Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation
The exchange of water masses across the Antarctic continental shelf break regulates the export of dense shelf waters to depth as well as the transport of warm, mid-depth waters towards ice shelves and glacial grounding lines1. The penetration of the warmer mid-depth waters past the shelf break has b...
Published in: | Nature Geoscience |
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Language: | English |
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Nature Publishing Group
2014
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Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/1/ngeo2289-s1.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/2/ngeo2289.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289 |
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:25840 2023-05-15T14:01:59+02:00 Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation Thompson, Andrew Heywood, Karen Schmidtko, Sunke Stewart, Andrew 2014-11-10 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/1/ngeo2289-s1.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/2/ngeo2289.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289 en eng Nature Publishing Group https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/1/ngeo2289-s1.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/2/ngeo2289.pdf Thompson, A., Heywood, K., Schmidtko, S. and Stewart, A. (2014) Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation. Nature Geoscience, 7 . pp. 879-884. DOI 10.1038/ngeo2289 <https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289>. doi:10.1038/ngeo2289 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Article PeerReviewed 2014 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289 2023-04-07T15:14:53Z The exchange of water masses across the Antarctic continental shelf break regulates the export of dense shelf waters to depth as well as the transport of warm, mid-depth waters towards ice shelves and glacial grounding lines1. The penetration of the warmer mid-depth waters past the shelf break has been implicated in the pronounced loss of ice shelf mass over much of west Antarctica2, 3, 4. In high-resolution, regional circulation models, the Antarctic shelf break hosts an energetic mesoscale eddy field5, 6, but observations that capture this mesoscale variability have been limited. Here we show, using hydrographic data collected from ocean gliders, that eddy-induced transport is a primary contributor to mass and property fluxes across the slope. Measurements along ten cross-shelf hydrographic sections show a complex velocity structure and a stratification consistent with an onshore eddy mass flux. We show that the eddy transport and the surface wind-driven transport make comparable contributions to the total overturning circulation. Eddy-induced transport is concentrated in the warm, intermediate layers away from frictional boundaries. We conclude that understanding mesoscale dynamics will be critical for constraining circumpolar heat fluxes and future rates of retreat of Antarctic ice shelves. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelf Ice Shelves OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Antarctic The Antarctic Nature Geoscience 7 12 879 884 |
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OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
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ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
The exchange of water masses across the Antarctic continental shelf break regulates the export of dense shelf waters to depth as well as the transport of warm, mid-depth waters towards ice shelves and glacial grounding lines1. The penetration of the warmer mid-depth waters past the shelf break has been implicated in the pronounced loss of ice shelf mass over much of west Antarctica2, 3, 4. In high-resolution, regional circulation models, the Antarctic shelf break hosts an energetic mesoscale eddy field5, 6, but observations that capture this mesoscale variability have been limited. Here we show, using hydrographic data collected from ocean gliders, that eddy-induced transport is a primary contributor to mass and property fluxes across the slope. Measurements along ten cross-shelf hydrographic sections show a complex velocity structure and a stratification consistent with an onshore eddy mass flux. We show that the eddy transport and the surface wind-driven transport make comparable contributions to the total overturning circulation. Eddy-induced transport is concentrated in the warm, intermediate layers away from frictional boundaries. We conclude that understanding mesoscale dynamics will be critical for constraining circumpolar heat fluxes and future rates of retreat of Antarctic ice shelves. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thompson, Andrew Heywood, Karen Schmidtko, Sunke Stewart, Andrew |
spellingShingle |
Thompson, Andrew Heywood, Karen Schmidtko, Sunke Stewart, Andrew Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation |
author_facet |
Thompson, Andrew Heywood, Karen Schmidtko, Sunke Stewart, Andrew |
author_sort |
Thompson, Andrew |
title |
Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation |
title_short |
Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation |
title_full |
Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation |
title_fullStr |
Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation |
title_sort |
eddy transport as a key component of the antarctic overturning circulation |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/1/ngeo2289-s1.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/2/ngeo2289.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/1/ngeo2289-s1.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25840/2/ngeo2289.pdf Thompson, A., Heywood, K., Schmidtko, S. and Stewart, A. (2014) Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation. Nature Geoscience, 7 . pp. 879-884. DOI 10.1038/ngeo2289 <https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289>. doi:10.1038/ngeo2289 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
879 |
op_container_end_page |
884 |
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1766272046639087616 |