Abstract

Presenter Profile

The Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), and the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), are two of the major ongoing international initiatives for polar research. Here we first briefly review the scientific goals of SOOS and MOSAiC from a global perspective, and then discuss the potential roles of China in these two international initiatives, in accordance with our national polar research programs supported by various agencies. In particular, starting with a description of our existing capabilities in both Antarctic and Arctic research, we outline our plans for future enhancement in technology and infrastructure, as well as our considerations and suggestions on the implementation of SOOS and MOSAiC. The take-home messages include: (1) China is in the process of largely enhancing its polar research activities, which certainly will lead to significant contributions to SOOS and MOSAiC; (2) For SOOS, we propose a multi-platform, multi-disciplinary circumpolar “Big Ring” design to serve as its sustained “backbone”; (3) For MOSAiC, we will participate in all three tiers of its field observations as well as modeling efforts, aside from providing logistic support.