The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea
The ice shelves of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet experience basal melting induced by underlying warm, salty Circumpolar Deep Water. Basal meltwater, along with runoff from ice sheets, supplies fresh buoyant water to a circulation feature near the coast, the Antarctic Coastal Current (AACC). The forma...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc92793 2023-05-15T12:58:36+02:00 The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea Schubert, Ryan Thompson, Andrew F. Speer, Kevin Schulze Chretien, Lena Bebieva, Yana 2021-09-01 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4179-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4179/2021/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-15-4179-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4179/2021/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2021 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4179-2021 2021-09-06T16:22:29Z The ice shelves of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet experience basal melting induced by underlying warm, salty Circumpolar Deep Water. Basal meltwater, along with runoff from ice sheets, supplies fresh buoyant water to a circulation feature near the coast, the Antarctic Coastal Current (AACC). The formation, structure, and coherence of the AACC has been well documented along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Observations from instrumented seals collected in the Bellingshausen Sea offer extensive hydrographic coverage throughout the year, providing evidence of the continuation of the westward flowing AACC from the WAP towards the Amundsen Sea. The observations reported here demonstrate that the coastal boundary current enters the eastern Bellingshausen Sea from the WAP and flows westward along the face of multiple ice shelves, including the westernmost Abbot Ice Shelf. The presence of the AACC in the western Bellingshausen Sea has implications for the export of water properties into the eastern Amundsen Sea, which we suggest may occur through multiple pathways, either along the coast or along the continental shelf break. The temperature, salinity, and density structure of the current indicates an increase in baroclinic transport as the AACC flows from the east to the west, and as it entrains meltwater from the ice shelves in the Bellingshausen Sea. The AACC acts as a mechanism to transport meltwater out of the Bellingshausen Sea and into the Amundsen and Ross seas, with the potential to impact, respectively, basal melt rates and bottom water formation in these regions. Text Abbot Ice Shelf Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Abbot Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-96.000,-96.000,-72.750,-72.750) Amundsen Sea Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea The Antarctic West Antarctic Ice Sheet The Cryosphere 15 9 4179 4199 |
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Open Polar |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
The ice shelves of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet experience basal melting induced by underlying warm, salty Circumpolar Deep Water. Basal meltwater, along with runoff from ice sheets, supplies fresh buoyant water to a circulation feature near the coast, the Antarctic Coastal Current (AACC). The formation, structure, and coherence of the AACC has been well documented along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Observations from instrumented seals collected in the Bellingshausen Sea offer extensive hydrographic coverage throughout the year, providing evidence of the continuation of the westward flowing AACC from the WAP towards the Amundsen Sea. The observations reported here demonstrate that the coastal boundary current enters the eastern Bellingshausen Sea from the WAP and flows westward along the face of multiple ice shelves, including the westernmost Abbot Ice Shelf. The presence of the AACC in the western Bellingshausen Sea has implications for the export of water properties into the eastern Amundsen Sea, which we suggest may occur through multiple pathways, either along the coast or along the continental shelf break. The temperature, salinity, and density structure of the current indicates an increase in baroclinic transport as the AACC flows from the east to the west, and as it entrains meltwater from the ice shelves in the Bellingshausen Sea. The AACC acts as a mechanism to transport meltwater out of the Bellingshausen Sea and into the Amundsen and Ross seas, with the potential to impact, respectively, basal melt rates and bottom water formation in these regions. |
format |
Text |
author |
Schubert, Ryan Thompson, Andrew F. Speer, Kevin Schulze Chretien, Lena Bebieva, Yana |
spellingShingle |
Schubert, Ryan Thompson, Andrew F. Speer, Kevin Schulze Chretien, Lena Bebieva, Yana The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea |
author_facet |
Schubert, Ryan Thompson, Andrew F. Speer, Kevin Schulze Chretien, Lena Bebieva, Yana |
author_sort |
Schubert, Ryan |
title |
The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea |
title_short |
The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea |
title_full |
The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea |
title_fullStr |
The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea |
title_sort |
antarctic coastal current in the bellingshausen sea |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4179-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4179/2021/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-96.000,-96.000,-72.750,-72.750) |
geographic |
Abbot Ice Shelf Amundsen Sea Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea The Antarctic West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
geographic_facet |
Abbot Ice Shelf Amundsen Sea Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea The Antarctic West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre |
Abbot Ice Shelf Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Abbot Ice Shelf Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-15-4179-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4179/2021/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4179-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
4179 |
op_container_end_page |
4199 |
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1766365900638781440 |