Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) observing system

As part of the conception of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Rapid Climate Change (RAPID) programme, approximately £5M was dedicated to the development and implementation of a pre-operational prototype system to continuously observe the strength and structure of the Atlantic MOC. An Announcement of Opportunity in the UK was accordingly issued. In partnership with NERC, the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA also encouraged proposals for observing relevant aspects of the N. Atlantic circulation, with both parties supporting linked proposals from UK and US researchers. The resulting eight proposals were jointly reviewed and evaluated by NERC and NSF, under the common strategic aim of developing such an observing system.

After the joint review by an international group of referees, and a funding meeting that brought together both NERC and NSF decision-makers with independent scientific advisors, NERC funded four proposals (~£5M), while NSF funded three (~$7M; see table below). It was possible to maximise the science by eliminating overlaps between the NERC and NSF funded proposals. Of the studies funded, those led by Marotzke and Johns had been submitted jointly, while those of Hughes and Toole planned to make measurements along the same line (WHOI to Bermuda), so the elimination of overlapping observations freed up funding for other projects. The Watson project was funded as a pilot project for 18 months (with the opportunity to bid for further funding if successful), while the Cromwell project was funded initially for one year, with a further two years funding if the preliminary work was found to give adequate results.

Investigators from the funded projects summarised their plans at a meeting in Warwick in January 2003, as the first of several programme building activities.

PI (institution)	Project Title
Cromwell D (SOC)	Measuring the meridional overturning circulation from space: a feasibility study
Hughes C (POL)	A monitoring array along the western margin of the Atlantic
Johns (U. of Miami)	An Observing System for Meridional Heat Transport Variability in the Subtropical North Atlantic
Bryden H / Marotzke J (SOC)	Monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5¡N
Rossby (U. of Rhode Island)	The Oleander Project: Sustained Observation of Ocean Currents and Transports in the Gulf Stream and Adjacent Waters from New York to Bermuda
Toole (WHOI)	Investigating the Characteristics and Consequences of Interannual Variations in the Northwest Atlantic's Deep Western Boundary Current
Watson A (UEA)	Time series of transient tracers in North Atlantic deep waters