Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea
Seasonal formation of Dense Shelf Water (DSW) in the Ross Sea is a direct precursor to Antarctic Bottom Water, which fills the deep ocean with atmospheric gases in what composes the southern limb of the solubility pump. Measurements of seawater noble gas concentrations during katabatic wind events i...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
ODU Digital Commons
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/486 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019322 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/oeas_fac_pubs/article/1497/viewcontent/Sedwick_2023_SeaIceFormationGlacialMeltandtheOCR.pdf |
id |
ftolddominionuni:oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:oeas_fac_pubs-1497 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftolddominionuni:oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:oeas_fac_pubs-1497 2023-12-10T09:42:12+01:00 Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea Loose, Brice Stammerjohn, Sharon Sedwick, Peter Ackley, Stephen 2023-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/486 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019322 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/oeas_fac_pubs/article/1497/viewcontent/Sedwick_2023_SeaIceFormationGlacialMeltandtheOCR.pdf unknown ODU Digital Commons https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/486 doi:10.1029/2022JC019322 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/oeas_fac_pubs/article/1497/viewcontent/Sedwick_2023_SeaIceFormationGlacialMeltandtheOCR.pdf © 2023 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License , which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. OES Faculty Publications Air bubbles Air/sea exchange Antarctic bottom water Argon Atmospheric gases Bottom water Boundary conditions Carbon dioxide Climate change Cryopumping Deep sea Dense shelf water Dense water Evaporation Frazil ice Gas exchange Gases Glacier melting Glaciers Heat loss Helium Ice formation Ice melting Katabatic winds Krypton Meltwater Neon Noble gases Ocean surface Oceans Oxygen Polynya Polynyas Rare gases Sea ice Sea ice formation Sea ice types Seawater Slurries Solubility Solubility pump Uptake Ventilation Wind Winds Xenon Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Oceanography Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology article 2023 ftolddominionuni https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019322 2023-11-13T19:09:43Z Seasonal formation of Dense Shelf Water (DSW) in the Ross Sea is a direct precursor to Antarctic Bottom Water, which fills the deep ocean with atmospheric gases in what composes the southern limb of the solubility pump. Measurements of seawater noble gas concentrations during katabatic wind events in two Ross Sea polynyas reveal the physical processes that determine the boundary value properties for DSW. This decomposition reveals 5–6 g kg−1 of glacial meltwater in DSW and sea-ice production rates of up to 14 m yr−1 within the Terra Nova Bay polynya. Despite winds upwards of 35 m s−1 during the observations, air bubble injection had a minimal contribution to gas exchange, accounting for less than 0.01 μmols kg−1 of argon in seawater. This suggests the slurry of frazil ice and seawater at the polynya surface inhibits air-sea exchange. Most noteworthy is the revelation that sea-ice formation and glacial melt contribute significantly to the ventilation of DSW, restoring 10% of the gas deficit for krypton, 24% for argon, and 131% for neon, while diffusive gas exchange contributes the remainder. These measurements reveal a cryogenic component to the solubility pump and demonstrate that while sea ice blocks air-sea exchange, sea ice formation and glacial melt partially offset this effect via addition of gases. While polynyas are a small surface area, they represent an important ventilation site within the southern-overturning cell, suggesting that ice processes both enhance and hinder the solubility pump. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ross Sea Sea ice Old Dominion University: ODU Digital Commons Antarctic Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 128 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Old Dominion University: ODU Digital Commons |
op_collection_id |
ftolddominionuni |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Air bubbles Air/sea exchange Antarctic bottom water Argon Atmospheric gases Bottom water Boundary conditions Carbon dioxide Climate change Cryopumping Deep sea Dense shelf water Dense water Evaporation Frazil ice Gas exchange Gases Glacier melting Glaciers Heat loss Helium Ice formation Ice melting Katabatic winds Krypton Meltwater Neon Noble gases Ocean surface Oceans Oxygen Polynya Polynyas Rare gases Sea ice Sea ice formation Sea ice types Seawater Slurries Solubility Solubility pump Uptake Ventilation Wind Winds Xenon Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Oceanography Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology |
