The atmosphere of the Southern Ocean–Antarctic (SOA) region plays a pivotal role in shaping local and global climate. It is tightly coupled with the ocean, sea ice, ice sheets, and land surfaces through a wide range of exchange and feedback processes. These interactions regulate energy fluxes, precipitation patterns, circulation systems, and cloud formation — all of which directly influence Antarctic ecosystems and the stability of the cryosphere. Despite their importance, many of these processes remain poorly observed and inadequately represented in models, limiting our ability to predict future changes in Antarctica and its contribution to the global climate system.
Recent extremes, such as unprecedented heatwaves over East Antarctica, rapid shifts in sea ice extent, and changes in atmospheric river occurrence, highlight the urgency of improving our understanding of Antarctic atmospheric processes. Clouds, aerosols, and circulation regimes strongly control the surface energy balance and thereby ice sheet melt, sea ice dynamics, and ocean–atmosphere exchanges. Yet the interplay between aerosols, cloud microphysics, and boundary layer processes in the SOA remains one of the largest uncertainties in climate projections.
The atmospheric program within Antarctica InSync therefore aims to establish a coordinated and comprehensive observational and modelling framework to capture these processes at circumpolar scale. It will integrate surface-based, airborne, and shipborne observations with remote sensing and climate modelling, working closely with WMO and ESA initiatives. By synchronizing efforts across stations, ships, and autonomous platforms, the program will enable a new level of insight into the drivers of Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate variability, and improve how these processes are represented in global models.
Overarching Science Questions
- What role do atmospheric processes play in the recent turnaround of regional and overall sea ice extent?
- What mechanisms drive extreme events such as heat waves and record temperatures on the ice sheet, and do they establish new climate trends?
- How do changing cloud processes and aerosol–cloud interactions contribute to SOA climate change compared with other drivers?
- How do circulation shifts, including atmospheric rivers, affect SOA climate and variability?
Research Focus Areas
- Aerosols — Properties, sources, and densities of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particles (INP).
- Aerosol–Cloud Interactions — Effects on cloud freezing, drop size distributions, and particle shattering.
- Internal Cloud Processes — Radiative properties, turbulence, and precipitation.
- Surface Processes — Energy budgets, boundary layer fluxes, albedo, and stability over ice sheets and sea ice.
A special focus lies on air mass transformations: warm/moist transport from the Southern Ocean to Antarctica and cold/dry export from the plateau to the ocean. These processes determine the setup of the observational strategy.
Planned activities include:
- In-situ measurements of aerosol composition, CCN and INP densities, and particle formation/aging.
- Remote sensing with lidar, radar, and radiometers to capture aerosols, winds, cloud microphysics, and precipitation.
- Balloon soundings for vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, ozone, and aerosols.
- Surface energy balance, radiation, and flux measurements across multiple surface types.
- Sea ice station studies of turbulent and radiative fluxes, albedo, and heat transfer, supported by drones and tethered balloons.
Together, these efforts will provide the most comprehensive circumpolar atmospheric dataset to date, delivering critical process understanding and enabling improved prediction of Antarctic climate change and its global feedbacks.
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