Genesis of the Antarctic Slope Current in West Antarctica

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Thompson, Andrew F., Speer, Kevin G., Schulze Chretien, Lena M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 2020
• Subjects: Antarctic; Bellingshausen Sea; The Antarctic; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105002/; https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105002/1/2020GL087802.pdf; https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105002/3/grl60853-sup-0001-2020gl087802-figure_si-s01.pdf; https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200818-125233247

The stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) depends on ocean heat transport toward its base and remains a source of uncertainty in sea level rise prediction. The Antarctic Slope Current (ASC), a major boundary current of the ocean's global circulation, serves as a dynamic gateway for heat transport toward Antarctica. Here, we use observations collected from the Bellingshausen Sea to propose a mechanistic explanation for the initiation of the westward‐flowing ASC. Waters modified throughout the Bellingshausen Sea by ocean‐sea‐ice and ocean‐ice‐shelf interactions are exported to the continental slope in a narrow, topographically steered western boundary current. This focused outflow produces a localized front at the shelf break that supports the emerging ASC. This mechanism emphasizes the importance of buoyancy forcing, integrated over the continental shelf, as opposed to local wind forcing, in the generation mechanism and suggests the potential for remote control of melt rates of WAIS' largest ice shelves.