spellingShingle |
Air bubbles Air/sea exchange Antarctic bottom water Argon Atmospheric gases Bottom water Boundary conditions Carbon dioxide Climate change Cryopumping Deep sea Dense shelf water Dense water Evaporation Frazil ice Gas exchange Gases Glacier melting Glaciers Heat loss Helium Ice formation Ice melting Katabatic winds Krypton Meltwater Neon Noble gases Ocean surface Oceans Oxygen Polynya Polynyas Rare gases Sea ice Sea ice formation Sea ice types Seawater Slurries Solubility Solubility pump Uptake Ventilation Wind Winds Xenon Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Oceanography Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Loose, Brice Stammerjohn, Sharon Sedwick, Peter Ackley, Stephen Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea |
topic_facet |
Air bubbles Air/sea exchange Antarctic bottom water Argon Atmospheric gases Bottom water Boundary conditions Carbon dioxide Climate change Cryopumping Deep sea Dense shelf water Dense water Evaporation Frazil ice Gas exchange Gases Glacier melting Glaciers Heat loss Helium Ice formation Ice melting Katabatic winds Krypton Meltwater Neon Noble gases Ocean surface Oceans Oxygen Polynya Polynyas Rare gases Sea ice Sea ice formation Sea ice types Seawater Slurries Solubility Solubility pump Uptake Ventilation Wind Winds Xenon Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Oceanography Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology |
description |
Seasonal formation of Dense Shelf Water (DSW) in the Ross Sea is a direct precursor to Antarctic Bottom Water, which fills the deep ocean with atmospheric gases in what composes the southern limb of the solubility pump. Measurements of seawater noble gas concentrations during katabatic wind events in two Ross Sea polynyas reveal the physical processes that determine the boundary value properties for DSW. This decomposition reveals 5–6 g kg−1 of glacial meltwater in DSW and sea-ice production rates of up to 14 m yr−1 within the Terra Nova Bay polynya. Despite winds upwards of 35 m s−1 during the observations, air bubble injection had a minimal contribution to gas exchange, accounting for less than 0.01 μmols kg−1 of argon in seawater. This suggests the slurry of frazil ice and seawater at the polynya surface inhibits air-sea exchange. Most noteworthy is the revelation that sea-ice formation and glacial melt contribute significantly to the ventilation of DSW, restoring 10% of the gas deficit for krypton, 24% for argon, and 131% for neon, while diffusive gas exchange contributes the remainder. These measurements reveal a cryogenic component to the solubility pump and demonstrate that while sea ice blocks air-sea exchange, sea ice formation and glacial melt partially offset this effect via addition of gases. While polynyas are a small surface area, they represent an important ventilation site within the southern-overturning cell, suggesting that ice processes both enhance and hinder the solubility pump. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Loose, Brice Stammerjohn, Sharon Sedwick, Peter Ackley, Stephen |
author_facet |
Loose, Brice Stammerjohn, Sharon Sedwick, Peter Ackley, Stephen |
author_sort |
Loose, Brice |
title |
Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea |
title_short |
Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea |
title_full |
Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea |
title_fullStr |
Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sea Ice Formation, Glacial Melt and the Solubility Pump Boundary Conditions in the Ross Sea |
title_sort |
sea ice formation, glacial melt and the solubility pump boundary conditions in the ross sea |
publisher |
ODU Digital Commons |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/486 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019322 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/oeas_fac_pubs/article/1497/viewcontent/Sedwick_2023_SeaIceFormationGlacialMeltandtheOCR.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ross Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ross Sea Sea ice |
op_source |
OES Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/486 doi:10.1029/2022JC019322 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/oeas_fac_pubs/article/1497/viewcontent/Sedwick_2023_SeaIceFormationGlacialMeltandtheOCR.pdf |
op_rights |
© 2023 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License , which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019322 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
128 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1784884961623408640 |