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Boaty McBoatface returns home with unprecedented data | |
admin | |
2017-06-28 | |
发布年 | 2017 |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | 英国 |
领域 | 资源环境 |
正文(英文) | Researchers at the University of Southampton have captured unprecedented data about some of the coldest abyssal ocean waters on Earth - known as Antarctic Bottom Water - during the first voyage of the yellow robotic submersible known as Boaty McBoatface, which arrived back in the UK last week. Boaty McBoatface being deployed from the ship The team, which also involved scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and engineers from the National Oceanography Centre, captured data on temperature, speed of water flow and underwater turbulence rates of the Orkney Passage, a region of the Southern Ocean which is around 4,000m deep and roughly 500 miles from the Antarctic Peninsula. In order to visualise the progress of Boaty and place the data in the context of the complicated terrain in the region, the team have created an animated fly-through of the Orkney Passage - external link. The information collected will now be analysed to understand the complex process of ocean mixing and how it affects climate change. The information was gathered as part of the Dynamics of the Orkney Passage Outflow (DynOPO) seven-week expedition, with the RRS James Clark Ross returning to Southampton last week. The DynOPO programme is funded by a NERC grant. It was the first Antarctic voyage of Boaty McBoatface, one of the Autosub Long Range (ALR) class of unmanned submersibles, the latest type of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by the National Oceanography Centre. The Autosub was named following last year's campaign by NERC to name the UK's new polar research ship. While the ship will be named after famous naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, the popular suggestion of the contest - Boaty McBoatface - lives on in the form of an unmanned submersible that will support the research ship to explore parts of the polar regions inaccessible to humans. Welcoming Boaty McBoatface back from its first mission, Universities & Science Minister Jo Johnson, said:
Researchers used a combination of specialised instruments, including those deployed from the ship, as well as instruments moored to the seafloor, and measurements made by Boaty. The submersible completed three missions during the expedition, the longest lasting three days, travelling more than 180km and reaching depths of nearly 4,000m. It travelled back and forth through an abyssal current of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) along the Orkney Passage, sometimes in water colder than 0°C and in currents up to 1 knot, while measuring the intensity of the turbulence. This current forms off the coast of Antarctica as cold winds off the ice sheet cool the sea surface. The resulting cold, dense water sinks and moves northwards, forming an important part of the global circulation of ocean water. The Orkney Passage is a key chokepoint that AABW has to navigate on its way from Antarctica's Weddell Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Current evidence suggests that changing winds over the Southern Ocean affect the speed of seafloor currents carrying AABW. The speed of these currents determines how turbulent their flow is around underwater mountain ranges (submarine topography). Faster flow is more turbulent, and in this turbulence more heat is mixed into AABW from shallower, warmer ocean layers - thus warming the abyssal waters on their way to the Equator, affecting global climate change. Professor Alberto Naveira Garabato from the University of Southampton, the lead scientist of DynOPO, said:
But the expedition was not without its challenges. Povl Abrahamsen, Physical Oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, explained:
Steve McPhail, Head of AUV Development at the National Oceanography Centre, added:
Further informationMary Goodchild Becky Attwood Athena Dinar Leigh Marsh Notes1. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), an institute of NERC, delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the polar regions. Its skilled science and support staff based in Cambridge, Antarctica and the Arctic work together to deliver research that uses the polar regions to advance our understanding of Earth as a sustainable planet. Through its extensive logistic capability and know-how, BAS facilitates access for the British and international science community to the UK polar research operation. Numerous national and international collaborations, combined with an excellent infrastructure, help sustain a world-leading position for the UK in Antarctic affairs. 2. The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is the UK's leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. NOC undertakes and facilitates world-class, agenda-setting scientific research to understand the global ocean by solving challenging multidisciplinary, large-scale, long-term marine science problems to underpin international and UK public policy, business and wider society outcomes. NOC operates the Royal Research Ships James Cook and Discovery and develops technology for coastal and deep ocean research. Working with its partners, NOC provides long-term marine science capability including: sustained ocean observing, mapping and surveying, data management and scientific advice. NOC is wholly owned by NERC. 3. The University of Southampton drives original thinking, turns knowledge into action and impact, and creates solutions to the world's challenges. They are among the top 1% of institutions globally. Their academics are leaders in their fields, forging links with high-profile international businesses and organisations, and inspiring a 24,000-strong community of exceptional students, from over 135 countries worldwide. Through their high-quality education, the university helps students on a journey of discovery to realise their potential and join their global network of over 200,000 alumni. 4. Ocean & Earth Science (OES) at the University of Southampton has a well-established reputation for outstanding research and teaching. Their unique waterfront campus at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton attracts prominent researchers and educators from around the world, who join them to work within the areas of geochemistry, geology and geophysics, marine biogeochemistry, marine biology and ecology, palaeoceanography and palaeoclimate, and physical oceanography. Following publication of the national Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF2014), OES was ranked second in the UK for proportion of research recognised as world-leading (4*) in the Earth Systems & Environmental Sciences Unit of Assessment. 5. NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. Our work covers the full range of atmospheric, Earth, biological, terrestrial and aquatic science, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere and from the poles to the equator. We coordinate some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on Earth, and much more. NERC is a non-departmental public body. We receive around £330 million of annual funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). |
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来源平台 | Natural Environment Research Council |
文献类型 | 新闻 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/103786 |
专题 | 资源环境科学 |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | admin. Boaty McBoatface returns home with unprecedented data. 2017. |
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