The frontal system of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current : marine mammals as ocean explorers

• Main Author: Boehme, Lars
• Other Authors: Fedak, Mike
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of St Andrews 2009
• Subjects: Oceanography; Elephant seal; Marine mammal; Climate change; Antarctica; Antarctic Circumpolar Current; Drake Passage; South Georgia; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Weddell; Antarc*; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Mirounga leonina; Southern Elephant Seals; Weddell Seals
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/687

In this thesis, I describe large-scale and small-scale features of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) by merging conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data obtained by novel animal-borne sensors with data obtained by more conventional means. Twenty-one CTD-Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) were attached to Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) on South Georgia in 2004 and 2005. This was part of a larger international study (Southern Elephant Seals as Oceanographic Samplers; SEaOS), in which I played a major role in developing the oceanographic approach used to integrate physical data from a range of sources, and the means to link biological findings to oceanographic parameters. The development of animal-borne oceanographic sensors and their potential place within an ocean observing system is reviewed initially. Then, I describe the Series 9000 CTD-SRDL in detail, discussing its performance in the lab and during two field experiences with Southern elephant seals and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii ). Following this, a detailed study of the ACC frontal system in the South Atlantic is presented that uses merged Argo float data and CTD-SRDL data. The structure of the frontal field revealed by this unique dataset is examined, and unprecedented insight into its variability is obtained. Amongst the important findings is that, contrary to most climate models, our in situ data suggest a northward shift of the ACC east of 40W in 2004 and 2005 compared to previous work. Next, two CTD-SRDL sections are presented to identify the locations of the ACC fronts across Drake Passage, and an empirical relationship between upper ocean temperature and baroclinic mass transport is used to determine the transport through Drake Passage at the times of the sections. This technique is a powerful complement to more conventional means of data collection in this region, especially given the ability of the seals to conduct "sections" at times when ship-based fieldwork is logistically most challenging, i.e. in the winter ...