Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise
The ocean and the marine parts of the cryosphere interact directly with, and are affected by, the seafloor and its primary properties of depth (bathymetry) and shape (morphology) in many ways. Bottom currents are largely constrained by undersea terrain with consequences for both regional and global...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 https://doaj.org/article/02ca2eebf9e548819142d4be6d4cb53f |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:02ca2eebf9e548819142d4be6d4cb53f 2023-05-15T13:51:42+02:00 Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise Martin Jakobsson Larry A. Mayer 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 https://doaj.org/article/02ca2eebf9e548819142d4be6d4cb53f EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 https://doaj.org/article/02ca2eebf9e548819142d4be6d4cb53f Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2022) bathymetry ocean mapping Arctic Ocean Southern Ocean cryosphere sea-level rise Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 2022-12-31T11:28:06Z The ocean and the marine parts of the cryosphere interact directly with, and are affected by, the seafloor and its primary properties of depth (bathymetry) and shape (morphology) in many ways. Bottom currents are largely constrained by undersea terrain with consequences for both regional and global heat transport. Deep ocean mixing is controlled by seafloor roughness, and the bathymetry directly influences where marine outlet glaciers are susceptible to the inflow relatively warm subsurface waters - an issue of great importance for ice-sheet discharge, i.e., the loss of mass from calving and undersea melting. Mass loss from glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, is among the primary drivers of global sea-level rise, together now contributing more to sea-level rise than the thermal expansion of the ocean. Recent research suggests that the upper bounds of predicted sea-level rise by the year 2100 under the scenarios presented in IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCCC) likely are conservative because of the many unknowns regarding ice dynamics. In this paper we highlight the poorly mapped seafloor in the Polar regions as a critical knowledge gap that needs to be filled to move marine cryosphere science forward and produce improved understanding of the factors impacting ice-discharge and, with that, improved predictions of, among other things, global sea-level. We analyze the bathymetric data coverage in the Arctic Ocean specifically and use the results to discuss challenges that must be overcome to map the most remotely located areas in the Polar regions in general. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Ice Sheet Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Southern Ocean Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
bathymetry ocean mapping Arctic Ocean Southern Ocean cryosphere sea-level rise Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
bathymetry ocean mapping Arctic Ocean Southern Ocean cryosphere sea-level rise Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Martin Jakobsson Larry A. Mayer Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise |
topic_facet |
bathymetry ocean mapping Arctic Ocean Southern Ocean cryosphere sea-level rise Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The ocean and the marine parts of the cryosphere interact directly with, and are affected by, the seafloor and its primary properties of depth (bathymetry) and shape (morphology) in many ways. Bottom currents are largely constrained by undersea terrain with consequences for both regional and global heat transport. Deep ocean mixing is controlled by seafloor roughness, and the bathymetry directly influences where marine outlet glaciers are susceptible to the inflow relatively warm subsurface waters - an issue of great importance for ice-sheet discharge, i.e., the loss of mass from calving and undersea melting. Mass loss from glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, is among the primary drivers of global sea-level rise, together now contributing more to sea-level rise than the thermal expansion of the ocean. Recent research suggests that the upper bounds of predicted sea-level rise by the year 2100 under the scenarios presented in IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCCC) likely are conservative because of the many unknowns regarding ice dynamics. In this paper we highlight the poorly mapped seafloor in the Polar regions as a critical knowledge gap that needs to be filled to move marine cryosphere science forward and produce improved understanding of the factors impacting ice-discharge and, with that, improved predictions of, among other things, global sea-level. We analyze the bathymetric data coverage in the Arctic Ocean specifically and use the results to discuss challenges that must be overcome to map the most remotely located areas in the Polar regions in general. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Martin Jakobsson Larry A. Mayer |
author_facet |
Martin Jakobsson Larry A. Mayer |
author_sort |
Martin Jakobsson |
title |
Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise |
title_short |
Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise |
title_full |
Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise |
title_fullStr |
Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar Region Bathymetry: Critical Knowledge for the Prediction of Global Sea Level Rise |
title_sort |
polar region bathymetry: critical knowledge for the prediction of global sea level rise |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 https://doaj.org/article/02ca2eebf9e548819142d4be6d4cb53f |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Ice Sheet Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Ice Sheet Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 https://doaj.org/article/02ca2eebf9e548819142d4be6d4cb53f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.788724 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
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1766255725047185408 |