Antarctic sea ice : a seasonal perspective

• Main Author: Himmich, Kenza
• Other Authors: Nucleus for European Modeling of the Ocean (NEMO R&D ), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Sorbonne Université, Martin Vancoppenolle, Gurvan Madec
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Antarctic sea ice; Southern Ocean; Sea ice retreat; Sea ice advance; Seasonal cycle; Recent changes; Banquise antarctique; Océan Austral; Retrait de la banquise; Avancée de la banquise; Cycle saisonnier; Changements récents; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctique*; banquise; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://theses.hal.science/tel-04649995; https://theses.hal.science/tel-04649995/document; https://theses.hal.science/tel-04649995/file/141858_HIMMICH_2024_archivage.pdf

Antarctic sea ice has undergone an abrupt reduction in 2016, following more than four decades of a slow increase. This could have wide-ranging consequences given the importance of Antarctic sea ice for climate, ocean, and local ecosystem. Yet, climate models fail to capture this observed evolution, leaving considerable uncertainty regarding its origin, impacts and future evolution. Models failure relates, but not only, to a poor understanding of fundamental Antarctic sea ice processes. In this thesis, we contribute to progress understanding of Antarctic sea ice, adopting a seasonal perspective. We investigate the drivers of seasonal sea ice edge advance and retreat, analyzing the roles of thermodynamic preconditioning, air-ice-sea heat fluxes and sea ice dynamics. We show that, in the mean state, timings of ice edge advance and retreat are largely controlled by thermodynamics, via preconditioning from mixed layer heat content and sea ice thickness, respectively. Variations in air-ice-sea heat fluxes and sea ice dynamics have a significant but secondary importance. This conclusion is supported by a simple thermodynamic model, observational analyses and the NEMO ice-ocean model. We also show that recent changes in sea ice seasonality are mainly driven by thermodynamics, similar to the mean state. The reduction in Antarctic sea ice following 2016 coincides with nearly circumpolar earlier retreat and later advance of the ice edge. Our analysis links these changes to thinner ice in winter, faster melt in spring and warmer upper ocean in summer, in line with ice-albedo feedback processes. Based on the circumpolar footprint of these changes, we argue that they likely have an oceanic origin. La banquise antarctique a subi une réduction brutale en 2016, après plus de quatre décennies d'une lente augmentation. Une telle évolution pourrait avoir de larges conséquences, compte tenu de l'importance de la banquise antarctique pour le climat, l'océan et l'écosystème marin polaire local. Pourtant, les modèles climatiques ne ...