Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model
Antarctic coastal polynyas produce dense shelf water, a primary source of Antarctic Bottom Water that contributes to the global overturning circulation. This paper investigates Antarctic dense water formation in the high-resolution version of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM-HR). The mod...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 https://doaj.org/article/26ad41fcb09141149dca7bb73ea24999 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:26ad41fcb09141149dca7bb73ea24999 2023-07-30T03:58:59+02:00 Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model H. Jeong A. K. Turner A. F. Roberts M. Veneziani S. F. Price X. S. Asay-Davis L. P. Van Roekel W. Lin P. M. Caldwell H.-S. Park J. D. Wolfe A. Mametjanov 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 https://doaj.org/article/26ad41fcb09141149dca7bb73ea24999 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/2681/2023/tc-17-2681-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/26ad41fcb09141149dca7bb73ea24999 The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 2681-2700 (2023) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 2023-07-16T00:37:31Z Antarctic coastal polynyas produce dense shelf water, a primary source of Antarctic Bottom Water that contributes to the global overturning circulation. This paper investigates Antarctic dense water formation in the high-resolution version of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM-HR). The model is able to reproduce the main Antarctic coastal polynyas, although the polynyas are smaller in area compared to observations. E3SM-HR also simulates several occurrences of open-ocean polynyas (OOPs) in the Weddell Sea at a higher rate than what the last 50 years of the satellite sea ice observational record suggests, but similarly to other high-resolution Earth system model simulations. Furthermore, the densest water masses in the model are formed within the OOPs rather than on the continental shelf as is typically observed. Biases related to the lack of dense water formation on the continental shelf are associated with overly strong atmospheric polar easterlies, which lead to a strong Antarctic Slope Front and too little exchange between on- and off-continental shelf water masses. Strong polar easterlies also produce excessive southward Ekman transport, causing a build-up of sea ice over the continental shelf and enhanced ice melting in the summer season. This, in turn, produces water masses on the continental shelf that are overly fresh and less dense relative to observations. Our results indicate that high resolution alone is insufficient for models to properly reproduce Antarctic dense water; the large-scale polar atmospheric circulation around Antarctica must also be accurately simulated. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Southern Ocean The Cryosphere Weddell Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea The Cryosphere 17 7 2681 2700 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 H. Jeong A. K. Turner A. F. Roberts M. Veneziani S. F. Price X. S. Asay-Davis L. P. Van Roekel W. Lin P. M. Caldwell H.-S. Park J. D. Wolfe A. Mametjanov Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Antarctic coastal polynyas produce dense shelf water, a primary source of Antarctic Bottom Water that contributes to the global overturning circulation. This paper investigates Antarctic dense water formation in the high-resolution version of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM-HR). The model is able to reproduce the main Antarctic coastal polynyas, although the polynyas are smaller in area compared to observations. E3SM-HR also simulates several occurrences of open-ocean polynyas (OOPs) in the Weddell Sea at a higher rate than what the last 50 years of the satellite sea ice observational record suggests, but similarly to other high-resolution Earth system model simulations. Furthermore, the densest water masses in the model are formed within the OOPs rather than on the continental shelf as is typically observed. Biases related to the lack of dense water formation on the continental shelf are associated with overly strong atmospheric polar easterlies, which lead to a strong Antarctic Slope Front and too little exchange between on- and off-continental shelf water masses. Strong polar easterlies also produce excessive southward Ekman transport, causing a build-up of sea ice over the continental shelf and enhanced ice melting in the summer season. This, in turn, produces water masses on the continental shelf that are overly fresh and less dense relative to observations. Our results indicate that high resolution alone is insufficient for models to properly reproduce Antarctic dense water; the large-scale polar atmospheric circulation around Antarctica must also be accurately simulated. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
H. Jeong A. K. Turner A. F. Roberts M. Veneziani S. F. Price X. S. Asay-Davis L. P. Van Roekel W. Lin P. M. Caldwell H.-S. Park J. D. Wolfe A. Mametjanov |
author_facet |
H. Jeong A. K. Turner A. F. Roberts M. Veneziani S. F. Price X. S. Asay-Davis L. P. Van Roekel W. Lin P. M. Caldwell H.-S. Park J. D. Wolfe A. Mametjanov |
author_sort |
H. Jeong |
title |
Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model |
title_short |
Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model |
title_full |
Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model |
title_fullStr |
Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Southern Ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled Earth system model |
title_sort |
southern ocean polynyas and dense water formation in a high-resolution, coupled earth system model |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 https://doaj.org/article/26ad41fcb09141149dca7bb73ea24999 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Southern Ocean The Cryosphere Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Southern Ocean The Cryosphere Weddell Sea |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 2681-2700 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/2681/2023/tc-17-2681-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/26ad41fcb09141149dca7bb73ea24999 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2681-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
2681 |
op_container_end_page |
2700 |
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1772809706091315200 |