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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: G. H. Leonard, K. E. Turner, M. E. Richter, M. S. Whittaker, I. J. Smith
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2021
Subjects:
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Geology
QE1-996.5
McMurdo Sound
Ross Sea
Antarc*
Antarctica
Sea ice
The Cryosphere
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4999-2021
https://doaj.org/article/390bd65c64364cdb9ffadb3745b3b84b
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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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