Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse
Ocean conditions near the grounding zones of Antarctica’s ice shelves play a key role in controlling the outflow and mass balance of the ice sheet. However, ocean observations in these regions are largely absent. Here, we present a detailed spatial survey collected with an underwater vehicle in a ba...
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 |
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craaas:10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 2024-06-23T07:47:53+00:00 Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse Washam, Peter Lawrence, Justin D. Stevens, Craig L. Hulbe, Christina L. Horgan, Huw J. Robinson, Natalie J. Stewart, Craig L. Spears, Anthony Quartini, Enrica Hurwitz, Benjamin Meister, Matthew R. Mullen, Andrew D. Dichek, Daniel J. Bryson, Frances Schmidt, Britney E. 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Advances volume 9, issue 43 ISSN 2375-2548 journal-article 2023 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 2024-06-13T04:00:57Z Ocean conditions near the grounding zones of Antarctica’s ice shelves play a key role in controlling the outflow and mass balance of the ice sheet. However, ocean observations in these regions are largely absent. Here, we present a detailed spatial survey collected with an underwater vehicle in a basal crevasse located in the ocean cavity at the Ross Ice Shelf grounding zone. The observations depict fine-scale variability in ocean forcing that drives asymmetric melting along the lower crevasse sidewalls and freezing in the upper reaches of the crevasse. Freshwater release from melting at depth and salt rejection from freezing above drives an overturning circulation. This vertical circulation pattern overlays a dominant throughflow jet, which funnels water parallel to the coastline, orthogonal to the direction of tidal currents. Importantly, these data reveal that basal crevasses influence ocean circulation and mixing at ice shelf grounding zones to an extent previously unknown. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Ross Ice Shelf AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Ross Ice Shelf Science Advances 9 43 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
op_collection_id |
craaas |
language |
English |
description |
Ocean conditions near the grounding zones of Antarctica’s ice shelves play a key role in controlling the outflow and mass balance of the ice sheet. However, ocean observations in these regions are largely absent. Here, we present a detailed spatial survey collected with an underwater vehicle in a basal crevasse located in the ocean cavity at the Ross Ice Shelf grounding zone. The observations depict fine-scale variability in ocean forcing that drives asymmetric melting along the lower crevasse sidewalls and freezing in the upper reaches of the crevasse. Freshwater release from melting at depth and salt rejection from freezing above drives an overturning circulation. This vertical circulation pattern overlays a dominant throughflow jet, which funnels water parallel to the coastline, orthogonal to the direction of tidal currents. Importantly, these data reveal that basal crevasses influence ocean circulation and mixing at ice shelf grounding zones to an extent previously unknown. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Washam, Peter Lawrence, Justin D. Stevens, Craig L. Hulbe, Christina L. Horgan, Huw J. Robinson, Natalie J. Stewart, Craig L. Spears, Anthony Quartini, Enrica Hurwitz, Benjamin Meister, Matthew R. Mullen, Andrew D. Dichek, Daniel J. Bryson, Frances Schmidt, Britney E. |
spellingShingle |
Washam, Peter Lawrence, Justin D. Stevens, Craig L. Hulbe, Christina L. Horgan, Huw J. Robinson, Natalie J. Stewart, Craig L. Spears, Anthony Quartini, Enrica Hurwitz, Benjamin Meister, Matthew R. Mullen, Andrew D. Dichek, Daniel J. Bryson, Frances Schmidt, Britney E. Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
author_facet |
Washam, Peter Lawrence, Justin D. Stevens, Craig L. Hulbe, Christina L. Horgan, Huw J. Robinson, Natalie J. Stewart, Craig L. Spears, Anthony Quartini, Enrica Hurwitz, Benjamin Meister, Matthew R. Mullen, Andrew D. Dichek, Daniel J. Bryson, Frances Schmidt, Britney E. |
author_sort |
Washam, Peter |
title |
Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
title_short |
Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
title_full |
Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
title_fullStr |
Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
title_full_unstemmed |
Direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
title_sort |
direct observations of melting, freezing, and ocean circulation in an ice shelf basal crevasse |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 |
geographic |
Ross Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Ross Ice Shelf |
genre |
Antarc* Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Ross Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Ross Ice Shelf |
op_source |
Science Advances volume 9, issue 43 ISSN 2375-2548 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi7638 |
container_title |
Science Advances |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
43 |
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1802638106251231232 |