| Summary: | The ice shelves in the Western Antarctic have seen an increase in melt over the past decade, mainly due to basal melting induced by underlying warm, salty Circumpolar Deep Water. Seal data in the Bellingshausen Sea provides extensive hydrographic coverage, allowing insight into a westward flowing coastal current that acts to transport the meltwater. The observed coastal current enters the eastern Bellingshausen Sea from the Western Antarctic Peninsula, flowing westward along the coast to the Abbot Ice Shelf, where the fate of the current is unknown. The temperature and salinity profiles show that this coastal current has a baroclinic structure, that increases from east to west. While in the Bellingshausen Sea, the coastal current entrains meltwater from the ice shelves in the region, which increases the density grandient, increasing the westward transport of the current. The current acts as a mechanism to transport meltwater out of the Bellingshausen Sea and into the Amundsen Sea and Ross Sea, where it could impact the local melt rates and water mass formation. A Thesis submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. July 13, 2020. Antarctic Coastal Current, Bellingshausen Sea, coastal current, Western Antarctic Includes bibliographical references. Kevin Speer, Professor Directing Thesis; Allan Clarke, Committee Member; Mark Bourassa, Committee Member.
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