A numerical study of ocean circulation and ice-ocean interaction, beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica ...

• Main Author: Williams, MJM
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Amery; Amery Ice Shelf; East Antarctica; Prydz Bay; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Shelf
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23242856.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/A_numerical_study_of_ocean_circulation_and_ice-ocean_interaction_beneath_the_Amery_Ice_Shelf_Antarctica/23242856/1

Simulations of the ocean dynamics in the cavity under the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, were carried out using a three-dimensional numerical ocean model. The aims were as follows: first, to describe the ocean circulation, the temperature and salinity distributions, and the interaction of the ocean with the base of the ice shelf; second, to investigate the strength of the influence of the external circulation in Prydz Bay on the circulation in the ocean cavity; third, to investigate the impact of any change in climate on the dynamics of the ocean cavity and the basal mass balance of the Amery Ice Shelf. The simulations show that the circulation in the ocean cavity is predominantly horizontal and approximately follows the contours of water column thickness. It is driven by the density gradient in the cavity, which is strongly influenced by the heat and salt fluxes from melting and freezing processes at the ice-ocean interface and by the horizontal exchange of heat and salt across the open ocean boundary at ...