The polar oceans are the least understood water bodies on our planet. Their remote location, vastness and dangerous environment raise significant challenges when gathering data and conducting science. However, advances in technology are providing new opportunities for data collection that go beyond what was possible even 20 years ago.
The international polar science community now can access polar observing systems that are more stable, durable and capable. Specifically, robotic profiling floats alone, allowing scientists to collect ten times as much temperature data from the seas in the 2000s as they were able to in the 1980s.
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In addition, UK and Norway are collaborating on many Arctic projects, using systems including time-series moorings, ice-tethered platforms and satellite tagging of seals.
According to the report ‘The State of the Polar Oceans 2018’, scientists are overcome the seasonal bias obstacle. Namely, in the Arctic Ocean, data is now collected consistently throughout the year through a combination of shipborne, autonomous and moored sensors. In the more remote and turbulent Southern Ocean, data collection still occurs mainly during the austral summer, but this seasonality is becoming less pronounced.
The report reads:
Technological progress is bringing greater automation and huge improvements in connectivity now enable data to be collected remotely, in real time, from across a network of ocean-going sensors.
This increase in data gathering leads to more advanced and accurate numerical models, which provide more precise estimations and reduce uncertainty in climate predictions. The extra data also enables improved weather forecasting.
improved technologies create opportunities for more high-tech industry. These systems requires highly-skilled workers, so climate scientists and software experts are needed to make best use of them. Systems capable of operating in the hostile polar oceans are also likely to be applied in other extreme environments.
For more information, read the report ‘The State of the Polar Oceans 2018’.
