ICE SHELF WATER EPISODIC OUTFLOW IN THE

• Main Authors: Ross Sea, Giorgio Budillon, Andrea Bergamasco, Stefano Aliani, Giancarlo Spezie
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Weddell Sea; Ross Sea; Weddell; Antarc*; Ice Shelf
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.562.1300; http://www.conisma.it/v convegno/ambienti oceanici e polari/02.pdf

The deep circulation in the world is driven by dense water formation at high latitudes. The Weddell Sea is thought to be the most important source but the Ross Sea seems to have a crucial relevance in the circulation of the Southern Ocean. In particular the Ross Sea is the formation site of two important shelf waters which constitute an important fraction of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW): the High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) characterized by salinity values ranging from 34.75 and 34.85 and the Ice Shelf Water (ISW) characterized by temperature below the surface freezing point.