University of Rhode Island oceanographer Brice Loose is nearing completion of a two-month experiment inside a laboratory where the temperature is a frosty -20 degrees Fahrenheit to reproduce the surface of the frozen Arctic Ocean and learn what factors influence the exchange of gases between the water and atmosphere.

“The polar regions are very important areas for gas uptake by the ocean because the surface water there gets pulled down to the deep ocean,” said Loose, an assistant professor at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography. “But sea ice can act as a barrier to the exchange of gases between ocean and atmosphere, so we’re trying to figure out exactly how much exchange you get. The ice creates a huge wake behind it, and that turbulence leads to gas exchange.”

Inside the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H., Loose and his colleagues use a 262,000-gallon tank filled with salt water to replicate Arctic conditions, creating channels and blowing strong winds to manipulate the movement of the ice.

“We want to come up with a predictive model that says, when you have this much sea ice cover and these kinds of winds and currents and temperatures, you can figure out the gas exchange,” explained Loose. “If we can prove such a relationship, then climate modelers can factor it into their models so we have a better understanding of ocean circulation and the distribution of carbon dioxide.”

For more information, please see the related press release.