Brief communication: The anomalous winter 2019 sea-ice conditions in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
McMurdo Sound sea ice can generally be partitioned into two regimes: (1) a stable fast-ice cover, forming south of approximately 77.6 ∘ S around March–April and then breaking out the following January–February, and (2) a more dynamic region north of 77.6 ∘ S that the McMurdo Sound and Ross Sea polyn...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4999-2021 https://doaj.org/article/390bd65c64364cdb9ffadb3745b3b84b |
Summary: | McMurdo Sound sea ice can generally be partitioned into two regimes: (1) a stable fast-ice cover, forming south of approximately 77.6 ∘ S around March–April and then breaking out the following January–February, and (2) a more dynamic region north of 77.6 ∘ S that the McMurdo Sound and Ross Sea polynyas regularly impact. In 2019, a stable fast-ice cover formed unusually late due to repeated break-out events. We analyse the 2019 sea-ice conditions and relate them to a modified storm index (MSI), a proxy for southerly wind events. We find there is a strong correlation between the timing of break-out events and several unusually large MSI events. |
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