On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study
The Hamburg Ocean Primitive Equation model is used to study the response of the Southern Ocean's vertical stability and sea ice cover to variations in the prescribed surface freshwater flux (SFWF). The model is used to investigate the response of the coupled ocean-sea ice system to a number of...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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American Geophysical Union
2001
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/35558 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:35558 2023-05-15T18:16:28+02:00 On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study Marsland, SJ Wolff, JO 2001 https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/35558 en eng American Geophysical Union http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 Marsland, SJ and Wolff, JO, On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study, Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, (C2) pp. 2723-2741. ISSN 0148-0227 (2001) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/35558 Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2001 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 2019-12-13T21:14:03Z The Hamburg Ocean Primitive Equation model is used to study the response of the Southern Ocean's vertical stability and sea ice cover to variations in the prescribed surface freshwater flux (SFWF). The model is used to investigate the response of the coupled ocean-sea ice system to a number of SFWF climatologies and to changes in the mean surface air temperature of the Southern Hemisphere. The modeled sea ice cover is very sensitive to the SFWF. In particular, a large-scale open ocean polynya develops in the Weddell Sea when the SFWF in that region falls below a critical value of 35 cm yr-1. In terms of the oceanic heat flux (OHF) to the base of the sea ice, decreasing the SFWF by 10 cm yr-1 has roughly the same effect as an increase of 2C in the surface air temperature, with both of these changes acting to increase the Southern Ocean's mean annual OHF of 23 W m-2 by 10%. Coupled ocean-atmosphere models of transient climate change due to greenhouse warming predict an increase in both surface air temperature and SFWF over the Southern Ocean sea ice zone. Because the sensitivity of the sea ice extent and volume, and of the OHF, to increasing surface air temperature is opposite to that of increasing SFWF, these effects can be expected, at least partially, to offset each other. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 106 C2 2723 2741 |
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eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
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ftunivtasecite |
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English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography |
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Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography Marsland, SJ Wolff, JO On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography |
description |
The Hamburg Ocean Primitive Equation model is used to study the response of the Southern Ocean's vertical stability and sea ice cover to variations in the prescribed surface freshwater flux (SFWF). The model is used to investigate the response of the coupled ocean-sea ice system to a number of SFWF climatologies and to changes in the mean surface air temperature of the Southern Hemisphere. The modeled sea ice cover is very sensitive to the SFWF. In particular, a large-scale open ocean polynya develops in the Weddell Sea when the SFWF in that region falls below a critical value of 35 cm yr-1. In terms of the oceanic heat flux (OHF) to the base of the sea ice, decreasing the SFWF by 10 cm yr-1 has roughly the same effect as an increase of 2C in the surface air temperature, with both of these changes acting to increase the Southern Ocean's mean annual OHF of 23 W m-2 by 10%. Coupled ocean-atmosphere models of transient climate change due to greenhouse warming predict an increase in both surface air temperature and SFWF over the Southern Ocean sea ice zone. Because the sensitivity of the sea ice extent and volume, and of the OHF, to increasing surface air temperature is opposite to that of increasing SFWF, these effects can be expected, at least partially, to offset each other. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marsland, SJ Wolff, JO |
author_facet |
Marsland, SJ Wolff, JO |
author_sort |
Marsland, SJ |
title |
On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study |
title_short |
On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study |
title_full |
On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study |
title_fullStr |
On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study |
title_sort |
on the sensitivity of southern ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: a model study |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/35558 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 Marsland, SJ and Wolff, JO, On the sensitivity of Southern Ocean sea ice to the surface freshwater flux: A model study, Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, (C2) pp. 2723-2741. ISSN 0148-0227 (2001) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/35558 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC900086 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
106 |
container_issue |
C2 |
container_start_page |
2723 |
op_container_end_page |
2741 |
_version_ |
1766190093078364160 |