Temporal variability of the Circumpolar Deep Water inflow onto the Ross Sea continental shelf

2017 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Castagno ◽  
Pierpaolo Falco ◽  
Michael S. Dinniman ◽  
Giancarlo Spezie ◽  
Giorgio Budillon
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Water Inflow ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water

scholarly journals Variability of Circumpolar Deep Water transport onto the Amundsen Sea Continental shelf through a shelf break trough

2013 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 6603-6620 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Assmann ◽  
A. Jenkins ◽  
D. R. Shoosmith ◽  
D. P. Walker ◽  
S. S. Jacobs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Shelf Break ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water

scholarly journals Sensitivity of Circumpolar Deep Water Transport and Ice Shelf Basal Melt along the West Antarctic Peninsula to Changes in the Winds

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 4799-4816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Dinniman ◽  
John M. Klinck ◽  
Eileen E. Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Constant Factor ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
The West ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
West Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) can be found near the continental shelf break around most of Antarctica. Advection of this relatively warm water (up to 2°C) across the continental shelf to the base of floating ice shelves is thought to be a critical source of heat for basal melting in some locations. A high-resolution (4 km) regional ocean–sea ice–ice shelf model of the west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) coastal ocean was used to examine the effects of changes in the winds on across-shelf CDW transport and ice shelf basal melt. Increases and decreases in the strength of the wind fields were simulated by scaling the present-day winds by a constant factor. Additional simulations considered effects of increased Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) transport. Increased wind strength and ACC transport increased the amount of CDW transported onto the WAP continental shelf but did not necessarily increase CDW flux underneath the nearby ice shelves. The basal melt underneath some of the deeper ice shelves actually decreased with increased wind strength. Increased mixing over the WAP shelf due to stronger winds removed more heat from the deeper shelf waters than the additional heat gained from increased CDW volume transport. The simulation results suggest that the effect on the WAP ice shelves of the projected strengthening of the polar westerlies is not a simple matter of increased winds causing increased (or decreased) basal melt. A simple budget calculation indicated that iron associated with increased vertical mixing of CDW could significantly affect biological productivity of this region.

scholarly journals Benthic foraminifera from Pine Island and Ferrero bays, Amundsen Sea

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Majewski
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Species Level ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Water Depths

Abstract Twenty one core tops from the central part of Pine Island Bay and nearby Ferrero Bay were collected in early 2010. They originate from a poorly studied area of the Amundsen Sea influenced at greater depths by relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water. Almost all samples came from water−depths between 550 and 900 m and yield benthic foraminiferal assemblages of moderate variability with a significant decrease in calcareous forms with increasing water−depth. In total, 93 benthic taxa, belonging to 71 genera, are identified at the species level. They share a greater percentage of common species with the Ross Sea than with South Shetland Islands, most likely due to stronger climatic dissimilar− ity with the latter. Interestingly, the assemblages from Pine Island Bay, share the greatest numbers of taxa with assemblages described from Lutzow−Holm Bay in East Antarctica, where the influence of Circumpolar Deep Water has been also recognized.

scholarly journals Transport of warm Upper Circumpolar Deep Water onto the western Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf

Ocean Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Martinson ◽  
D. C. McKee
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Antarctic Circumpolar Current ◽  
Western Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Dominant Mechanism ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water ◽  
Marguerite Bay ◽  
Circumpolar Current ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. Five thermistor moorings were placed on the continental shelf of the western Antarctic Peninsula (between 2007 and 2010) in an effort to identify the mechanism(s) responsible for delivering warm Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) onto the broad continental shelf from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) flowing over the adjacent continental slope. Historically, four mechanisms have been suggested: (1) eddies shed from the ACC, (2) flow into the cross-shelf-cutting canyons with overflow onto the nominal shelf, (3) general upwelling, and (4) episodic advective diversions of the ACC onto the shelf. The mooring array showed that for the years of deployment, the dominant mechanism is eddies; upwelling may also contribute but to an unknown extent. Mechanism 2 played no role, though the canyons have been shown previously to channel UCDW across the shelf into Marguerite Bay. Mechanism 4 played no role independently, though eddies may be advected within a greater intrusion of the background flow.

On the difficulty of modeling Circumpolar Deep Water intrusions onto the Amundsen Sea continental shelf

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 26-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Nakayama ◽  
R. Timmermann ◽  
M. Schröder ◽  
H.H. Hellmer
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water

scholarly journals Multiplatform, Multidisciplinary Investigations of the Impacts of Modified Circumpolar Deep Water in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Oceanography ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walker Smith ◽  
Kimberly Goetz ◽  
Daniel Kaufman ◽  
Bastien Queste ◽  
Vernon Asper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water

scholarly journals Warm Circumpolar Deep Water transport toward Antarctica driven by local dense water export in canyons

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (18) ◽  
pp. eaav2516 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Morrison ◽  
A. McC. Hogg ◽  
M. H. England ◽  
P. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water ◽  
Spatially Correlated ◽  
Global Sea Level ◽  
The Relationship

Poleward transport of warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) has been linked to melting of Antarctic ice shelves. However, even the steady-state spatial distribution and mechanisms of CDW transport remain poorly understood. Using a global, eddying ocean model, we explore the relationship between the cross-slope transports of CDW and descending Dense Shelf Water (DSW). We find large spatial variability in CDW heat and volume transport around Antarctica, with substantially enhanced flow where DSW descends in canyons. The CDW and DSW transports are highly spatially correlated within ~20 km and temporally correlated on subdaily time scales. Focusing on the Ross Sea, we show that the relationship is driven by pulses of overflowing DSW lowering sea surface height, leading to net onshore CDW transport. The majority of simulated onshore CDW transport is concentrated in cold-water regions, rather than warm-water regions, with potential implications for ice-ocean interactions and global sea level rise.

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