Towards a SIOS observational integration plan

Towards a SIOS observational integration plan Roland Neuber1, Karoline Baelum2, Ragnhild Rønneberg3, Christine Daae Olseng4, Jon Børre Ørbæk4, Georg Hansen5 1. Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum for Polar and Marine Research 2. Svalbard Science Forum 3. UNIS 4. Research Council of Norway 5. NILU The existing and planned observational capacities of SIOS members on Svalbard are divers and distributed with respect to locations, scientific disciplines, physical spheres, institutional structures, and other aspects. Accordingly, a great need of integration arises, which on one hand needs to take into account the specifics of a large range of scientific disciplines, of polar research, international cooperation beyond Europe, and more. On the other hand, integrating the observational capacities opens up a huge potential of novel research and knowledge –and especially if satellite data are included more in the work. Within SIOS the scientific observations should be coordinated with the goal to produce “added values” by making infrastructure available across disciplines, locations and institutions.. For the Kongsfjorden International Research Base in Ny-Ålesund four flagship programmes have been developed recently by NySMAC and SSF. Each programme identifies also here needs for observational integration. Observational integration within SIOS can be fundamentally discriminated for the two areas of scientific work, namely Field expeditions (on land or on sea but outside of established stations and permanent installations), and Long term observations. For long term observations SIOS should utilize already existing structures and affiliate with them. This includes particularly established observational networks which we find in fields like meteorology, oceanography, geophysics and others, as well as in organisational structures like SAON/ISAC, INTERACT/SCANNET, AMAP and others. For Ny-Ålesund the previously established Flagship Programmes could be further developed to become an integral part of SIOS. Observational coordination could be organized according to • Disciplines or compartments, like “atmosphere”, “ocean”, “cryosphere”, “terrestrial systems” • Platforms, like “land based”, “sea borne”, “air borne”, “space borne” • Location, like Ny-Ålesund, Longyearbyen, Barentsburg, Hornsund, Hopen/ Bjørnøya, others • Scientific Topics The Ny-Ålesund scientific community is invited to contribute substantially to the further development of the SIOS observational integration plan, which should become effective after the formal establishment of SIOS, planned autumn 2014

Radiation and turbulence parameterizations at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard Islands (scientific note)

Two experimental campaigns were carried out at Ny-Ålesund during the spring of 1998 and the spring-summer of 1999 with the aim to study the daily evolution of surface turbulence and the influence of clouds on the surface radiation balance. Parameterizations of the surface roughness were derived from turbulence measurements performed with a sonic anemometer. The value of the roughness length was calculated. It was highly variable because of snow drift and changing surface conditions. The applicability of two long-wave incoming radiation parameterizations reported in literature was tested with data collected during the experiments

The red-sky enigma over Svalbard in December 2002

On December 6, 2002, during winter darkness, an extraordinary event occured in the sky as viewed from Longyearbyen (78°N, 15°E), Svalbard, Norway. At 07:30 UT the South - East sky was surprisingly lit up in a deep red colour. The light increased in intensity and spread out across the sky, and at 10:00 UT the illumination was observed to reach the zenith. The event died out at about 12:30 UT. Spectral measurements from the Auroral Station in Adventdalen confirm that the light was scattered sunlight. Even though the Sun was between 11.8 and 14.6 degrees below the horizon during the event, the measured intensities of scattered light on the southern horizon from the scanning photometers coincided with the rise and setting of the Sun. Calculations of actual heights, including refraction and atmospheric screening, indicate that the event most likely is scattered solar light from a target below the horizon. This is also confirmed by the OSIRIS instrument onboard the Odin satellite. The deduced height profile indicates that the scattering target is located 20-25 km up in the Stratosphere at a latitude close to 73 - 75°N, South - East of Longyearbyen. The temperatures in this region were found to be low enough for Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC) to be formed. The target was also identified as PSC by the LIDAR systems at the Koldewey Station in Ny-Ålesund (79°N, 12°E). The event is most likely caused by solar illuminated type II Polar Stratospheric Clouds that scattered light towards Svalbard. Two types of scenarios are presented to explain how light is scattered