Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 18 February 2008 15:06
Science -
Climate
Page 2 of 3
The CSIRO says that a “specially designed onboard laboratory [on the L'Astrolabe] also samples the ocean surface to identify how the ocean controls carbon dioxide and is part of the sister program, MINERVE".
The CSIRO continued that: "Programs like SURVOSTRAL are a key part of a strategy to observe the Southern Ocean and the largest ocean current in the world - the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)”.
The
AFP quoted the Program's Australian leader, CSIRO scientist Dr Steve Rintoul, as saying that: "The main result probably is very simple to state, I guess, which is that the ocean is warming".
Rintoul continued that: "Temperatures on the upper ocean have warmed by several tenths of a degree. It depends a little bit on where you are in the Southern Ocean but a ballpark number might be about three-tenths or so of a degree."
Rintoul then told the
AFP that:"The temperature change is smaller in the Southern Ocean than some other locations but the amount of heat stored by the ocean is larger. And that's important because it means that more heat is being stored in the Southern Ocean than elsewhere and that means that the sea level has a tendency to rise more because warmer water expands and so sea level rises”.
So, what are some of SURVOSTRAL’s recent highlights, and where can you see some pictures of the SURVOSTRAL project, and animations of the Antartic’s ocean currents? Please read onto page 3.
