The Role of the Southern Ocean in the Earth System (RoSES)
The Role of the Southern Ocean in the Earth System (RoSES), also known simply as 'Southern Ocean', is a £4.6 million, five-year (2017-2022) research programme funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Research area
The aim of RoSES is to improve our understanding of the Southern Ocean carbon system and its role in global climate dynamics. More information can be found in the RoSES website
Funded projects
Three separate research projects are funded under RoSES, each addressing a specific component of the overall study.
CUSTARD
The Carbon Uptake and Seasonal Traits in Antarctic Remineralisation Depth (CUSTARD) project aims to quantify the seasonal drivers of carbon fluxes in the upper limb of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation, and estimate how long different quantities of carbon are kept out of the atmosphere based on the water flow routes at the observed remineralisation depths.
Dr. Adrian Martin (National Oceanography Centre) is the lead Principal Investigator and oversees the four work packages addressing a separate CUSTARD objective.
More information on the research focus, project participants and fieldwork campaigns can be found in the CUSTARD project document .
PICCOLO
The Processes Influencing Carbon Cycling: Observations of the Lower limb of the Antarctic Overturning (PICCOLO) project aims to quantify the crucial processes that determine carbon cycling in the lower limb of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation, and build a roadmap for their parameterisation in climate-scale models.
Prof. Karen Heywood (University of East Anglia) is the lead Principal Investigator and oversees the five work packages addressing the key deliverables for PICCOLO.
More information on the research focus, project participants and fieldwork campaigns can be found in the PICCOLO project document .
SONATA
The Southern OceaN optimal Approach To Assess the carbon state, variability and climatic drivers (SONATA) project aims to design and implement an optimal approach to assess the state, variability and climatic drivers of the contemporary Southern Ocean carbon sink, and establish a strategy to track the carbon sink in the region for decades to come. More information on the research focus can be found in the SONATA area of the RoSES website.
Prof. Corinne Le Quere (University of East Anglia) is the lead Principal Investigator.
The data generated by SONATA is managed by the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA).
Affiliations
RoSES is closely affiliated with the 'Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transports' (ORCHESTRA) programme , and the two have a joint international Programme Advisory Group (PAG).
