RUSSIA
National Contact	Sergey Gulev
Email	gulsail.msk.ru
Website	None
Full Reports (pdf)	Mar 06

CURRENT STATUS OF SOLAS PLANNING

There are several research units in the Russian Federation which have long-term traditions in analysing physical and biochemical processes in the upper ocean and lower atmosphere. After the SOLAS Science plan has been issued, it was distributed among the team leaders together with the call for expression of interest. Some research groups have demonstrated considerable interest in carrying out research associated with SOLAS. Currently these expressions of interest are summarised in order to come up with the skeleton of the national SOLAS research programme in the end of 2002.

Development of the Russian national SOLAS research programme goes hand in hand with the re-consideration and planning of the National Federal “World Ocean” Programme for the period 2003-2007. In contrast to the structure of this programme during the period 1998-2002, new programme will have certainly smaller number of topical projects, which each, however, will constitute quite a comprehensive block of research. Taking into account this general very restrictive approach to the planning, Ministry of Industry Science and Technology together with the Advisory Research Consul for the National Federal “World Ocean” Programme decided not to form special SOLAS-related project within the programme structure. We have to note here, that specially oriented research projects were not allocated for neither large-scale international programmes. At the same time, it has been decided that SOLAS will be an important banner for most of research projects in the programme. Taking into account that SOLAS is very interdisciplinary by nature, this approach seems to be reasonable and, we hope, will result in a comprehensive coverage of the SOLAS tasks in different projects. Special emphasis to SOLAS-related studies will be given in such programmes as ‘Diagnostics of Ocean Climate”, particularly under sub-project “Processes at sea-air interface”, and “Biochemical processes in the World Ocean” under a number of topical subprojects.

National Federal climate programme, primarily focused on the atmospheric climate issues is currently developed for already several years. In the framework of this programme SOLAS-related studies will be undertaken under the projects “Atmospheric anthropogenic gases” and “Chemical components of the Earth climate”. For both Federal national programmes funds are allocated already for the year of 2003 and proposals will be evaluated during the fall 2002. Research of a smaller calibre, that does not mean of a poor quality will be undertaken under a number of projects funded by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR). Department of the Earth and Environmental Sciences of RFBR was informed about the details of SOLAS science plan and ensured that SOLAS will be also taken as a banner for upcoming open calls. It is very likely that already in 2003-2004 RFBR will be able to announce topical call for proposals, focused on the SOLAS issues.

Thus, by the end of 2002 we expect to have the National SOLAS Research plan drafted and distributed for further consideration. We hope that National SOLAS committee will be finally established at the same time. Currently, only National Working Group, created by interested individuals operates in a close co-operation with Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology.

FUTURE PLANS FOR NATIONAL SOLAS ACTIVITIES

SOLAS–associated research activities are currently under the way on the way in a number of research institutions of Russian Academy of Science (IORAS), HYDROMET (Russian Metoffice), as well as in several Universities. P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS develops global-scale sea-air interaction parameters, based on voluntary observing ship data. Outstanding feature of this activity that the products developed include, besides the basic meteorological variables and fluxes, the full set of wave parameters, crucially important for the understanding the mechanisms of sea-air gas exchange. During 2002-2003 a global climatology of basic wave parameters (heights, periods and directional steadiness for wind sea, swell and significant wave height) is derived for the period 1958-1997 from the visual wave observations will be finally assembled. The pilot version is currently available and provides both individual observations and gridded fields. Specific algorithms of corrections were applied to minimize biases, inherent in visual wave data. Climatology will be subordinated with the full set of error estimates, that is extremely essential for the further estimation of sea-air gas exchange.

Main Geophysical Observatory of HYDROMET currently develops modern estimates of air-sea gas exchange model based on diffusive formulae, in which gas transfer rate is multiplied to the dissolved gas content surface-water upper layer difference. Special consideration in this model is given to high winds, when the difference gets very small, and the diffusive gas exchange weakens or fully ceases. For these conditions model accounts for the process of generating bubble plumes penetrating into water. Numerical model will be finally developed until the end of 2002 and will allow for the calculation of gas input into the water. The model will be based on the equation system, which describes the non-stationary ocean upper layer structure. Numerical experiments already now are able to simulate reliable vertical profiles of dissolved gas content at various times of the storm development. Further activities will be associated with the development on the basis of this model of simplified parameterizations, which make use of the statistics of wind speed and some simple chemical parameters in the upper ocean. This job will be done in a close co-operation with IORAS. The final target is the development of global and regional fields of the fluxes of CO2 and other gases.

Comprehensive research of biochemical cycles in the ocean is developed at IORAS in cooperation with Moscow State University (MSU). Department of Chemical Oceanography and the Research Unit of Biological Oceanography (IORAS) together with scientists from the Department of Geography (MSU) carry out both field experimental study and large scale modeling of the major biochemical cycles in the ocean. In the model all most important biochemical factors are parameterized using the results of field experiments. The dynamical part of the model is under permanent improvement wit respect to physics and numerics. Institute of atmospheric physics Russian Academy of Science (IAPRAS) develops currently an outstanding projects, focused on semi-operational high quality field measurements of atmospheric gases, undertaken using instrumentation sets, installed on a number of trains and other moving and stationary platforms. Some of the measurements sites are located in the coastal regions and these measurements will be contributed to SOLAS.

Starting from 2000 a number of Russian marine laboratories (IORAS, MSU, State Oceanographic Institution – SOI, Fishery Research Institute) maintain ambitious multidisciplinary experimental research project at Black Sea. The main task of the project is study the complexity of the Black Sea ecosystem. Of course, considerable part of biochemical, geological and oceanographic research from this project has direct profound significance for SOLAS-related issues and will contribute essentially.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR NATIONAL PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SOLAS ACTIVITIES

Summarizing the above mentioned ongoing and planned activities, the following opportunities for national participation in international SOLAS activities can be listed:

- Advanced global-scale characteristics of air-sea energy exchange parameters including wind wave characteristics, available from voluntary observing ship data.

- Modelling and parameterization of air-sea gas transfer for the potential application of the developed models and parameterizations for a global scale quantitative description of the sea-air gas transfer characteristics.

- Experimental and numerical analysis of biochemical cycles in the ocean upper layer.

- Massive instrumental measurements of he gas concentrations in the lower atmosphere in the offshore regions.

- Study of the ecosystem of the Black Sea.

NATIONAL CONTACTS

Sergey Gulev
P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, RAS
36 Nakhimovsky ave. 117831 Moscow Russia
Email: gulsail.msk.ru

Igor Mokhov
Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics
Pyzhevsky per. 3
Moscow Russia
Email: mokhovomega.ifaran.ru

Yuri Mikhailichenko
Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology
Tverskaia strt. 11
Moscow Russia
Email: mikhailichenkominstp.ru