The Influence of the Zonal Wave Three on Antarctic Sea Ice during the Ice Advance Season

• Main Author: Khan, Hana Mariam
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship, University of California 2015
• Subjects: Atmospheric sciences; Antarctic sea ice; sea ice variability; zonal wave three; Amery; Amery Ice Shelf; Antarctic; Ross Sea; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*; Ice Shelf; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/0rg7r1zc; http://n2t.net/ark:/13030/m53f7jm4

This study examines the influence of an atmospheric circulation pattern, known as the zonal wave three (ZW3), in terms of the sea ice’s seasons from 1979-2009 in order to better understand the response of the sea ice. An index to represent the amplitude of the ZW3 was calculated using zonal anomalies of 850 hPa geopotential heights taken from the ERA-Interim data set. Statistical analysis showed sea ice concentrations, taken from the Hadley sea ice and sea surface temperature data set, to be significantly dependent upon the ZW3 in parts of the Ross Sea, the ice edge in the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Seas and off the Amery ice shelf during the ice advance season. The results suggest that the ZW3 plays a role in the occurrence of the observed sea ice trends in the Ross Sea, Amundsen-Bellingshausen Seas, Weddell Sea and off the Amery ice shelf regions during the ice advance season, the critical period for sea ice growth.