Antarctic Bottom Water Sensitivity to Spatio‐Temporal Variations in Antarctic Meltwater Fluxes

Abstract Ice sheet melting into the Southern Ocean can change the formation and properties of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Ocean models often mimic ice sheet melting by adding freshwater fluxes in the Southern Ocean under diverse spatial distributions. We use a global ocean and sea‐ice model t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Wilton Aguiar, Sang‐Ki Lee, Hosmay Lopez, Shenfu Dong, Hélène Seroussi, Dani C. Jones, Adele K. Morrison
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
Southern Ocean
Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)
Antarctic sea ice
AABW freshening
sea ice expansion
ocean model
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Antarc*
Antarctic
Ice Sheet
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101595
https://doaj.org/article/48187e4bb0b64489a24b47bb7b8d5f79
Description
Summary:Abstract Ice sheet melting into the Southern Ocean can change the formation and properties of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Ocean models often mimic ice sheet melting by adding freshwater fluxes in the Southern Ocean under diverse spatial distributions. We use a global ocean and sea‐ice model to explore whether the spatial distribution and magnitude of meltwater fluxes can alter AABW properties and formation. We find that a realistic spatially varying meltwater flux sustains AABW with higher salinities compared to simulations with uniform meltwater fluxes. Finally, we show that increases in ice sheet melting above 12% since 1958 can trigger AABW freshening rates similar to those observed in the Southern Ocean since 1990, suggesting that the increasing Antarctic meltwater discharge can drive the observed AABW freshening.

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