On the freshening of the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf

12 páginas, 10 figuras, 2 tablas. We analyzed hydrographic data from the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf of the three austral winters 1989, 1997, and 2006 and two summers following the last winter cruise. During summer a thermal front exists at ~64° S separating cold southern waters from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ocean Science
Main Authors: Hellmer, Hartmut H., Huhn, Oliver, Gomis, Damià, Timmermann, Ralph
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: European Geosciences Union 2011
Subjects:
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Austral
Bransfield Strait
Central Basin
The Antarctic
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Ice Shelves
Sea ice
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/46950
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-7-305-2011
Description
Summary:12 páginas, 10 figuras, 2 tablas. We analyzed hydrographic data from the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf of the three austral winters 1989, 1997, and 2006 and two summers following the last winter cruise. During summer a thermal front exists at ~64° S separating cold southern waters from warm northern waters that have similar characteristics as the deep waters of the central basin of the Bransfield Strait. In winter, the whole continental shelf exhibits southern characteristics with high Neon (Ne) concentrations, indicating a significant input of glacial melt water. The comparison of the winter data from the shallow shelf off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, spanning a period of 17 yr, shows a salinity decrease of 0.09 for the whole water column, which has a residence time of <1 yr. We interpret this freshening as being caused by a combination of reduced salt input due to a southward sea ice retreat and higher precipitation during the late 20th century on the western Weddell Sea continental shelf. However, less salinification might also result from a delicate interplay between enhanced salt input due to sea ice formation in coastal areas formerly occupied by Larsen A and B ice shelves and increased Larsen C ice loss. Una parte de la financiación de esta investigación se debe a los proyectos ATOS (POL2006-00550/CTM) y ESASSI (POL2006-11139-C02-01/CGL), subvencionados por el Subprograma de Investigación Polar del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y el por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional de la Unión Europea. Peer reviewed

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