Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals
Polar regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the potential for significant feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, and the ocean carbon cycle. However, the difficulty in obtaining in situ data means that our ability to detect and interpret change is very limited, especially...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/southern-ocean-frontal-structure-and-seaice-formation-rates-revealed-by-elephant-seals(7f10e71b-c6fa-434d-ac66-4c98695821f6).html https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=50149106515&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/7f10e71b-c6fa-434d-ac66-4c98695821f6 2023-05-15T13:47:48+02:00 Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals Charrassin, J B Hindell, M Rintoul, S R Roquet, F Sokolov, S Biuw, M Costa, D Boehme, Lars Lovell, P Coleman, R Timmermann, R Meijers, A Meredith, M Park, Y H Bailleul, F Goebel, M Tremblay, Y Bost, C A McMahon, C R Field, IC Fedak, Michael Andre Guinet, C 2008-08-19 https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/southern-ocean-frontal-structure-and-seaice-formation-rates-revealed-by-elephant-seals(7f10e71b-c6fa-434d-ac66-4c98695821f6).html https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=50149106515&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Charrassin , J B , Hindell , M , Rintoul , S R , Roquet , F , Sokolov , S , Biuw , M , Costa , D , Boehme , L , Lovell , P , Coleman , R , Timmermann , R , Meijers , A , Meredith , M , Park , Y H , Bailleul , F , Goebel , M , Tremblay , Y , Bost , C A , McMahon , C R , Field , IC , Fedak , M A & Guinet , C 2008 , ' Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals ' , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , vol. 105 , no. 33 , pp. 11634-11639 . https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 antarctic circumpolar current instrumentation marine predators ocean observation sea-ice modeling OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS EAST ANTARCTICA WEDDELL SEA SALINITY EXTENT WINTER COVER FIELD article 2008 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 2021-12-26T14:15:02Z Polar regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the potential for significant feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, and the ocean carbon cycle. However, the difficulty in obtaining in situ data means that our ability to detect and interpret change is very limited, especially in the Southern Ocean, where the ocean beneath the sea ice remains almost entirely unobserved and the rate of sea-ice formation is poorly known. Here, we show that southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) equipped with oceanographic sensors can measure ocean structure and water mass changes in regions and seasons rarely observed with traditional oceanographic platforms. In particular, seals provided a 30-fold increase in hydrographic profiles from the sea-ice zone, allowing the major fronts to be mapped south of 60 degrees S and sea-ice formation rates to be inferred from changes in upper ocean salinity. Sea-ice production rates peaked in early winter (April-May) during the rapid northward expansion of the pack ice and declined by a factor of 2 to 3 between May and August, in agreement with a three-dimensional coupled ocean-sea-ice model. By measuring the high-latitude ocean during winter, elephant seals fill a "blind spot" in our sampling coverage, enabling the establishment of a truly global ocean-observing system. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Sea ice Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean Weddell Sea University of St Andrews: Research Portal Antarctic East Antarctica Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 33 11634 11639 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
antarctic circumpolar current instrumentation marine predators ocean observation sea-ice modeling OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS EAST ANTARCTICA WEDDELL SEA SALINITY EXTENT WINTER COVER FIELD |
spellingShingle |
antarctic circumpolar current instrumentation marine predators ocean observation sea-ice modeling OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS EAST ANTARCTICA WEDDELL SEA SALINITY EXTENT WINTER COVER FIELD Charrassin, J B Hindell, M Rintoul, S R Roquet, F Sokolov, S Biuw, M Costa, D Boehme, Lars Lovell, P Coleman, R Timmermann, R Meijers, A Meredith, M Park, Y H Bailleul, F Goebel, M Tremblay, Y Bost, C A McMahon, C R Field, IC Fedak, Michael Andre Guinet, C Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
topic_facet |
antarctic circumpolar current instrumentation marine predators ocean observation sea-ice modeling OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS EAST ANTARCTICA WEDDELL SEA SALINITY EXTENT WINTER COVER FIELD |
description |
Polar regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the potential for significant feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, and the ocean carbon cycle. However, the difficulty in obtaining in situ data means that our ability to detect and interpret change is very limited, especially in the Southern Ocean, where the ocean beneath the sea ice remains almost entirely unobserved and the rate of sea-ice formation is poorly known. Here, we show that southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) equipped with oceanographic sensors can measure ocean structure and water mass changes in regions and seasons rarely observed with traditional oceanographic platforms. In particular, seals provided a 30-fold increase in hydrographic profiles from the sea-ice zone, allowing the major fronts to be mapped south of 60 degrees S and sea-ice formation rates to be inferred from changes in upper ocean salinity. Sea-ice production rates peaked in early winter (April-May) during the rapid northward expansion of the pack ice and declined by a factor of 2 to 3 between May and August, in agreement with a three-dimensional coupled ocean-sea-ice model. By measuring the high-latitude ocean during winter, elephant seals fill a "blind spot" in our sampling coverage, enabling the establishment of a truly global ocean-observing system. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Charrassin, J B Hindell, M Rintoul, S R Roquet, F Sokolov, S Biuw, M Costa, D Boehme, Lars Lovell, P Coleman, R Timmermann, R Meijers, A Meredith, M Park, Y H Bailleul, F Goebel, M Tremblay, Y Bost, C A McMahon, C R Field, IC Fedak, Michael Andre Guinet, C |
author_facet |
Charrassin, J B Hindell, M Rintoul, S R Roquet, F Sokolov, S Biuw, M Costa, D Boehme, Lars Lovell, P Coleman, R Timmermann, R Meijers, A Meredith, M Park, Y H Bailleul, F Goebel, M Tremblay, Y Bost, C A McMahon, C R Field, IC Fedak, Michael Andre Guinet, C |
author_sort |
Charrassin, J B |
title |
Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
title_short |
Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
title_full |
Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
title_fullStr |
Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
title_sort |
southern ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/southern-ocean-frontal-structure-and-seaice-formation-rates-revealed-by-elephant-seals(7f10e71b-c6fa-434d-ac66-4c98695821f6).html https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=50149106515&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctica Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctica Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Sea ice Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Sea ice Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
Charrassin , J B , Hindell , M , Rintoul , S R , Roquet , F , Sokolov , S , Biuw , M , Costa , D , Boehme , L , Lovell , P , Coleman , R , Timmermann , R , Meijers , A , Meredith , M , Park , Y H , Bailleul , F , Goebel , M , Tremblay , Y , Bost , C A , McMahon , C R , Field , IC , Fedak , M A & Guinet , C 2008 , ' Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals ' , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , vol. 105 , no. 33 , pp. 11634-11639 . https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800790105 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
container_volume |
105 |
container_issue |
33 |
container_start_page |
11634 |
op_container_end_page |
11639 |
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1766247903900205056 |