Ice Base Slope Effects on the Turbulent Ice Shelf–Ocean Boundary Current ...
Efforts to parameterize ice shelf basal melting within climate models are limited by an incomplete understanding of the influence of ice base slope on the turbulent ice shelf-ocean boundary current (ISOBC). Here we examine the relationship between ice base slope, boundary current dynamics, and melt...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Meteorological Society
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.107991 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/367385 |
| Summary: | Efforts to parameterize ice shelf basal melting within climate models are limited by an incomplete understanding of the influence of ice base slope on the turbulent ice shelf-ocean boundary current (ISOBC). Here we examine the relationship between ice base slope, boundary current dynamics, and melt rate using 3-D, turbulence-permitting large-eddy simulations (LES) of an idealized ice shelf-ocean boundary current forced solely by melt-induced buoyancy. The range of simulated slopes (3-10%) is appropriate to the grounding zone of small Antarctic ice shelves and to the flanks of relatively wide ice base channels, and the initial conditions are representative of warm-cavity ocean conditions. In line with previous studies, the simulations feature the development of an Ekman boundary layer adjacent to the ice, overlaying a broad pycnocline. The time-averaged flow within the pycnocline is in thermal wind balance, with a mean shear that is only weakly dependent on the ice base slope angle alpha, resulting in a mean ... |
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