9504158 Lubin Research supported by this grant is under the auspices of the Arctic Systems Science (ARCSS) Global Change Research Program and is jointly sponsored by the Division of Ocean Sciences and the Office of Polar Programs. Work to be performed represents preliminary steps towards a major 5-year research project named SHEBA, which is envisioned to study the heat budget of the Arctic Ocean and its impact on global change. The primary goals of SHEBA are: (1) to develop, test and implement models of arctic ocean- atmosphere-ice processes that demonstrably improve simulations of the present day arctic climate, including its variability, using General Circulation Models (GCMs), and (2) to improve the interpretation of satellite remote sensing data in the Arctic for analysis of the arctic climate system and provide reliable data for model input, model validation and climate monitoring. This work involves development of new technology for solar infrared flux measurements at the Arctic Ocean surface. Efforts will also be made to develop an all season algorithm to retrieve total and multi-year sea ice concentrations from SSM/I 85.5 Ghz imagery from satellites and conduct a validation of polar cloud detection principles, using AVHRR data matched with surface all-sky photography and sea ice coverage logs. This proposal focuses on SHEBA PHASE I technological development and analysis of existing data sets.
