Meeting Summary
Scientific Ice Expedition (SCICEX) Science Advisory Committee Meeting
6-7 December 2007
Arctic Submarine Laboratory
San Diego, California
For further information, please contact:
Jackie Richter-Menge
E-mail: Jacqueline.A.Richter-Menge [at] usace.army.mil
The members of the reconstituted Scientific Ice Expedition (SCICEX)
Science Advisory Committee (SAC) held a "kick-off" meeting on 6-7
December 2007, at the Arctic Submarine Laboratory in San Diego,
California. In addition to re-invigorating the SCICEX program, and
consistent with the associated inter-agency Memorandum of Agreement
(https://www.csds5.navy.mil/asl/Scicex/SCICEX_MoA.pdf), the objective of
the SCICEX SAC is to maximize the contribution of SCICEX in
understanding Arctic Ocean processes and their role in the Earth's
climate system.
As per the inter-agency Memorandum of Agreement, the U.S. Navy's
Submarine Force currently supports scientific research (primarily
baseline data collection of fundamental ice thickness, ocean properties,
and bathymetric properties) accomplished through what are referred to as
accommodation cruises. Data may be collected on a not-to-interfere basis
during submarine expeditions or transits.
High priority activities for the SCICEX SAC, identified during the
meeting, include:
- developing a draft science plan for future submarine accommodation
cruises, and providing a vetted list of prioritized activities and data
requirements as a function of submarine availability;
- resolving reliability and performance concerns associated with
submarine-launched XCTDs;
- working with the Inter-agency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC)
to include SCICEX as a component in the U.S. Arctic Observing Network
(AON);
- compiling a map of past SCICEX tracks and an index of existing data
and publications for posting on public website; and
- improving communication with the broad scientific and submarine
community.
It is the goal of the SCICEX SAC to complete these tasks in six months.
The greater scientific community is invited to contact members of SAC
with suggestions in support of achieving this goal. Likewise, the SAC
will actively and diligently solicit specific input from the community.
Technical representatives on the committee are:
- Tim Boyd, Scottish Association for Marine Science
(tim.boyd [at] sams.ac.uk)
- Margo Edwards, University of Hawaii (margo [at] soest.hawaii.edu)
- Jackie Richter-Menge, SAC Chair, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory (CRREL)
(Jacqueline.A.Richter-Menge [at] usace.army.mil)
- Ray Sambrotto, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
(sambrott [at] ldeo.columbia.edu)
- Bill Smethie, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
(bsmeth [at] ldeo.columbia.edu)
- Terry Tucker, Enfield, New Hampshire (terry.tucker [at] valley.net)
- Mark Wensnahan, University of Washington (thinice [at] apl.washington.edu)