Maps of Observational Coverage

Theme 1: Understanding and quantifying the state and variability of the Southern Ocean cryosphere

The below maps are representing the current observational coverage to address the SOOS Key Challenges for the SOOS Science Theme 1, understanding and quantifying the state and variability of Southern Ocean cryosphere. All SOOS Science Themes and Key Challenges are outlined in the SOOS 2021-2025 Science and Implementation Plan.

The geographic boundaries for the blocks in these maps are the sub-regions identified by each Regional Working Group to enable easier discussion and communication requirements, coverage and gaps for their region.

Key Challenge 1.1: Understand ocean properties, processes and circulation beneath ice shelves and Antarctic sea ice with emphasis on:

• Variability in space and time modulation by sea ice and the role of polynyas

• Sea ice loss and change in ice sheet mass balance

• Heat transfer and freshwater flux between sea ice/ice shelf and ocea

Key Challenge 1.2: Understand influences of changes in freshwater fluxes from iceberg melting, sub-ice shelf melting, subglacial discharge and sea ice

Key Challenge 1.3: Quantify sea ice-ocean-atmosphere characteristics and processes including wave-ice interaction and deformation processes to understand:

• The driver of change and variability in the volume, properties, floe-size and distribution of Antarctic sea ice and consequent impacts on atmospheric and oceanic properties and circulations

• Changes in sea ice extent, thickness and volume over seasonal, annual, decadal, and millennial timescales

• Change and variability in the Antarctic fast ice belt and its role in protecting glacier/ice shelf fronts, polynya formation/maintenance and water mass modification

Key Challenge 1.4: Understand changes in the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its impact on global sea level to improve projections and predictions of future states

Key Challenge 1.5: Improve subglacial and continental shelf bathymetry

Theme 1: Understanding and quantifying the state and variability of the Southern Ocean cryosphere

This map is the mean of the rankings across all challenges (above) within Theme 1.

Raw values for rankings in maps of observational coverage for Theme 1 is available here.