The Experience of Barometric Drifter Application for Investigating the World Ocean Arctic Region

Abstract

Efficiency of the problem solution to create a regionally-oriented data computing system for marine dynamics and ecosystem evolution modeling and forecasting (that should be capable for providing reliable information for managerial decision making, justifying future economic projects and adjusting the existing ones) depends on development level of observational systems, environmental evolution, mathematical models and techniques for observational data assimilation. The analysis of the system as an observational segment of modern geo-informational technology allows us to draw a conclusion that the system of drifter observations is one of the most effective ones nowadays. Surface drifter network, continuously operating in the World Ocean, provides systematic operational data on the surface water circulation, thermal processes in the upper ocean and air pressure. Drifter data, acquired over the past 15 years, allowed one to improve and even change the existing concepts of patterns and mechanisms of regional climatic trend and hydrometeorological anomaly formation under effect of global processes in the Ocean – Atmosphere model (in the high latitudes as well). In the present paper the principle results of the analysis of expediency and feasibility of drifting systematic operative pressure field monitoring establishment in the near-surface atmosphere layer over the Arctic Ocean and the seas of the Russian Federation Arctic Zone have been considered. More than 30 drifters of BTC60/GPS/ice type, whose summarized lifetime as for June 2015 exceeded 6500 days, were deployed in the Arctic in 2012–2015. According to data acquired from the drifters, more than 155 000 air pressure readings were received. The most intensive drifter observations were carried out in two regions: in the Beaufort Sea – Canada Basin and in the Central Arctic. The results of experiments revealed that hardware-software solutions implemented in polar modifications of barometric drifters provide reliable long-term operation of these apparatus as autonomous instruments of air pressure field operative systematic monitoring in the Arctic Region. With regard to relatively low cost and acceptable dimensions and weights barometric drifters may be considered as the elements of reliable and low-cost polar network of operative meteorological observations.

Keywords

• air pressure
• barometric drifter
• Arctic area