Wind-driven upwelling around grounded tabular icebergs

Funding was provided by NSF Polar Programs - Grant Number: ARC-1304137. Temperature and salinity data collected around grounded tabular icebergs in Baffin Bay in 2011, 2012 and 2013 indicate wind-induced upwelling at certain locations around the icebergs. These data suggest that along one side of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Main Authors: Stern, Alon, Johnson, Eric, Wagner, Till, Holland, David, Wadhams, Peter, Bates, C. Richard, Abrahamsen, Povl, Nicholls, Keith, Crawford, Anna, Gagnon, Jonathan, Tremblay, Jean-Eric
Other Authors: University of St Andrews. Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews. Centre for Ancient Environmental Studies, University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. St Andrews Sustainability Institute, University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Iceberg
Upwelling
Ekman
GC Oceanography
NDAS
GC
Baffin Bay
Baffin
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10023/8289
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC010805
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015JC010805/suppinfo
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Summary:Funding was provided by NSF Polar Programs - Grant Number: ARC-1304137. Temperature and salinity data collected around grounded tabular icebergs in Baffin Bay in 2011, 2012 and 2013 indicate wind-induced upwelling at certain locations around the icebergs. These data suggest that along one side of the iceberg, wind forcing leads to Ekman transport away from the iceberg, which causes upwelling of the cool saline water from below. The upwelling water mixes with the water in the thermocline, causing the mixed layer to become cooler and more saline. Along the opposite side of the iceberg, the surface Ekman transport moves towards the iceberg, which causes a sharpening of the thermocline as warm fresh water is trapped near the surface. This results in higher mixed layer temperatures and lower mixed layer salinities on this side of the iceberg. Based on these in situ measurements, we hypothesize that the asymmetries in water properties around the iceberg, caused by the opposing effects of upwelling and sharpening of the thermocline, lead to differential deterioration around the iceberg. Analysis of satellite imagery around iceberg PII-B-1 over a six month monitoring period reveals differential decay around the iceberg, in agreement with this mechanism. Peer reviewed

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