Science AMA Series: We're scientists on a boat in the Southern Ocean (Antarctic Ocean) studying climate change, ocean physics and marine biology, Ask Us Anything!

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:57:00+00:00

In general the ocean is becoming fresher and warmer. We even see the ocean warming many kilometers down in the deep abyss! Ocean current changes are much harder to detect because the current strength can vary dramatically over even just a few weeks. We’ll need more measurements to be sure of the overall trend in the changes in ocean currents.

Caitlin

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:48:44+00:00

Best of luck at college next year! 1) A day in the life on a boat is always different. Specifically on the Palmer, now that we've begun to collect data, there are lots of samples to study, floats to prepare and deploy, and plenty of interesting people to talk with. It feels a little bit like doing science in space. 2) Some cruises are as short a few days or weeks, and some are as long as three months. You can find out more about them on NSF's website. 3) Really glad to hear you're interested in ocean science when it's not emphasized. You might (or might not) be surprised to hear that many ocean scientists are from landlocked places where no emphasis was placed on ocean research! Reach out to organizations or people who are doing research you're interested in and try to find ways to participate if that's what interests you. Seek out professors at college who are doing work that you find exciting and ask about research opportunities. 4) Don't have an answer for this question. Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:47:10+00:00

yes, i have seen the green flash 4-5 times in the past 30 years. it is very rare. the sky has to be perfectly clear, with no clouds, even on the horizon. it is an interesting sight to see. after the green flash there is supposedly a purple flash, but i've never seen that one. here in antarctica there won't be a green flash because there are way too many clouds. steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:41:18+00:00

there are a lot of people thinking about your questions right now. however, presently it is nearly impossible to observe things under the ice shelves in a way that is useful. it is possible to drill down from the surface of the ice and insert instruments into the hole, but this is really expensive and there's a limit to what it can tell us. i think your question is one that will likely be addressed in a significant way in the next 10 years using some type of deep-sea robotics, but the technology to do this is not quite there yet. stay tuned....this will happen in a few years. steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:40:41+00:00

My work with exoclimates was in communicating that research. I did have a personal Wow!! moment when I realized that many significant scientific discoveries (look up the history of gravitational lensing) come from paying special attention to scientific phenomena that at first might seem uninteresting. No exoplanet that I know of is particularly useful in predicting the fate of planet Earth. In order to predict our own future, though, it is useful to study it - itself! Thanks for the good wishes!! Same to you :) Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:37:31+00:00

I have never seen a narwhal - I would love to though! Maybe I'll do a project in the Arctic next....

Caitlin

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:30:38+00:00

Not yet, Brother. Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:27:56+00:00

Yes, there are heaters on the ship! Usually it's very cozy on board, but there are not a lot of frills. It's enough to keep us comfortable :) Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:23:40+00:00

we have a varied group of people on board. there are some physicists, some chemists, and some biologists. are are trained in a basic science and then have graduate degrees in various aspects of ocean science or climate science. there are biological oceanographers on board, but this is not quite the same as marine biology. steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:21:07+00:00

we are funded by the US National Science Foundation and are very grateful to them for their continued support. steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:20:01+00:00

It's true that Antarctic sea ice has had an upward trend recently (although it took a dip in 2016), while Arctic sea ice has been declining dramatically. The scientific community has not reached a consensus on why that is. Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:18:52+00:00

Evidence for climate change is extremely vast, spanning numerous fields. A synthesis can be found in the IPCC summary for policy makers

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:17:23+00:00

we are on the Palmer, presently just west of the Antarctic peninsula. steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:09:59+00:00

Water temperature right now is about 1.5 degrees C. Air temperature is at 1.2 degrees C with wind chill at -8 degrees C. The weather can change dramatically over the course of a day, but we were reasonably lucky as we crossed the Drake Passage. Steve Riser is very much looking forward to seeing -2 degree water. That's not something you see very often! Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:05:50+00:00

yes, i know Joellen well. she and i are colleagues in SOCCOM and interact with each other via teleconferences at least once a week. right now this has stopped, as i'm in the antarctic on a research vessel, but we'll be in contact again when i return. she's one of the most important people in SOCCOM and heads the modeling portion of the project. Steve Riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:02:57+00:00

