Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to 'scan the horizon' to identify the highest priority scientific questions that researchers should aspire to answer in the next two decades and beyond. Wide consultation was a fundamental principle for the development of a collective, international view of the most important future directions in Antarctic science. From the many possibilities, the horizon scan identified 80 key scientific questions through structured debate, discussion, revision and voting. Questions were clustered into seven topics: i) Antarctic atmosphere and global connections, ii) Southern Ocean and sea ice in a warming world, iii) ice sheet and sea level, iv) the dynamic Earth, v) life on the precipice, vi) near-Earth space and beyond, and vii) human presence in Antarctica. Answering the questions identified by the horizon scan will require innovative experimental designs, novel applications of technology, invention of next-generation field and laboratory approaches, and expanded observing systems and networks. Unbiased, non-contaminating procedures will be required to retrieve the requisite air, biota, sediment, rock, ice and water samples. Sustained year-round access to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean will be essential to increase winter-time measurements. Improved models are needed that represent Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the Earth System, and provide predictions at spatial and temporal resolutions useful for decision making. A co-ordinated portfolio of cross-disciplinary science, based on new models of international collaboration, will be essential as no scientist, programme or nation can realize these aspirations alone.
Chlorophyll‐a concentration (chl a) maps derived from the Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) on board Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS‐P4) and Seaviewing Wide field of View sensor (SeaWiFS) show increased chl a in the waters around Sri Lanka during summer monsoon. Physical processes that can lead to the phytoplankton bloom are investigated using upper ocean temperature profiles and satellite derived winds, sea surface temperature (SST) and sea level anomalies (SLA). There is a chl a bloom attached to the southern coast of Sri Lanka accompanied by cool SST, low SLA and upsloping of isotherms towards the coast. Coastal upwelling driven by monsoon winds is identified as the physical mechanism causing nutrient enrichment in the surface layer. The Southwest Monsoon Current (SMC) which flows eastward south of Sri Lanka and then into the Bay of Bengal advects the upwelled water eastward along its path. The chl a rich waters from the Indian coast also advects along with the SMC towards Sri Lanka. East of Sri Lanka the open ocean upwelling associated with the Sri Lanka Dome is also found to be an important process that upwell nutrients.
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