Modelling Ice-Shelf/Ocean Interaction ...

• Main Author: Galton-Fenzi, Benjamin
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Physical oceanography; Amery; Amery Ice Shelf; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23225477; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Modelling_Ice-Shelf_Ocean_Interaction/23225477

The effect of climate change on the mass balance of ice shelves and bottom water formation is investigated using a terrain-following three-dimensional numerical ocean model. The Regional Ocean Modeling System was modified to simulate the thermodynamic processes beneath ice shelves, including direct basal processes and frazil ice dynamics. Process-orientated studies of simplified ice-shelf-ocean cavities investigate the sensitivity of the melting/freezing to the various parametrisations which describe the internal physics of the models. The Amery Ice Shelf/ocean model is forced with tides, seasonal winds and relaxation to seasonal lateral boundary climatologies. The open ocean surface fluxes are modified by an imposed climatological sea-ice cover that includes the seasonal effect of polynyas. The circulation and basal melting and freezing show good agreement with glaciological and oceanographic observations that have been collected from beneath the Amery Ice Shelf via boreholes through the ice and in the ...