Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica
High rates of sea ice growth rejection in the Mertz Glacier Polynya drive the production of dense continental shelf waters in the Adlie Depression. We consider the rate of outflow of waters having sufficient density to sink into the neighboring abyssal ocean and form Adlie Land Bottom Water (ALBW)....
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:32348 2023-05-15T14:03:54+02:00 Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica Marsland, SJ Bindoff, NL Williams, GD Budd, WF 2004 https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002441 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/32348 en eng American Geophysical Union http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002441 Marsland, SJ and Bindoff, NL and Williams, GD and Budd, WF, Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, (C11) pp. C11003. ISSN 0148-0227 (2004) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/32348 Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2004 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002441 2019-12-13T21:11:42Z High rates of sea ice growth rejection in the Mertz Glacier Polynya drive the production of dense continental shelf waters in the Adlie Depression. We consider the rate of outflow of waters having sufficient density to sink into the neighboring abyssal ocean and form Adlie Land Bottom Water (ALBW). Along with Weddell and Ross Sea Bottom Waters, the ALBW is an important source of Antarctic Bottom Water. The relevant processes are modeled using a variant of the Max Planck Institute Ocean Model (MPIOM) under daily NCEP-NCAR reanalysis forcing for the period 1991-2000. The orthogonal curvilinear horizontal grid allows for the construction of a global domain with high resolution in our region of interest. The modeled Mertz Glacier Polynya is realistic in location and extent, exhibiting low ice thickness (<0.4 m) and low ice fraction (<50%). The net surface ocean to atmosphere heat flux exceeds 200 W m2 and is dominated by sensible heat exchange. In wintertime (May through September inclusive), 7.5 m of sea ice forms over the Adlie Depression at a rate of 4.9 cm d-1: this results in annual average volumetric production of 99 km3 of sea ice. The associated brine release drives dense shelf water formation. The off-shelf flow of dense water exhibits strong interannual variability in response to variability in both atmospheric forcing and ocean preconditioning. Averaged over the period 1991-2000 the off shelf flow of dense water is 0.15 Sv: for a period of strong outflow (1993-1997), this increases to 0.24 Sv. Most of the outflow occurs during July through October, at a rate of 0.40 (0.63) Sv over the period 1991- 2000 (1993-1997). The peak mean monthly outflow can exceed 1 Sv. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Antarctica Journal East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Ross Sea Sea ice eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Adelie Depression ENVELOPE(146.000,146.000,-67.417,-67.417) Antarctic East Antarctica Mertz Glacier ENVELOPE(144.500,144.500,-67.667,-67.667) Ross Sea Weddell Journal of Geophysical Research 109 C11 |
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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 Marsland, SJ Bindoff, NL Williams, GD Budd, WF Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography |
description |
High rates of sea ice growth rejection in the Mertz Glacier Polynya drive the production of dense continental shelf waters in the Adlie Depression. We consider the rate of outflow of waters having sufficient density to sink into the neighboring abyssal ocean and form Adlie Land Bottom Water (ALBW). Along with Weddell and Ross Sea Bottom Waters, the ALBW is an important source of Antarctic Bottom Water. The relevant processes are modeled using a variant of the Max Planck Institute Ocean Model (MPIOM) under daily NCEP-NCAR reanalysis forcing for the period 1991-2000. The orthogonal curvilinear horizontal grid allows for the construction of a global domain with high resolution in our region of interest. The modeled Mertz Glacier Polynya is realistic in location and extent, exhibiting low ice thickness (<0.4 m) and low ice fraction (<50%). The net surface ocean to atmosphere heat flux exceeds 200 W m2 and is dominated by sensible heat exchange. In wintertime (May through September inclusive), 7.5 m of sea ice forms over the Adlie Depression at a rate of 4.9 cm d-1: this results in annual average volumetric production of 99 km3 of sea ice. The associated brine release drives dense shelf water formation. The off-shelf flow of dense water exhibits strong interannual variability in response to variability in both atmospheric forcing and ocean preconditioning. Averaged over the period 1991-2000 the off shelf flow of dense water is 0.15 Sv: for a period of strong outflow (1993-1997), this increases to 0.24 Sv. Most of the outflow occurs during July through October, at a rate of 0.40 (0.63) Sv over the period 1991- 2000 (1993-1997). The peak mean monthly outflow can exceed 1 Sv. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marsland, SJ Bindoff, NL Williams, GD Budd, WF |
author_facet |
Marsland, SJ Bindoff, NL Williams, GD Budd, WF |
author_sort |
Marsland, SJ |
title |
Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica |
title_short |
Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica |
title_full |
Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
modeling water mass formation in the mertz glacier polynya and adelie depression, east antarctica |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002441 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/32348 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(146.000,146.000,-67.417,-67.417) ENVELOPE(144.500,144.500,-67.667,-67.667) |
geographic |
Adelie Depression Antarctic East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Ross Sea Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Adelie Depression Antarctic East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Ross Sea Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Antarctica Journal East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Ross Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Antarctica Journal East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Ross Sea Sea ice |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002441 Marsland, SJ and Bindoff, NL and Williams, GD and Budd, WF, Modeling water mass formation in the Mertz Glacier Polynya and Adelie Depression, East Antarctica, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, (C11) pp. C11003. ISSN 0148-0227 (2004) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/32348 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002441 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
109 |
container_issue |
C11 |
_version_ |
1766274780516843520 |