Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Arctic Sea Ice

The proposed work targets at filling a key knowledge gap in our understanding of the role of Arctic sea ice in the climate system. This is done by conducting state of the art observations on Arctic sea ice in winter, when observations are basically non-ex istent. Further we target the new thinner sea ice regime, which is even well less known. We aim to understand how the thinner sea ice in the Arctic basin contributes to important greenhouse gas exchange between the atmosphere and ocean (carbon dioxide, C O2) and contributes to bromine fluxes (bromoform, CHBr3) important for understanding ozone depletion in the polar regions. Thus quantifying the role of sea ice as a source or sink of these compounds to the climate system. This work will intensify the dir ect collaboration between Japanese and Norwegian scientists in the Arctic, and combines complimentary expertise, resources and experience to carry out the interdisciplinary work proposed.