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 run-off from ice sheets, supplies fresh buoyant water to a circulation feature near the coast, the Antarctic Coastal Current (AACC). The form...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tcd92793 2023-05-15T12:58:35+02:00 The Antarctic Coastal Current in the Bellingshausen Sea Schubert, Ryan Thompson, Andrew F. Speer, Kevin Schulze Chretien, Lena Bebieva, Yana 2021-02-19 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-43 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2021-43/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-2021-43 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2021-43/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2021 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-43 2021-02-22T17:22:14Z The ice shelves of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet experience basal melting induced by underlying warm, salty Circumpolar Deep Water. Basal meltwater, along with run-off 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, flows westward along the face of multiple ice shelves, including the westernmost Abbot Ice Shelf. The presence of the AACC in the western Bellingshausen 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 basal melt rates and bottom water formation. Text Abbot Ice Shelf Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bellingshausen Sea Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Bellingshausen Sea Abbot Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-96.000,-96.000,-72.750,-72.750) |
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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 run-off 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, flows westward along the face of multiple ice shelves, including the westernmost Abbot Ice Shelf. The presence of the AACC in the western Bellingshausen 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 basal melt rates and bottom water formation. |
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-2021-43 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2021-43/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-96.000,-96.000,-72.750,-72.750) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Bellingshausen Sea Abbot Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Bellingshausen Sea Abbot Ice Shelf |
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-2021-43 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2021-43/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-43 |
_version_ |
1766356182986915840 |