Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX> 



The presence of sea ice interferes with the exchange of heat and moisture 

 between ocean and atmosphere. Similarly, ice interferes with the influx of 

 solar heat in the surface layers of the ocean. The extent of the interference 

 depends upon how much of the polar sea is actually covered by ice and how 

 much is exposed to the atmosphere through stress-caused cracks or leads 

 in the ice. This, in turn, is determined by wind stress on the upper surface 

 or the ice and water stress on the under surface. 



Field observations of the percentage of open area in the ice have shown 

 it varying from 1 to 10 percent over the years. If the reported values are 

 real, the ocean-atmosphere coupling in the Arctic must experience changes 

 which profoundly influence the strength and duration of outbreaks of polar 

 air. that sweep across oceans and continents. 



Numerical models of sea-ice response to wind and water stress and of 

 ocean-atmosphere energy exchange in the presence of different kinds and 

 amounts of ice cover have been devised. The immediate goal of AIDJEX 

 is to test and refine these models. The long-term goal of the project is a 

 general model of ocean-atmosphere coupling for the northern ice ocean that 

 fits smoothly with global ocean-atmosphere models being developed 

 elsewhere. 



Initiated as a joint United States-Canada program, international interest 

 in AIDJEX is increasing and the project will probably expand to include 

 several other nations. Japan has become a recent participant. In the United 

 States, the efTort of several Federal agencies is being coordinated by NSF 

 and Navy. 



The scientific plan, covering a 2-year period, includes the acquisition of 

 time series meteorological, oceanographic, and ice dynamics data by manned 

 stations in the field experimental area and by arctic SPAR buoys at un- 

 attended stations. Buoy data and buoy location will be monitored through 

 a satellite relay by scientists at the University of Washington, where data 

 will be processed and analyzed. A pilot project was successfully carried out 

 in March 1971 on the Beaufort Sea ice west of M'Clure Strait at latitude 

 74° North. A similar pilot project, including three drifting manned stations, 

 is now being conducted north of Pt. Barrow, Alaska. 



Louisiana Coastal Ecology 



In 1969, the Corps of Engineers began a study of fish and wildlife, and 

 related ecological factors, in the Louisiana coastal zone in cooperation with 

 the Department of the Interior, EPA, NOAA, the Wetlands Resource Center 

 of Louisiana State University, and the State of Louisiana's Wildlife and 

 Fisheries Commission, Department of Public Works, and Stream Control 

 Commission. The study will measure physical, chemical, and biological 

 processes of the estuarine environment and examine the influence of these 

 factors on the living resources of the Louisiana coast. 



During 1971, chemical and physical data were analyzed to establish area 

 characteristics, to determine how and why these parameters change, and to 

 set forth the present and probable future extent of environmental deteriora- 

 tion. The contributions of canals to land loss and wetlands deterioration 



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