arctic Ocean which is dominated by drifting sea ice. The warmest water is found in the ocean surface layer in the tropical regions and is coloured red. The cold and dense water formed through freezing of sea ice on shelves in higher latitudes is visualized as the blue layer along the bottom. The formation and cascade of this dense shelf water is crucial for the ventilation of the deep oceans and thus, the global thermohaline circulation.

Objectives

• Identify locations where dense water is formed (open ocean, shallow shelves)

• Study dense water formation processes; cooling, ice formation, convection

• Identify dense water pathways on shelves and in semi-closed basins

• Study the cascading of dense water towards the deep ocean.

• Define physical and biogeochemical controls on ocean carbon biogeochemistry

• Investigate relationships between variability in deep-water formation, CO2 uptake rates and large-scale natural or anthropogenic climate forcing

• Obtain paleo-records of dense-water formation rates

The Southern Ocean: The figure below shows the temperature of the bottom water in the southern hemisphere. The values range from -1 C (black) to 4 C (red). The grey areas are land masses, with Antarctica in the middle of the image.