An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica
This paper examines a major late-season shift in atmospheric circulation over the East Antarctic sea ice zone that occurred in October 1999. The mean wind direction at 65S, 145E changed from south-southeasterly to west-southwesterly, resulting in almost a complete reversal of the climatological East...
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2003
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Online Access: | https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/1/Massom_Jacka_Pook_Fowler_Adams_Bindoff_2003.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354 |
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ftunivtasmania:oai:eprints.utas.edu.au:6379 2023-05-15T13:36:46+02:00 An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica Massom, RA Jacka, K Pook, MJ Fowler, C Adams, N Bindoff, NL 2003 application/pdf https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/1/Massom_Jacka_Pook_Fowler_Adams_Bindoff_2003.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354 en eng https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/1/Massom_Jacka_Pook_Fowler_Adams_Bindoff_2003.pdf Massom, RA, Jacka, K, Pook, MJ, Fowler, C, Adams, N and Bindoff, NL 2003 , 'An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica' , Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 108, no. C7 , pp. 1-15 , doi:10.1029/2002JC001354 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354>. cc_utas 260403 Physical Oceanography 260602 Climatology (incl. Palaeoclimatology) Article PeerReviewed 2003 ftunivtasmania https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354 2020-05-30T07:20:15Z This paper examines a major late-season shift in atmospheric circulation over the East Antarctic sea ice zone that occurred in October 1999. The mean wind direction at 65S, 145E changed from south-southeasterly to west-southwesterly, resulting in almost a complete reversal of the climatological East Wind Drift pattern in large-scale sea ice advection over the Southern Ocean sector 135–170E. By comparison with National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis time series from 1980 to 2000, this shift is shown to be unusual in terms of both its persistence and impact, although similar though less prolonged patterns occurred in 1984 and 1985. Lasting from October 1999 to February 2000, it had a profound impact on sea ice concentration and extent over a vast area. By coinciding with the period of maximum ice extent and persisting through to the springtime melt phase, it also contributed to the rapid annual meltback of sea ice. It also had a large and complex effect on the behavior of the globally important Mertz Glacier Polynya and on the areal extent of thick perennial sea ice to the east. While a midlatitude blocking high pattern provided the initial impetus for the ‘‘shift’’ in 1999, the persistence of west-southwesterly winds through February 2000 appears to relate to an unusually persistent southward migration of the Antarctic Circumpolar Trough (ACT). In addition to the prolonged 1999 episode, a strong seasonal signal is apparent throughout the mean wind speed and direction time series, related to the ACT migration. Although less persistent than in 1999, this annual shift has implications for the observed dramatic annual meltback of East Antarctic sea ice. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Antarctica Journal East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Sea ice Southern Ocean University of Tasmania: UTas ePrints Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic East Antarctica Mertz Glacier ENVELOPE(144.500,144.500,-67.667,-67.667) Journal of Geophysical Research 108 C7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tasmania: UTas ePrints |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasmania |
language |
English |
topic |
260403 Physical Oceanography 260602 Climatology (incl. Palaeoclimatology) |
spellingShingle |
260403 Physical Oceanography 260602 Climatology (incl. Palaeoclimatology) Massom, RA Jacka, K Pook, MJ Fowler, C Adams, N Bindoff, NL An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica |
topic_facet |
260403 Physical Oceanography 260602 Climatology (incl. Palaeoclimatology) |
description |
This paper examines a major late-season shift in atmospheric circulation over the East Antarctic sea ice zone that occurred in October 1999. The mean wind direction at 65S, 145E changed from south-southeasterly to west-southwesterly, resulting in almost a complete reversal of the climatological East Wind Drift pattern in large-scale sea ice advection over the Southern Ocean sector 135–170E. By comparison with National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis time series from 1980 to 2000, this shift is shown to be unusual in terms of both its persistence and impact, although similar though less prolonged patterns occurred in 1984 and 1985. Lasting from October 1999 to February 2000, it had a profound impact on sea ice concentration and extent over a vast area. By coinciding with the period of maximum ice extent and persisting through to the springtime melt phase, it also contributed to the rapid annual meltback of sea ice. It also had a large and complex effect on the behavior of the globally important Mertz Glacier Polynya and on the areal extent of thick perennial sea ice to the east. While a midlatitude blocking high pattern provided the initial impetus for the ‘‘shift’’ in 1999, the persistence of west-southwesterly winds through February 2000 appears to relate to an unusually persistent southward migration of the Antarctic Circumpolar Trough (ACT). In addition to the prolonged 1999 episode, a strong seasonal signal is apparent throughout the mean wind speed and direction time series, related to the ACT migration. Although less persistent than in 1999, this annual shift has implications for the observed dramatic annual meltback of East Antarctic sea ice. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Massom, RA Jacka, K Pook, MJ Fowler, C Adams, N Bindoff, NL |
author_facet |
Massom, RA Jacka, K Pook, MJ Fowler, C Adams, N Bindoff, NL |
author_sort |
Massom, RA |
title |
An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica |
title_short |
An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica |
title_full |
An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the mertz glacier polynya, east antarctica |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/1/Massom_Jacka_Pook_Fowler_Adams_Bindoff_2003.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(144.500,144.500,-67.667,-67.667) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic East Antarctica Mertz Glacier |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic East Antarctica Mertz Glacier |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Antarctica Journal East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Antarctica Journal East Antarctica Mertz Glacier Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/6379/1/Massom_Jacka_Pook_Fowler_Adams_Bindoff_2003.pdf Massom, RA, Jacka, K, Pook, MJ, Fowler, C, Adams, N and Bindoff, NL 2003 , 'An anomalous late-season change in the regional sea ice regime in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica' , Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 108, no. C7 , pp. 1-15 , doi:10.1029/2002JC001354 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354>. |
op_rights |
cc_utas |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JC001354 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
108 |
container_issue |
C7 |
_version_ |
1766083800291344384 |