Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator

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Oceans cover 71% of the earth and exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere drive both weather and climate. The Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator (SOARS) enables laboratory-scale simulations of the ocean-atmosphere boundary, reproducing the complex and interacting systems of wind, waves and microbial processes. SOARS consists of a 36 meter long, 2.4 meter wide by 2.4 meter deep seawater channel and a recirculating atmosphere system to mimic ocean waves and create winds up to gale force conditions. Thermal controls for the seawater and air enable simulation of tropical to polar conditions, including ice-ocean interactions., SOARS is the only instrument in the world capable of studying the current and future states of the ocean, atmosphere and ocean-atmosphere exchanges while reproducing the physics, chemistry and biology of the ocean. The ability to accurately reproduce the properties of the air-sea boundary and simulate the microbial loop in a controlled laboratory setting encourages interdisciplinary studies, but the biological, chemical and physical controls provided by SOARS also enable focused research within each discipline. SOARS is housed inside the Hydraulics Laboratory (HLab) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus, which is associated with UC San Diego. SOARS is being developed under a grant from the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program.

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