Weddell Sea Control of Ocean Temperature Variability on the Western Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract Recent ice loss on the western Antarctic Peninsula has been driven by warming ocean waters on the continental shelf. However, due to the short observational record, our understanding of the dynamics and variability in this region remains poor. High‐resolution ocean model simulations show th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Adele K. Morrison, Matthew H. England, Andrew McC. Hogg, Andrew E. Kiss
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
Antarctica
variability
dense water
ocean modeling
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Bellingshausen Sea
Weddell Sea
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103018
https://doaj.org/article/57717f9100c8489c979c03a2c1f3d0b3
Description
Summary:Abstract Recent ice loss on the western Antarctic Peninsula has been driven by warming ocean waters on the continental shelf. However, due to the short observational record, our understanding of the dynamics and variability in this region remains poor. High‐resolution ocean model simulations show that the temperature variability along the western Antarctic Peninsula is controlled by the rate of dense water formation in the Weddell Sea. Passive tracer advection reveals connectivity between the Weddell Sea and the coastline of the western Antarctic Peninsula and Bellingshausen Sea. During multi‐year periods of weak Weddell dense water formation, dense overflow transport in the Weddell Sea decreases, while the transport of cold water around the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula strengthens, driving a temperature decrease of 0.4°C along the western Antarctic Peninsula. This mechanism implies that western Antarctic Peninsula coastal ocean temperature may cool in the future if Weddell Dense Shelf Water production slows down.

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