Brief communication: Impacts of a developing polynya off Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica, triggered by grounding of iceberg B09B

The dramatic calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue in 2010, triggered by the impact of iceberg B09B, reshaped the oceanographic regime across the Mertz Polynya and Commonwealth Bay, regions where high salinity shelf water (HSSW) is formed, the precursor to Antarctic bottom water (AABW). Here we compar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: Fogwill, CJ, van Sebille, E, Cougnon, EA, Turney, CSM, Rintoul, SR, Galton-Fenzi, BK, Clark, GF, Marzinelli, EM, Rainsley, EB, Carter, L
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Copernicus Publications 2016
Subjects:
14 Life Below Water
anzsrc-for: 0405 Oceanography
anzsrc-for: 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
East Antarctica
Iceberg*
Mertz Glacier
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_41989
https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/a8da77e4-575c-4f62-bf87-3fca2c067da3/download
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2603-2016
Description
Summary:The dramatic calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue in 2010, triggered by the impact of iceberg B09B, reshaped the oceanographic regime across the Mertz Polynya and Commonwealth Bay, regions where high salinity shelf water (HSSW) is formed, the precursor to Antarctic bottom water (AABW). Here we compare post-calving observations with high-resolution ocean modelling which suggest that this reconfiguration has led to the development of a new polynya off Commonwealth Bay, where HSSW production continues by the grounding of B09B. Our findings demonstrate how local changes in icescape can impact formation of AABW, with implications for large-scale ocean circulation and climate.

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