Scottish Association for Marine Science

About: Scottish Association for Marine Science is a facility organization based out in Oban, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Sea ice & Benthic zone. The organization has 524 authors who have published 1765 publications receiving 70783 citations. The organization is also known as: SAMS & Scottish Marine Station for Scientific Research.

Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program: A New International Ocean Observing System

Abstract: A new ocean observing system has been launched in the North Atlantic in order to understand the linkage between the meridional overturning circulation and deep water formation. For decades oceanographers have understood the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to be primarily driven by changes in the production of deep water formation in the subpolar and subarctic North Atlantic. Indeed, current IPCC projections of an AMOC slowdown in the 21st century based on climate models are attributed to the inhibition of deep convection in the North Atlantic. However, observational evidence for this linkage has been elusive: there has been no clear demonstration of AMOC variability in response to changes in deep water formation. The motivation for understanding this linkage is compelling since the overturning circulation has been shown to sequester heat and anthropogenic carbon in the deep ocean. Furthermore, AMOC variability is expected to impact this sequestration as well as have consequences for regional and global climates through its effect on the poleward transport of warm water. Motivated by the need for a mechanistic understanding of the AMOC, an international community has assembled an observing system, Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic (OSNAP), to provide a continuous record of the trans-basin fluxes of heat, mass and freshwater and to link that record to convective activity and water mass transformation at high latitudes. OSNAP, in conjunction with the RAPID/MOCHA array at 26°N and other observational elements, will provide a comprehensive measure of the three-dimensional AMOC and an understanding of what drives its variability. The OSNAP observing system was fully deployed in the summer of 2014 and the first OSNAP data products are expected in the fall of 2017.

Arctic fjords: a review of the oceanographic environment and dominant physical processes

Abstract: Abstract Fjords have long been recognized for their value as sites of sediment deposition, recording past climatic conditions. Recently, Arctic fjords have been recognized as the critical gateway through which oceanic waters can impact on the stability of glaciers. Arctic fjords are also used as idealized locations to study ice-influenced physical, biological and geochemical processes. In all cases a clear understanding of the physical oceanographic environment is required to interpret and predict related impacts and linkages. In this review we consider the characteristic elements of Arctic fjords and the important dynamical processes. We show how the intense seasonality of these regions is reflected in the varying stratification of the fjords. In particular, we show that sea ice has a central role in terms of the fjord salinity which ultimately influences the exchange with oceanic waters. When the fjord is ice free, wind forcing from the intense down-fjord katabatic winds gives rise to rapidly changing cross-fjord gradients, upwelling and strong surface circulations. The stratification and dimensions of Arctic fjords mean that they are often classed as ‘broad’ fjords where rotational effects are important in their circulation. We refer to the link between the physical oceanographic conditions and the related depositional records throughout.

Biogas from Macroalgae: is it time to revisit the idea?

Abstract: The economic and environmental viability of dedicated terrestrial energy crops is in doubt. The production of large scale biomass (macroalgae) for biofuels in the marine environment was first tested in the late 1960’s. The culture attempts failed due to the engineering challenges of farming offshore. However the energy conversion via anaerobic digestion was successful as the biochemical composition of macroalgae makes it an ideal feedstock. The technology for the mass production of macroalgae has developed principally in China and Asia over the last 50 years to such a degree that it is now the single largest product of aquaculture. There has also been significant technology transfer and macroalgal cultivation is now well tried and tested in Europe and America. The inherent advantage of production of biofuel feedstock in the marine environment is that it does not compete with food production for land or fresh water. Here we revisit the idea of the large scale cultivation of macroalgae at sea for subsequent anaerobic digestion to produce biogas as a source of renewable energy, using a European case study as an example.