Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics
Recent observations and modelling studies have demonstrated the potential for rapid and substantial retreat of large sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). This has major implications for ocean circulation and global sea level. Here we examine the effects of increasing meltwater from the Wi...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc51246 2023-05-15T13:54:27+02:00 Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics Phipps, Steven J. Fogwill, Christopher J. Turney, Christian S. M. 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2317-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2317/2016/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-10-2317-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2317/2016/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2317-2016 2020-07-20T16:23:58Z Recent observations and modelling studies have demonstrated the potential for rapid and substantial retreat of large sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). This has major implications for ocean circulation and global sea level. Here we examine the effects of increasing meltwater from the Wilkes Basin, one of the major marine-based sectors of the EAIS, on Southern Ocean dynamics. Climate model simulations reveal that the meltwater flux rapidly stratifies surface waters, leading to a dramatic decrease in the rate of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation. The surface ocean cools but, critically, the Southern Ocean warms by more than 1 °C at depth. This warming is accompanied by a Southern Ocean-wide “domino effect”, whereby the warming signal propagates westward with depth. Our results suggest that melting of one sector of the EAIS could result in accelerated warming across other sectors, including the Weddell Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Thus, localised melting of the EAIS could potentially destabilise the wider Antarctic Ice Sheet. Text Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet The Cryosphere 10 5 2317 2328 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
Recent observations and modelling studies have demonstrated the potential for rapid and substantial retreat of large sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). This has major implications for ocean circulation and global sea level. Here we examine the effects of increasing meltwater from the Wilkes Basin, one of the major marine-based sectors of the EAIS, on Southern Ocean dynamics. Climate model simulations reveal that the meltwater flux rapidly stratifies surface waters, leading to a dramatic decrease in the rate of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation. The surface ocean cools but, critically, the Southern Ocean warms by more than 1 °C at depth. This warming is accompanied by a Southern Ocean-wide “domino effect”, whereby the warming signal propagates westward with depth. Our results suggest that melting of one sector of the EAIS could result in accelerated warming across other sectors, including the Weddell Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Thus, localised melting of the EAIS could potentially destabilise the wider Antarctic Ice Sheet. |
format |
Text |
author |
Phipps, Steven J. Fogwill, Christopher J. Turney, Christian S. M. |
spellingShingle |
Phipps, Steven J. Fogwill, Christopher J. Turney, Christian S. M. Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics |
author_facet |
Phipps, Steven J. Fogwill, Christopher J. Turney, Christian S. M. |
author_sort |
Phipps, Steven J. |
title |
Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics |
title_short |
Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics |
title_full |
Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics |
title_sort |
impacts of marine instability across the east antarctic ice sheet on southern ocean dynamics |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2317-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2317/2016/ |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-10-2317-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2317/2016/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2317-2016 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
2317 |
op_container_end_page |
2328 |
_version_ |
1766260334042021888 |