Ice Base Slope Effects on the Turbulent Ice Shelf–Ocean Boundary Current ...

• Main Authors: Anselin, Josephine, Taylor, John, Holland, Paul, Jenkins, Adrian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Meteorological Society 2024
• Subjects: 3708 Oceanography; 3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience; 37 Earth Sciences; 40 Engineering; 4012 Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering; 13 Climate Action; 14 Life Below Water; Antarc*; Antarctic; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.107991; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/367385

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 ...