Advancing the role and use of remote sensing for understanding the impact of sea ice on air-sea gas exchange in polar oceans

The oceans around Antarctica are disproportionately important for the global uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Large (factor of three) uncertainties exist in our understanding of air-to-sea CO2 gas transfer in mixed ice regions. For example, sea-ice may alter transfer by suppressing ocean swell and modifying near surface turbulence. This project will use novel imaging approaches and drone techniques to quantify sea-ice extent coincident with measured gas fluxes. The data collected will help establish the importance of sea-ice for controlling air-to-sea CO2 fluxes.
Main aim:Collect novel drone and ship-based measurements of sea-ice spatial extent in the Weddell Sea, East of the Antarctic Peninsula, and then determine how this ice extent, type and interactions are influencing air-to-sea CO2 fluxes.