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

• 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

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.