Abstract: The H2020 project Integrated Arctic Observation System (INTAROS) aspires to increase the temporal and geographic coverage of in situ observations and add new key geophysical and biogeochemical variables in selected regions of the Arctic. By using a combination of mature and new instruments and sensors in integration with existing observatories, INTAROS aims to fill selected gaps in the present-day system and build additional capacity of the Arctic monitoring networks for ocean and sea ice. Three reference sites have been selected as key locations for monitoring ongoing Arctic changes: Costal Greenland, paramount for freshwater output from the Greenland ice sheet; North of Svalbard (covering the region from shelf to deep basin) – the hot-spot for ocean-air-sea ice interactions, and heat and biological energy input to the European Arctic; and Fram Strait – the critical gateway for exchanges between the Arctic and the World oceans. The existing observatories in the reference sites have been extended with new moorings and novel autonomous instrumentation, in particular for biogeochemical measurements and sea ice observations. Bottom-mounted instruments have been also implemented for seismic observations. A distributed observatory for ocean and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas includes non-stationary components such as ice-tethered observing platforms, float, gliders, and ships of opportunities, collecting multidisciplinary observations, still missing from the Arctic regions. New sensors, integrated platforms and experimental set-ups are currently under implementation during a two-year long deployment phase (2018-2020) with an aim to evaluate their sustained use in a future iAOS. New observations will be used for integration of new data products, demonstration studies and stakeholder consultations, contributing also to ongoing and future long-term initiatives (e.g. SAON).

Abstract: About 75 % of the Antarctic surface mass gain occurs over areas below 2,000 m asl, which cover 40 % of the grounded ice-sheet. As the topography is complex in many of these regions, surface mass balance modelling is highly dependent on horizontal resolution, and studying the impact of Antarctica on the future rise in sea level requires physical approaches. We have developed a computationally efficient, physical downscaling model for high-resolution (15 km) long-term surface mass balance (SMB) projections. Here, we present results of this model, called SMHiL (surface mass balance high-resolution downscaling), which was forced with the LMDZ4 atmospheric general circulation model to assess Antarctic SMB variability in the twenty first and the twenty second centuries under two different scenarios. The higher resolution of SMHiL better reproduces the geographical patterns of SMB and increase significantly the averaged SMB over the grounded ice-sheet for the end of the twentieth century. A comparison with more than 3200 quality-controlled field data shows that LMDZ4 and SMHiL reproduce the observed values equally well. Nevertheless, field data below 2,000 m asl are too scarce to efficiently show the added value of SMHiL and measuring the SMB in these undocumented areas should be a future scientific priority. Our results suggest that running LMDZ4 at a finer resolution (15 km) may give a future increase in SMB in Antarctica that is about 30 % higher than by using its standard resolution (60 km) due to the higher increase in precipitation in coastal areas at 15 km. However, a part (~15 %) of these discrepancies could be an artefact from SMHiL since it neglects the foehn effect and likely overestimates the precipitation increase. Future changes in the Antarctic SMB at low elevations will result from the competition between higher snow accumulation and runoff. For this reason, developing downscaling models is crucial to represent processes in sufficient detail and correctly model the SMB in coastal areas.