Modelling the sensitivity of dense shelf water formation in the Mertz Glacier region, East Antarctica ...

• Main Author: Cougnon, EA
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Australian Antarctic Basin; Australian-Antarctic Basin; East Antarctica; George V Land; Mertz Glacier; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23239319.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Modelling_the_sensitivity_of_dense_shelf_water_formation_in_the_Mertz_Glacier_region_East_Antarctica/23239319/1

Given the importance of the overturning circulation to global climate, there is a need to improve our understanding of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation and its sensitivity to change. The offshore properties of AABW are changing. Within the Australian-Antarctic basin AABW has freshened and decreased in volume by about 50% over the last few decades. Understanding what is driving these changes requires focusing on the key formation region along the Adelie and George V Land (AGVL) coast. Here, the intense production of sea ice in the Mertz Glacier Polynya system drives Dense Shelf Water (DSW) formation, the precursor to AABW. This thesis uses a version of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) that has been adapted for ocean/ice-shelf interactions to explore the sensitivity of DSW formation to surface heat and salt fluxes and ice shelf basal melting. Interannual variability in surface heat and salt fluxes drives DSW export and ice shelf basal melting variability in the AGVL region. DSW export decreases ...