Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving

Variability in dense shelf water formation can potentially impact Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) production, a vital component of the global climate system. In East Antarctica, the George V Land polynya system (142-150°E) is structured by the local 'icescape', promoting sea ice formation th...

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Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Tamura, T., Williams, G. D., Fraser, A. D., Ohshima, K. I.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
452
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/49429
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820
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spelling fthokunivhus:oai:eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp:2115/49429 2023-05-15T13:42:37+02:00 Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving Tamura, T. Williams, G. D. Fraser, A. D. Ohshima, K. I. http://hdl.handle.net/2115/49429 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820 eng eng Nature Publishing Group http://hdl.handle.net/2115/49429 Nature Communications, 3: 826 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ CC-BY-NC-SA 452 article fthokunivhus https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820 2022-11-18T01:02:25Z Variability in dense shelf water formation can potentially impact Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) production, a vital component of the global climate system. In East Antarctica, the George V Land polynya system (142-150°E) is structured by the local 'icescape', promoting sea ice formation that is driven by the offshore wind regime. Here we present the first observations of this region after the repositioning of a large iceberg (B9B) precipitated the calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue in 2010. Using satellite data, we find that the total sea ice production for the region in 2010 and 2011 was 144 and 134 km3, respectively, representing a 14-20% decrease from a value of 168 km3 averaged from 2000-2009. This abrupt change to the regional icescape could result in decreased polynya activity, sea ice production, and ultimately the dense shelf water export and AABW production from this region for the coming decades. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica George V Land Iceberg* Mertz Glacier Sea ice Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers (HUSCAP) Antarctic East Antarctica George V Land ENVELOPE(148.000,148.000,-68.500,-68.500) Mertz Glacier ENVELOPE(144.500,144.500,-67.667,-67.667) Mertz Glacier Tongue ENVELOPE(145.500,145.500,-67.167,-67.167) Nature Communications 3 1
institution Open Polar
collection Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers (HUSCAP)
op_collection_id fthokunivhus
language English
topic 452
spellingShingle 452
Tamura, T.
Williams, G. D.
Fraser, A. D.
Ohshima, K. I.
Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
topic_facet 452
description Variability in dense shelf water formation can potentially impact Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) production, a vital component of the global climate system. In East Antarctica, the George V Land polynya system (142-150°E) is structured by the local 'icescape', promoting sea ice formation that is driven by the offshore wind regime. Here we present the first observations of this region after the repositioning of a large iceberg (B9B) precipitated the calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue in 2010. Using satellite data, we find that the total sea ice production for the region in 2010 and 2011 was 144 and 134 km3, respectively, representing a 14-20% decrease from a value of 168 km3 averaged from 2000-2009. This abrupt change to the regional icescape could result in decreased polynya activity, sea ice production, and ultimately the dense shelf water export and AABW production from this region for the coming decades.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Tamura, T.
Williams, G. D.
Fraser, A. D.
Ohshima, K. I.
author_facet Tamura, T.
Williams, G. D.
Fraser, A. D.
Ohshima, K. I.
author_sort Tamura, T.
title Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
title_short Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
title_full Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
title_fullStr Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
title_full_unstemmed Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
title_sort potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the mertz glacier calving
publisher Nature Publishing Group
url http://hdl.handle.net/2115/49429
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820
long_lat ENVELOPE(148.000,148.000,-68.500,-68.500)
ENVELOPE(144.500,144.500,-67.667,-67.667)
ENVELOPE(145.500,145.500,-67.167,-67.167)
geographic Antarctic
East Antarctica
George V Land
Mertz Glacier
Mertz Glacier Tongue
geographic_facet Antarctic
East Antarctica
George V Land
Mertz Glacier
Mertz Glacier Tongue
genre Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
East Antarctica
George V Land
Iceberg*
Mertz Glacier
Sea ice
genre_facet Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
East Antarctica
George V Land
Iceberg*
Mertz Glacier
Sea ice
op_relation http://hdl.handle.net/2115/49429
Nature Communications, 3: 826
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820
op_rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
op_rightsnorm CC-BY-NC-SA
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1820
container_title Nature Communications
container_volume 3
container_issue 1
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