Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica)
Current glacier melt rates in West Antarctica substantially exceed those around the East Antarctic margin. The exception is Wilkes Land, where for example Totten Glacier underwent significant retreat between 2000 and 2012, underlining its sensitivity to climate change. This process is strongly influ...
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:148647 2023-05-15T13:42:40+02:00 Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) Bensi, M Kovacevic, V Donda, F O'Brien, PE Armbrecht, L Armand, LK 2022 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148647 en eng Copernicus GmbH http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148647/1/148647 - Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE210100929 Bensi, M and Kovacevic, V and Donda, F and O'Brien, PE and Armbrecht, L and Armand, LK, Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica), Earth System Science Data, 14, (1) pp. 65-78. ISSN 1866-3508 (2022) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148647 Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical oceanography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022 2022-10-17T22:16:47Z Current glacier melt rates in West Antarctica substantially exceed those around the East Antarctic margin. The exception is Wilkes Land, where for example Totten Glacier underwent significant retreat between 2000 and 2012, underlining its sensitivity to climate change. This process is strongly influenced by ocean dynamics, which in turn changes in accordance with the evolution of the ice caps. Here, we present new oceanographic data (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen) collected during austral summer 2017 offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) from the continental shelf break to ca 3000 m depth. This area is characterized by very few oceanographic in situ observations. The main water masses of the study area, identified by analysing thermohaline properties, are the Antarctic Surface Water with potential temperature ∘C and salinity S<34.2 (σθ<27.55 kg m−3), the Winter Water with ∘C and (potential density, kg m−3), the modified Circumpolar Deep Water with θ>0 ∘C and S>34.5 (σθ>27.7 kg m−3), and Antarctic Bottom Water with ∘C and (; neutral density γn>28.30 kg m−3). The latter is a mixture of dense waters from the Ross Sea and Adlie Land continental shelves. Such waters are influenced by the mixing processes they undergo as they move westward along the Antarctic margin, also interacting with the warmer Circumpolar Deep Water. The spatial distribution of water masses offshore the Sabrina Coast also appears to be strongly linked with the complex morpho-bathymetry of the slope and rise area, supporting the hypothesis that downslope processes contribute to shaping the architecture of the distal portion of the continental margin. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ross Sea Totten Glacier West Antarctica Wilkes Land eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Austral Ross Sea West Antarctica Wilkes Land ENVELOPE(120.000,120.000,-69.000,-69.000) Totten Glacier ENVELOPE(116.333,116.333,-66.833,-66.833) Sabrina Coast ENVELOPE(118.550,118.550,-67.000,-67.000) Earth System Science Data 14 1 65 78 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical oceanography Bensi, M Kovacevic, V Donda, F O'Brien, PE Armbrecht, L Armand, LK Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical oceanography |
description |
Current glacier melt rates in West Antarctica substantially exceed those around the East Antarctic margin. The exception is Wilkes Land, where for example Totten Glacier underwent significant retreat between 2000 and 2012, underlining its sensitivity to climate change. This process is strongly influenced by ocean dynamics, which in turn changes in accordance with the evolution of the ice caps. Here, we present new oceanographic data (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen) collected during austral summer 2017 offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) from the continental shelf break to ca 3000 m depth. This area is characterized by very few oceanographic in situ observations. The main water masses of the study area, identified by analysing thermohaline properties, are the Antarctic Surface Water with potential temperature ∘C and salinity S<34.2 (σθ<27.55 kg m−3), the Winter Water with ∘C and (potential density, kg m−3), the modified Circumpolar Deep Water with θ>0 ∘C and S>34.5 (σθ>27.7 kg m−3), and Antarctic Bottom Water with ∘C and (; neutral density γn>28.30 kg m−3). The latter is a mixture of dense waters from the Ross Sea and Adlie Land continental shelves. Such waters are influenced by the mixing processes they undergo as they move westward along the Antarctic margin, also interacting with the warmer Circumpolar Deep Water. The spatial distribution of water masses offshore the Sabrina Coast also appears to be strongly linked with the complex morpho-bathymetry of the slope and rise area, supporting the hypothesis that downslope processes contribute to shaping the architecture of the distal portion of the continental margin. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bensi, M Kovacevic, V Donda, F O'Brien, PE Armbrecht, L Armand, LK |
author_facet |
Bensi, M Kovacevic, V Donda, F O'Brien, PE Armbrecht, L Armand, LK |
author_sort |
Bensi, M |
title |
Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) |
title_short |
Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) |
title_full |
Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) |
title_fullStr |
Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) |
title_sort |
water masses distribution offshore the sabrina coast (east antarctica) |
publisher |
Copernicus GmbH |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148647 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(120.000,120.000,-69.000,-69.000) ENVELOPE(116.333,116.333,-66.833,-66.833) ENVELOPE(118.550,118.550,-67.000,-67.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Austral Ross Sea West Antarctica Wilkes Land Totten Glacier Sabrina Coast |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Austral Ross Sea West Antarctica Wilkes Land Totten Glacier Sabrina Coast |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ross Sea Totten Glacier West Antarctica Wilkes Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ross Sea Totten Glacier West Antarctica Wilkes Land |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148647/1/148647 - Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE210100929 Bensi, M and Kovacevic, V and Donda, F and O'Brien, PE and Armbrecht, L and Armand, LK, Water masses distribution offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica), Earth System Science Data, 14, (1) pp. 65-78. ISSN 1866-3508 (2022) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148647 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022 |
container_title |
Earth System Science Data |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
65 |
op_container_end_page |
78 |
_version_ |
1766171425552465920 |