Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast
West Antarctic ice shelves have thinned dramatically over recent decades. Oceanographic measurements that explore connections between offshore warming and transport across a continental shelf with variable bathymetry toward ice shelves are needed to constrain future changes in melt rates. Six years...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/1/Zhang_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141.d001 |
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:41196 2024-09-15T17:41:09+00:00 Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast Zhang, Xiyue Thompson, Andrew F. Flexas, Mar M. Roquet, Fabien Bornemann, Horst 2016-06-01 application/pdf https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/1/Zhang_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141.d001 unknown https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/1/Zhang_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141.d001 Zhang, X. , Thompson, A. F. , Flexas, M. M. , Roquet, F. and Bornemann, H. (2016) Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast , Geophysical Research Letters, 43 , pp. 1-8 . doi:10.1002/2016GL068998 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998> , hdl:10013/epic.48141 EPIC3Geophysical Research Letters, 43, pp. 1-8, ISSN: 00948276 Article isiRev 2016 ftawi https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998 2024-06-24T04:14:20Z West Antarctic ice shelves have thinned dramatically over recent decades. Oceanographic measurements that explore connections between offshore warming and transport across a continental shelf with variable bathymetry toward ice shelves are needed to constrain future changes in melt rates. Six years of seal-acquired observations provide extensive hydrographic coverage in the Bellingshausen Sea, where ship-based measurements are scarce. Warm but modified Circumpolar Deep Water floods the shelf and establishes a cyclonic circulation within the Belgica Trough with flow extending toward the coast along the eastern boundaries and returning to the shelf break along western boundaries. These boundary currents are the primary water mass pathways that carry heat toward the coast and advect ice shelf meltwater offshore. The modified Circumpolar Deep Water and meltwater mixtures shoal and thin as they approach the continental slope before flowing westward at the shelf break, suggesting the presence of the Antarctic Slope Current. Constraining meltwater pathways is a key step in monitoring the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) Geophysical Research Letters 43 12 6402 6409 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
op_collection_id |
ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
West Antarctic ice shelves have thinned dramatically over recent decades. Oceanographic measurements that explore connections between offshore warming and transport across a continental shelf with variable bathymetry toward ice shelves are needed to constrain future changes in melt rates. Six years of seal-acquired observations provide extensive hydrographic coverage in the Bellingshausen Sea, where ship-based measurements are scarce. Warm but modified Circumpolar Deep Water floods the shelf and establishes a cyclonic circulation within the Belgica Trough with flow extending toward the coast along the eastern boundaries and returning to the shelf break along western boundaries. These boundary currents are the primary water mass pathways that carry heat toward the coast and advect ice shelf meltwater offshore. The modified Circumpolar Deep Water and meltwater mixtures shoal and thin as they approach the continental slope before flowing westward at the shelf break, suggesting the presence of the Antarctic Slope Current. Constraining meltwater pathways is a key step in monitoring the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zhang, Xiyue Thompson, Andrew F. Flexas, Mar M. Roquet, Fabien Bornemann, Horst |
spellingShingle |
Zhang, Xiyue Thompson, Andrew F. Flexas, Mar M. Roquet, Fabien Bornemann, Horst Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast |
author_facet |
Zhang, Xiyue Thompson, Andrew F. Flexas, Mar M. Roquet, Fabien Bornemann, Horst |
author_sort |
Zhang, Xiyue |
title |
Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast |
title_short |
Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast |
title_full |
Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast |
title_fullStr |
Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast |
title_full_unstemmed |
Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast |
title_sort |
circulation and meltwater distribution in the bellingshausen sea: from shelf break to coast |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/1/Zhang_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141.d001 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_source |
EPIC3Geophysical Research Letters, 43, pp. 1-8, ISSN: 00948276 |
op_relation |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41196/1/Zhang_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48141.d001 Zhang, X. , Thompson, A. F. , Flexas, M. M. , Roquet, F. and Bornemann, H. (2016) Circulation and meltwater distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea: From shelf break to coast , Geophysical Research Letters, 43 , pp. 1-8 . doi:10.1002/2016GL068998 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998> , hdl:10013/epic.48141 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068998 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
6402 |
op_container_end_page |
6409 |
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1810487274550329344 |