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About the GasEX III blog @ CIRES Why go to one of the windiest latitudes on Earth to learn about future global warming? Scientists from around the U.S., including CU’s Ludovic Bariteau, are embarking on a 6-week research cruise to measure how much greenhouse gas the Southern Ocean swallows up during high winds and choppy seas. The Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment officially begins February 28th, when NOAA's Ronald H. Brown sets sail from Punta Arenas, Chile. Scientists will spend the next 6 weeks at 60 degrees south trying to quantify how much carbon dioxide and ozone the ocean takes up. Their goal is to measure how fast these gases are transferred from the air into the water - information that will help carbon modelers improve estimates of CO2 fluxes on land and also improve predictions of future, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, which will determine the rate of global warming. Measuring the rate of gas exchange between air and ocean will also help scientists predict how quickly acidification of the ocean will occur - a process that could threaten many marine organisms. Ludovic Bariteau, a researcher with CU's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, will write about his research and his experience on the cruise in weekly posts, starting the week of March 3rd. |
The Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment (also known as GasEx III) experiment is slated to take place in the Southern Ocean in austral fall of 2008 (i.e., late February-early April 2008) on the NOAA SHIP RONALD H. BROWN (pictured above). |
