A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone
Two ensembles of buoys, deployed in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the north-eastern Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean, are analysed to characterise the dynamics driving sea ice drift and deformation during the winter-growth and the spring-retreat seasons of 2019. The results show that althou...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cc337ff53bbc40aa9fa5ee29ee9e3f88 2024-02-11T09:57:41+01:00 A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone A. Womack A. Alberello M. de Vos A. Toffoli R. Verrinder M. Vichi 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-205-2024 https://doaj.org/article/cc337ff53bbc40aa9fa5ee29ee9e3f88 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/205/2024/tc-18-205-2024.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-18-205-2024 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/cc337ff53bbc40aa9fa5ee29ee9e3f88 The Cryosphere, Vol 18, Pp 205-229 (2024) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-205-2024 2024-01-14T01:38:11Z Two ensembles of buoys, deployed in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the north-eastern Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean, are analysed to characterise the dynamics driving sea ice drift and deformation during the winter-growth and the spring-retreat seasons of 2019. The results show that although the two buoy arrays were deployed within the same region of ice-covered ocean, their trajectory patterns were vastly different. This indicates a varied response of sea ice in each season to the local winds and currents. Analyses of the winter data showed that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current modulated the drift near the sea ice edge. This led to a highly energetic and mobile ice cover, characterised by free-drift conditions. The resulting drift and deformation were primarily driven by large-scale atmospheric forcing, with negligible contributions due to the wind-forced inertial response. For this highly advective coupled ice–ocean system, ice drift and deformation linearly depended on atmospheric forcing. We also highlight the limits of commercial floating ice velocity profilers in this regime since they may bias the estimates of sea ice drift and the ice type detection. On the other hand, the spring drift was governed by the inertial response as increased air temperatures caused the ice cover to melt and break up, promoting a counterintuitively less wind-driven ice–ocean system that was more dominated by inertial oscillations. In fact, the deformation spectra indicate a strong decoupling to large-scale atmospheric forcing. Further analyses, extended to include the deformation datasets from different regions around Antarctica, indicate that, for similar spatial scales, the magnitude of deformation varies between seasons, regions, and the proximity to the sea ice edge and the coastline. This implies the need to develop rheology descriptions that are aware of the ice types in the different regions and seasons to better represent sea ice dynamics in the MIZ. 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 The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea The Cryosphere 18 1 205 229 |
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 A. Womack A. Alberello M. de Vos A. Toffoli R. Verrinder M. Vichi A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Two ensembles of buoys, deployed in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the north-eastern Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean, are analysed to characterise the dynamics driving sea ice drift and deformation during the winter-growth and the spring-retreat seasons of 2019. The results show that although the two buoy arrays were deployed within the same region of ice-covered ocean, their trajectory patterns were vastly different. This indicates a varied response of sea ice in each season to the local winds and currents. Analyses of the winter data showed that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current modulated the drift near the sea ice edge. This led to a highly energetic and mobile ice cover, characterised by free-drift conditions. The resulting drift and deformation were primarily driven by large-scale atmospheric forcing, with negligible contributions due to the wind-forced inertial response. For this highly advective coupled ice–ocean system, ice drift and deformation linearly depended on atmospheric forcing. We also highlight the limits of commercial floating ice velocity profilers in this regime since they may bias the estimates of sea ice drift and the ice type detection. On the other hand, the spring drift was governed by the inertial response as increased air temperatures caused the ice cover to melt and break up, promoting a counterintuitively less wind-driven ice–ocean system that was more dominated by inertial oscillations. In fact, the deformation spectra indicate a strong decoupling to large-scale atmospheric forcing. Further analyses, extended to include the deformation datasets from different regions around Antarctica, indicate that, for similar spatial scales, the magnitude of deformation varies between seasons, regions, and the proximity to the sea ice edge and the coastline. This implies the need to develop rheology descriptions that are aware of the ice types in the different regions and seasons to better represent sea ice dynamics in the MIZ. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Womack A. Alberello M. de Vos A. Toffoli R. Verrinder M. Vichi |
author_facet |
A. Womack A. Alberello M. de Vos A. Toffoli R. Verrinder M. Vichi |
author_sort |
A. Womack |
title |
A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone |
title_short |
A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone |
title_full |
A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone |
title_fullStr |
A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone |
title_full_unstemmed |
A contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the Antarctic marginal ice zone |
title_sort |
contrast in sea ice drift and deformation between winter and spring of 2019 in the antarctic marginal ice zone |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-205-2024 https://doaj.org/article/cc337ff53bbc40aa9fa5ee29ee9e3f88 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic 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 18, Pp 205-229 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/205/2024/tc-18-205-2024.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-18-205-2024 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/cc337ff53bbc40aa9fa5ee29ee9e3f88 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-205-2024 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
205 |
op_container_end_page |
229 |
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1790593232169598976 |