Deliverable 2.2 Report on exploitation of existing data: ocean and sea ice data

This report presents a selection of data products from existing ocean and sea ice measurements under WP2 Task 2.2 (Exploitation of existing data towards improved data products). This is done by applying various methodologies for data processing to derive of geophysical and biogeochemical quantities that can be used for further work in the project, especially in WP5 (Data management and integration) and in WP6 (Applications towards stakeholders). This report is complementary to D2.1 (Report on present observing capacities and gaps: ocean and sea ice observing systems), which includes an assessment of existing data collections based on an on-line survey (https://intaros.nersc.no/node/651).

NERSC presents acoustic data from several field experiments in the Fram Strait carried out over a period of 110years. The presentation includes both active and passive acoustic data, description of how the experiments were conducted, processing steps from raw data to the resulting data products, and standardisation of formats for data and metadata.

UiB and GEUS present an earthquake catalogue for the Arctic region (described in D2.8).

AWI presents the Unified Database for Arctic and Subarctic hydrography (UDASH), which includes all available data for the period 1980-2015. This archive is updated yearly and is available from the PANGAEA repository.

IOPAN presents a reprocessed hydrography data set for the Nordic Seas and the Fram Strait area collected by RV Oceania from 1988 to 2017 (the AREX programme). The data set is used for higher-level products such as time series of transports, heat content and dynamic topography. IOPAN also presents data from the A-TWAIN moorings north of Svalbard, deployed from 2012-2017. These data includes profiles of CTD and current data, which are used to present time series of temperature, salinity and currents. Furthermore, IOPAN presents Argo floats in the Nordic Seas and hydrographic data sets from Svalbard fjords.

DTU Space presents satellite radar altimeter products from 26 years of data in the Arctic (ERS-1/2, EnviSat and CryoSat2) showing sea level anomaly, mean sea surface height, and mean dynamic topography.

Aarhus University presents the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Programme, which collects an extensive range of physical, chemical and biological variables, with focus on two sampling sites: the sub-arctic Nuuk in West Greenland and high-Arctic Zackenberg in East Greenland. The programme allows  both quantification of climate change and also an analysis of the potential biological consequences in both terrestrial, limnic and marine systems. For marine research, the CTD observations in Young Sound from 2003 to 2015 is important, showing changes in the water masses of the fjord.

Ifremer presents satellite sea ice drift products from CERSAT, while University of Bremen presents satellite-derived multiyear ice concentration and thin ice thickness products.

Finally, NIVA presents in situ datasets for Arctic carbonate system chemistry, nutrients, and phytoplankton biomass. The data sets include 1) surveyed existing data collections, and 2) analyzed the data collections for data coverage and sampling bias.

The next step in WP2 is to select data sets and repositories to be prepared for use in the Integrated Arctic Observing System. The survey of existing systems will continue in the second half of 2018 in order to prepare a more extensive assessment of the observing systems.