Funds are provided for the deployment of an expanded autonomous, ice-based, network for observing turbulent fluxes in the upper boundary layer of the ocean and, in collaboration with other investigators, for quantifying the thermodynamic balance of sea ice over multi-year drifts at multiple locations in the Arctic. These observations will contribute to the Arctic Observation Network during the International Polar Year. In particular, these observations will allow documentation of the regional variability in the role of the upper ocean in storing heat and melting sea ice, documentation of how ocean-to-ice heat fluxes are affected by the structure and heat content of the Artic halocline, understanding of the forcing mechanisms involved, and testing and improvement of ocean-to-ice flux parameterizations for use in large scale models.
