High Salinity Shelf Water production rates in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea from high-resolution salinity observations

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Miller, Una Kim, Zappa, Christopher J., Gordon, Arnold L., Yoon, Seung-Tae, Stevens, Craig, Lee, Won Sang
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group UK 2024
• Subjects: Article; Antarctic; Austral; Ross Sea; Terra Nova Bay; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice pack; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10791653/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38228621; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43880-1

High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) formed in the Ross Sea of Antarctica is a precursor to Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), a water mass that constitutes the bottom limb of the global overturning circulation. HSSW production rates are poorly constrained, as in-situ observations are scarce. Here, we present high-vertical-and-temporal-resolution salinity time series collected in austral winter 2017 from a mooring in Terra Nova Bay (TNB), one of two major sites of HSSW production in the Ross Sea. We calculate an annual-average HSSW production rate of ~0.4 Sv (10(6) m(3) s(−1)), which we use to ground truth additional estimates across 2012–2021 made from parametrized net surface heat fluxes. We find sub-seasonal and interannual variability on the order of [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] , with a strong dependence on variability in open-water area that suggests a sensitivity of TNB HSSW production rates to changes in the local wind regime and offshore sea ice pack.