Skip to content
Natural Environment Research Council
Grants on the Web - Return to homepage Logo

Details of Award

NERC Reference : NE/P019099/1

Transient tracer-based Investigation of Circulation and Thermal Ocean Change (TICTOC)

Grant Award

Principal Investigator:
Professor JM Gregory, University of Reading, National Centre for Atmospheric Science
Science Area:
Atmospheric
Marine
Overall Classification:
Unknown
ENRIs:
Global Change
Science Topics:
Climate modelling
Climate variability
Deep ocean circulation
Sea level rise
Climate & Climate Change
Abstract:
Carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels such as oil and gas is building up in the atmosphere and causing the planet to warm. The oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the heat trapped on the planet to date. However, this heating also causes the ocean to expand, leading to rising sea level and consequently to an increased risk to and vulnerability of people and industries located near the coast. Understanding how much sea level will change into the future allows us to plan accordingly the defences we need to install in order to safeguard the infrastructure and livelihoods of our coastal communities. Warming of the ocean is not geographically uniform however, as ocean currents move heat around the globe. This leads to contrasting changes in ocean temperature and sea level (affecting coastal communities and assets). By the end of the century, some regions may experience very large sea level rises of up to a metre while others will see far less (or even a lowering). This science program will use observations made from research ships and computer models of the ocean to understand where the ocean takes up heat from the atmosphere and how ocean currents transport and redistribute that heat. To study ocean currents we need a 'tracer' - something that is placed in and moves with the flow, like a chemical dye. Although not intentionally for this purpose, three varieties of tracers have been added to the atmosphere since the 1950s and have since gradually been absorbed into the ocean, and redistributed by ocean currents. These are radioactive carbon (produced by mid 20th century nuclear bomb tests), chlorofluorocarbons (historically used in refrigerators and aerosol cans, and which caused an expansion of the Ozone Hole) and more recently sulphur-hexafluoride (formerly found in tennis balls but now predominantly used in electrical industries as an insulator). These tracers have entered the ocean as distinct pulses at different times, forming a fortuitous experiment we can now observe. We will use high-precision equipment to measure these tracers in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans and collaborate with international partners to track their global fate. We will use these observations to estimate the rate at which heat is being absorbed and re-distributed throughout the ocean and to assess and improve climate model predictions of regional sea level rise.
Period of Award:
1 Oct 2017 - 30 Sep 2022
Value:
£336,333 Split Award
Authorised funds only
NERC Reference:
NE/P019099/1
Grant Stage:
Completed
Scheme:
Large Grant
Grant Status:
Closed
Programme:
Large Grant

This grant award has a total value of £336,333  

top of page


FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)

DI - Other CostsIndirect - Indirect CostsDA - InvestigatorsDA - Estate CostsDI - StaffDI - T&SDA - Other Directly Allocated
£4,286£117,287£43,504£43,389£104,480£20,000£3,385

If you need further help, please read the user guide.