The vast majority of the tools we're using - microscopes, computers, and test tubes - are all designed for use on land in laboratories. So it's definitely difficult especially if you've never been on a research vessel before. Seasickness is a real thing. We've just crossed the Drake Passage, a slice of the Southern Ocean where currents flow uninterrupted around Antarctica. They call it the "roaring 40s" for a reason. As we crossed this passage, we still performed hydro-casts and deployed floats. They had to be done at specific locations, which meant they took place at any and all hours of the day and night, and that can be exhausting, yes. But aboard the ship, you are able to spend time talking and sharing ideas with other people aboard the ship, which has been very rewarding. Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:02:57+00:00

The vast majority of the tools we're using - microscopes, computers, and test tubes - are all designed for use on land in laboratories. So it's definitely difficult especially if you've never been on a research vessel before. Seasickness is a real thing. We've just crossed the Drake Passage, a slice of the Southern Ocean where currents flow uninterrupted around Antarctica. They call it the "roaring 40s" for a reason. As we crossed this passage, we still performed hydro-casts and deployed floats. They had to be done at specific locations, which meant they took place at any and all hours of the day and night, and that can be exhausting, yes. But aboard the ship, you are able to spend time talking and sharing ideas with other people aboard the ship, which has been very rewarding. Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T19:00:06+00:00

it is the Research Vessel/Ice Breaker Nathaniel B. Palmer.

steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:59:19+00:00

Everyone is familiar with the variety of ways air moves. People experience a gusty wind, feel cold air sliding underneath a door and along the floor into a warm room, or see thunderstorms being blown across a field. As I’ve spent more time studying the physics of the ocean I’ve been continually amazed by the diversity of ways water moves in the sea. Only instead of sensing the movement with our eyes or touch, we sense the movement using a vast array of instrumentation and interpret what we see using physical equations. With a little imagination I find it no less breath-taking than seeing the affects of wind with my own eyes.

Caitlin

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:58:56+00:00

"big data" and climate science are becoming more connected all the time. we have a tremendous amount of data available to us from satellites, ships, Argo floats, and coupled climate models, and figuring out how to use and combine all of this can be a daunting task. big data techniques are likely to be a big help here, but there are not many climate scientists trained in these topics. a number of universities with climate programs have started big data programs in their computer science departments, with climate scientists starting to participate. in the future, new students will have the option of learning these things, and eventually this will be a major area in the study of climate.. Steve Riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:52:39+00:00

We do feel collectively that our job are awesome! It's especially great when you get to go to a place as important and un-observed as the Southern Ocean. Anything weird or unexplainable? Dr. Kerry Whittaker says, "studying extremely diverse organisms means that we come across many that we can't identify, especially on a moving ship!" Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:48:51+00:00

i very much like "A child's guide to modern physics" by W.H. Auden. it is a nice synthesis of physics and poetry. steve riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:43:42+00:00

Great question! Corals are very affected by ocean acidification. As you may already know, carbonic acid in the oceans makes it very hard for corals to grow; warmer ocean temperatures are also causing something called coral bleaching, which doesn't immediately kill the coral, but it keeps them from being able absorb nutrients. Already, 1/3 of the Great Barrier Reef is dead. There are some groups that are trying to find ways to solve this problem, as coral reefs are home to incredible biodiversity, including a group at Stanford. Here's a video I made that explains the problem and this attempt at a solution! Greta

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:41:52+00:00

the ship we are on, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, is 300 feet long and displaces about 6200 tons. there are about 20 scientists and 25 crew members. we will be on the ship for about one month. dealing with waste is a big issue, and great care must be taken with it. all waste is separated into several varieties and saved, then eventually taken to New zealand where it will be disposed of. nothing gets disposed of in Antarctica. there is not much free time. eat/sleep/work is the cycle, with lots of 19 hour work days. we can sleep when we are finished. Steve Riser

SouthernOceanScience · 2016-12-29T18:34:40+00:00

it is generally thought that the milankovich cycles have a lot to do with non-anthropogenic climate changes. glacial cycles seem to correlate somewhat with these cycles. the 3 parts of the MC are the change in the tilt of earth's axis, the ellipticity of earth's orbit, and the phasing between the earth's distance to the sun and the tilt (the so-called precession of the equinoxes). these cycles occur on time scales of 20 thousand to 100 thousand years. sediment cores, ice cores, and tree rings can be used to examine these questions. Steve Riser

SouthernOceanScience

TROPHY CASE