Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting
Elevated ice shelf melt rates in West Antarctica have been attributed to transport of warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto the continental shelf via bathymetric troughs. These inflows are supplied by an eastward, subsurface slope current (referred to as the Antarctic Slope Undercurrent) that oppos...
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craaas:10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 2024-06-09T07:39:34+00:00 Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting Si, Yidongfang Stewart, Andrew L. Silvano, Alessandro Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Advances volume 10, issue 16 ISSN 2375-2548 journal-article 2024 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 2024-05-16T12:54:30Z Elevated ice shelf melt rates in West Antarctica have been attributed to transport of warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto the continental shelf via bathymetric troughs. These inflows are supplied by an eastward, subsurface slope current (referred to as the Antarctic Slope Undercurrent) that opposes the westward momentum input from local winds and tides. Despite its importance to basal melt, the mechanism via which the undercurrent forms, and thus what controls the shoreward heat transport, remains unclear. In this study, the dynamics of the undercurrent are investigated using high-resolution process-oriented simulations with coupled ocean, sea ice, and ice shelf components. It is shown that the bathymetric steering of the undercurrent toward the ice shelf is driven by upwelling of meltwater within the ice shelf cavity. Increased basal melt therefore strengthens the undercurrent and enhances onshore CDW transport, which indicates a positive feedback that may accelerate future melt of ice shelves, potentially further destabilizing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Sea ice West Antarctica AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Antarctic The Antarctic West Antarctica West Antarctic Ice Sheet Science Advances 10 16 |
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Open Polar |
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AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
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craaas |
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English |
description |
Elevated ice shelf melt rates in West Antarctica have been attributed to transport of warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto the continental shelf via bathymetric troughs. These inflows are supplied by an eastward, subsurface slope current (referred to as the Antarctic Slope Undercurrent) that opposes the westward momentum input from local winds and tides. Despite its importance to basal melt, the mechanism via which the undercurrent forms, and thus what controls the shoreward heat transport, remains unclear. In this study, the dynamics of the undercurrent are investigated using high-resolution process-oriented simulations with coupled ocean, sea ice, and ice shelf components. It is shown that the bathymetric steering of the undercurrent toward the ice shelf is driven by upwelling of meltwater within the ice shelf cavity. Increased basal melt therefore strengthens the undercurrent and enhances onshore CDW transport, which indicates a positive feedback that may accelerate future melt of ice shelves, potentially further destabilizing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Si, Yidongfang Stewart, Andrew L. Silvano, Alessandro Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. |
spellingShingle |
Si, Yidongfang Stewart, Andrew L. Silvano, Alessandro Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
author_facet |
Si, Yidongfang Stewart, Andrew L. Silvano, Alessandro Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. |
author_sort |
Si, Yidongfang |
title |
Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
title_short |
Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
title_full |
Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic Slope Undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
title_sort |
antarctic slope undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic West Antarctica West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic West Antarctica West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Sea ice West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Sea ice West Antarctica |
op_source |
Science Advances volume 10, issue 16 ISSN 2375-2548 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0601 |
container_title |
Science Advances |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
16 |
_version_ |
1801380409970262016 |