SOLAS 2015-2025 Science Plan and Organisation

The SOLAS 2015-2025 Science Plan and Organisation sets out the scientific scope of SOLAS. The SOLAS science mission is organised around five core themes:
  • Core Theme 1: Greenhouse gases and the oceans
  • Core Theme 2: Air-sea interface and fluxes of mass and energy
  • Core Theme 3: Atmospheric deposition and ocean biogeochemistry
  • Core Theme 4: Interconnections between aerosols, clouds, and marine ecosystems
  • Core Theme 5: Ocean biogeochemical control on atmospheric chemistry.

In addition, the study of these themes will be integrated in efforts to understand key environments, e.g. upwelling systems, polar oceans, and coastal waters, as well as to evaluate the environmental efficacy and impacts of geoengineering proposals, policy decisions, and societal developments.

The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2 from 1994 to 2007

A paper titled "The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2 from 1994 to 2007", resulting from the SOLAS-IMBeR Ocean carbon cycle working group 2 has been published in Science.
 
 
In this paper, Gruber et al. calculated the ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2 for the interval from 1994 to 2007, which continued as expected. They also observed clear regional deviations from this pattern, suggesting that there is no guarantee that uptake will remain as robust with time.

A New Perspective at the Ship-Air-Sea-Interface: The Environmental Impacts of Exhaust Gas Scrubber Discharge

In October 2016, 10 researchers from the fields of natural and social science met for a SOLAS-initiated workshop to discuss the impacts of ship emissions on biogeochemical processes at the air-sea interface and their socio-economic relevance. One aim of the workshop was to identify future research priorities at the ship-air-sea interface using emissions from scrubber systems as an example. The results of the workshop resulted in the publication of a joint review in Frontiers in Marine Science.
 

Harnessing remote sensing to address critical science questions on ocean-atmosphere interactions

A paper titled "Harnessing remote sensing to address critical science questions on ocean-atmosphere interactions", resulting from the SOLAS-ESA workshop in Frascati in 2016 has been published!
 
 
This perspective review on how current and emerging remote sensing technologies could help address two scientific questions within the SOLAS science plan: (1) to what extent does upper-ocean biology affect the composition and radiative properties of the marine boundary layer; and (2) to what extent does upper-ocean turbulence drive fluxes of mass and energy at the air-sea interface are presented in this paper.

Surface ocean-lower atmosphere study: Scientific synthesis and contribution to Earth system science

In 2015, an article by Emilie Brévière et al. describing the scientific synthesis and contribution to Earth system sciences has been published in Anthropocene.

Reference:  Brévière, E.et al., Surface ocean-lower atmosphere study: Scientific synthesis and contribution to Earth system science (2015) Anthropocene, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2015.11.001

Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions of Gases and Particles

Production of the book `Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions of Gases and Particles` by P. S. Liss et al. was supported and funded by the EU COST Action 735 and coordinated by SOLAS.

The book is available as an open access book online.


▶ Arguably the only book dealing with exchange of energy including heat, chemicals and biological organisms across the interface between ocean and atmosphere
▶ First synthesis of a set of disparate topics into a coherent treatment of the exchange of matter across the sea surface
▶ Deals with a very important topic required for an understanding of how the earth system operates

Reference: Liss, P. S. and Johnson, M. T., Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions of Gases and Particles (2014) Springer, Heidelberg

Western Pacific Air-Sea Interaction Study (W-PASS)

W-PASS was funded by by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan, the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Priority Areas in the summer of 2006, for 5 years as a part of SOLAS-Japan activity.  The goal of the W-PASS project was to achieve a quantitative understanding of the key biogeochemical key interactions and feedbacks between the ocean and the atmosphere.  We aimed to resolve this link through field observation studies over the western Pacific, mainly using research vessels and island observatories. Numerical modeling studies were required for systematic evaluation and quantitative assessment.

The book is available as an open access book online.

Evolving Research Directions in Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere (SOLAS) Science

In 2013, an article by Cliff Law et al. describing the Mid-Term Strategy initiatives has been published in Environmental Chemistry.

Reference:  Law, C. et al., Evolving Research Directions in Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere (SOLAS) Science (2013) Environmental Chemistry, 10, 1-16.

Surface Ocean- Lower Atmosphere Processes

Lectures from the 2007 SOLAS Summer School have been developed into a textbook. It is designed to provide graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers from a wide range of academic backgrounds with a basis for understanding the nature of ocean-atmosphere interactions and the current research issues in this area.
To order your copy visit Wiley website
Reference: Corinne Le Quéré and Eric S. Saltzman, Surface Ocean- Lower Atmosphere Processes (2009) Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 187, 350 pp., hardbound, ISBN 978-0-87590-477-1

SOLAS Science Plan and Implementation Strategy

The SOLAS Science Plan and Implementation Strategy sets out the scientific scope of SOLAS and outlines a strategy for addressing the major issues that are identified. It forms the basis in which the project is being built.

SOLAS Implementation Plans

To ensure that SOLAS moves with the times, detailed Implementation Plans have been produced for each focus.
application/pdf SOLAS Implementation Plans (4.6 MiB)

- last update February 2017 -