Variability of Inflowing Current Into the Dotson Ice Shelf and Its Cause in the Amundsen Sea

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Heewon Yang, Tae‐Wan Kim, Yeonggi Kim, Jaeill Yoo, Jisoo Park, Yang‐Ki Cho
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2024
• Subjects: Amundsen Sea; Dotson Ice Shelf; Circumpolar Deep Water; ocean surface stress curl; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Ice Shelf
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105404; https://doaj.org/article/229c8b9ea3bf4beba6aa221f7f7fbee6

Abstract The inflow of warm and salty Circumpolar Deep Water affects the melting of the ice shelf on the Amundsen Sea, a significant contributor to global sea level rise. Multi‐year mooring data (2014–2016 and 2018–2020) from the front of the Dotson Ice Shelf show the modified Circumpolar Deep Water layer was thicker during 2018–2020 than during 2014–2016. During 2014–2016, Ocean surface stress curl influenced the barotropic process and strengthened southward velocity, while during 2018–2020, it caused lift and downwelling of thermocline depth, increasing the impact of the baroclinic process in ocean circulation. The heat transport to the ice shelf during 2018–2020 (57.42 MW m−1) was half as much as it was during 2014–2016 (111.06 MW m−1) due to a weaker lower layer current. The difference in ocean circulation between two periods, caused by a difference in warm layer thickness, ultimately impacts the heat transport entering the ice shelf cavity.