SOLAS -Southern Africa

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Southern Africa

Angola

Mozambique

Tanzania

South Africa

Zimbabwe

National Contact

Carl Palmer

Email

carl.j.palmer

googlemail.com

Website

None

Full Reports (pdf files)

May 08 (400kb)

The 1st SOLAS/IMBER Southern Africa Science meeting was held in South Africa - May 08. To view the presentations made at this conference click here

Current Status of SOLAS Planning

The Southern African SOLAS network is currently in its initial planning stage. A first meeting will be held with the international SSC on May 9th 2008 to discuss developing a Science Plan and Implementation Strategy.

Highlights of SOLAS Research

1. Understanding the transport dynamics of the ACC from high resolution XBT data 2004-2008

S. Swart, I.J.Ansorge, S. Speich

Iceberg in the Southern Ocean

Figure 1: Iceberg in the Southern Ocean

As a component of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), the Southern
Ocean plays a major role in the global ocean circulation and it is hypothesised that it
has an important impact on present day climate. However, our understanding of its
complex three-dimensional dynamics and the impact of its variability on the climate
system remain to this day rudimentary. The newly constituted, international
GoodHope research venture aims to address this knowledge gap by establishing a
programme of regular observations across the Southern Ocean between the African
and Antarctic continents.

The objectives of this programme are five-fold: (1) To gain a better understanding of Indo-Atlantic inter-ocean exchanges and their impact on the global thermohaline circulation and thus on global climate change; (2) To understand in more detail the impact these exchanges have on the climate variability of the southern African subcontinent;
(3) To monitor the variability of the main Southern Ocean frontal systems associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current; (4) To study air-sea exchanges and their role on the global heat budget, with particular emphasis on the intense exchanges occurring within the Agulhas
Retroflection region south of South Africa, and (5) To examine the role of major frontal systems as areas of elevated biological activity and as biogeographic barriers to the distribution of plankton.

2. Sources and Distribution of Volatile Halogenated Organic Compounds in
the Marine Boundary Layer.
Brett Kuyper, Carl Palmer, Casper Labuschange, Howard Waldron and Chris Reason

Volatile Halogenated Organic Compounds (VOHCs) are produced in the ocean by phytoplankton and kelp. These gases comprise a range of short chain carbons with a halogen attached to them. The VOHCs are relatively insoluble in water so a major surface ocean loss pathway is transfer to the lower atmosphere.

Figure 2: Kelp beds that are responsible for the release of VHOCs into the marine environment

In this new project a gas chromatograph coupled with an ECD detector will be used to detect the concentrations of these gases at the South African Weather Service (SAWS) station at Cape Point. The Cape Point site is situated directly above an extensive kelp bed and receives ‘background’ air from over the Southern Ocean. The project aims to examine the life time of the VOHCs in the boundary layer as they destroy boundary layer ozone and may have an impact on climate change by promoting the formation of cloud condensation nuclei.

Highlights of SOLAS Related Research Programmes

1.GoodHope and BONUS GoodHope

South Africa is the base of the international GoodHope project which aims to provide regular observations of the Southern Ocean.

2. SAEON

Figure 3: SAEON Logo

SAEON is a developing project of the South Africa National Research Foundation (NRF) which is funding by the governments department for science and technology. SAEON is a research facility that establishes and maintains nodes (environmental observatories, field stations or sites) linked by an information management network to serve as research and education platforms for long-term studies of ecosystems that will provide for incremental advances in our understanding of ecosystems and our ability to detect, predict and react to environmental change.

Useful Links

SEAON - http://www.saeon.ac.za/
BONUS Goodhope - http://www.ifremer.fr/lpo/programmes/BONUS_GOODHOPE.ppt.pdf
GoodHope Project - http://www.ifremer.fr/lpo/speich/GOODHOPE/goodhope.htm

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