PSC Student Cecilia Peralta Ferriz Honored for Best Student Poster at Gordon Research Conference

Cecilia says “Changes of these [fluxes] are of major concern because they may control the stratification in the Sub-Arctic seas, which in turn modulates the winter convection and the meridional overturning circulation”.

PSC graduate student Cecilia Peralta Ferriz was awarded the Best Student Poster prize at the Gordon Research Conference for Polar Marine Science in Ventura, CA on March 24, 2011. Her poster was entitled “A New Mode of Sub-monthly Variability in Arctic Ocean Bottom Pressure” and was co-authored with PSC investigators James Morison and Jinlun Zhang as well as UW Atmospheric Sciences Professor John Wallace. The poster dealt with wintertime mass fluxes of water in and out of Arctic Ocean on a shorter timeline than previously studied. Through this approach the team came to a number of interesting and timely conclusions about the variability of mass fluxes across time as well as an explanation of this phenomenon.

Understanding the variability of mass fluxes in and out of the Arctic Ocean is a critically important topic in climate research: “These fluxes are fundamental to the distribution of the ocean’s heat and freshwater”, Cecilia says. “Changes of these are of major concern because they may control the stratification in the Sub-Arctic seas, which in turn modulates the winter convection and the meridional overturning circulation”.

While Arctic Ocean mass variations have been detected at seasonal or longer time frames, this project studied non-tidal mass variations at increments of less than one month. The investigators used ocean bottom pressure sensors to detect these changes. They were deployed at the North Pole as part of the North Pole Environmental Observatory project.

By looking at a smaller time frame the investigators made some important observations of Arctic Ocean mass variations and fluxes. They found that the mass changes are coherent throughout the basin, with periods ranging from 15-30 days, and well represented by Dr. Zhang’s Pan-Arctic Ice-Ocean Modeling Assimilation System (PIOMAS). Using PIOMAS, the investigators found that the mass changes are controlled by winds in the Nordic Seas that determine the amount of movement of water in and out of the Arctic Ocean, mainly through Fram Strait. PIOMAS has also helped the investigators to unveil the patterns of the ocean circulation associated with these mass variations and fluxes. Cecilia and her coauthors have submitted this research for publication in Geophysical Research Letters.

Gordon Research Conferences promote the discussion of cutting-edge research and the theme of this year’s Polar Marine Science gathering was “Exploring Complex Systems in Polar Marine Science”. Conference organizers praised Cecilia’s project for its scientific results and clear presentation of a complex subject.

Congratulations Cecilia!

– By Michael H. Horner

This work was supported by a generous grant from NASA.