scholarly journals Sedimentology and numerical modelling of aeolian sediment dispersal, McMurdo Sound, southwest Ross Sea, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jane Margaret Chewings
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Fine Sand ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Sediment Distribution ◽  
Sediment Dispersal ◽  
Wind Events ◽  
Aeolian Sediment

<p>Large volumes of aeolian sand and dust are deflated from unconsolidated till deposits, and supraglacial debris surrounding McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. This material is transported offshore with windblown snow onto extensive winter-formed sea ice in the southwest Ross Sea, and is subsequently released into the water-column during summer sea ice breakup. Aeolian sediment samples were collected from a ~600 km² area of sea ice in western McMurdo Sound to determine the magnitude of deposition and identify sediment sources. A new 2-dimensional numerical aeolian sediment transport model (NaMASTE) tuned specifically for the McMurdo Sound area, was used to explore the ability of the local wind system to move sediment from source areas to sea ice and to determine the pattern and extent of aeolian sediment dispersal to the southwest Ross Sea. Debris deposits on the McMurdo Ice Shelf debris bands are the most dominant sediment source for the area. Unconsolidated deposits between Cape Bernacchi and Spike Cape, and the Taylor Valley mouth are significant secondary deposits. Mass accumulation rates varied between 0.15 g m⁻² y⁻¹ and 54.6 g m⁻² y⁻¹, equating to a background aeolian sediment accumulation rate, excluding extremely high values, of 1.14 ± 0.59 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the McMurdo Sound coastal sea ice zone. This is 3–5 orders of magnitude more than global background dust fallout for the Ross Sea. Modal grain size is very-fine sand to coarse silt. Notably, much of this material is distributed in localised, high sand content plumes that are oriented downwind from source, with finer deposits found outside these zones. An average seafloor linear sedimentation rate of 0.2 cm ky⁻¹ is calculated for McMurdo Sound, which is minor compared to biogenic sedimentation for the region. This equates to ~0.7 Gg y⁻¹ aeolian sediment entering McMurdo Sound during sea ice melt. Application of NaMASTE successfully simulated the general aeolian sediment distribution pattern. Testing of model variables suggests that aeolian material is mainly transported during strong (>20 m s⁻¹) wind events. Modelling also suggests aeolian material from McMurdo Sound can be transported north to the Drygalski Ice Tongue, ~250 km from source, but only in very trace quantities.</p>

scholarly journals Sedimentology and numerical modelling of aeolian sediment dispersal, McMurdo Sound, southwest Ross Sea, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jane Margaret Chewings
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Fine Sand ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Sediment Distribution ◽  
Sediment Dispersal ◽  
Wind Events ◽  
Aeolian Sediment

<p>Large volumes of aeolian sand and dust are deflated from unconsolidated till deposits, and supraglacial debris surrounding McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. This material is transported offshore with windblown snow onto extensive winter-formed sea ice in the southwest Ross Sea, and is subsequently released into the water-column during summer sea ice breakup. Aeolian sediment samples were collected from a ~600 km² area of sea ice in western McMurdo Sound to determine the magnitude of deposition and identify sediment sources. A new 2-dimensional numerical aeolian sediment transport model (NaMASTE) tuned specifically for the McMurdo Sound area, was used to explore the ability of the local wind system to move sediment from source areas to sea ice and to determine the pattern and extent of aeolian sediment dispersal to the southwest Ross Sea. Debris deposits on the McMurdo Ice Shelf debris bands are the most dominant sediment source for the area. Unconsolidated deposits between Cape Bernacchi and Spike Cape, and the Taylor Valley mouth are significant secondary deposits. Mass accumulation rates varied between 0.15 g m⁻² y⁻¹ and 54.6 g m⁻² y⁻¹, equating to a background aeolian sediment accumulation rate, excluding extremely high values, of 1.14 ± 0.59 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the McMurdo Sound coastal sea ice zone. This is 3–5 orders of magnitude more than global background dust fallout for the Ross Sea. Modal grain size is very-fine sand to coarse silt. Notably, much of this material is distributed in localised, high sand content plumes that are oriented downwind from source, with finer deposits found outside these zones. An average seafloor linear sedimentation rate of 0.2 cm ky⁻¹ is calculated for McMurdo Sound, which is minor compared to biogenic sedimentation for the region. This equates to ~0.7 Gg y⁻¹ aeolian sediment entering McMurdo Sound during sea ice melt. Application of NaMASTE successfully simulated the general aeolian sediment distribution pattern. Testing of model variables suggests that aeolian material is mainly transported during strong (>20 m s⁻¹) wind events. Modelling also suggests aeolian material from McMurdo Sound can be transported north to the Drygalski Ice Tongue, ~250 km from source, but only in very trace quantities.</p>

scholarly journals Aeolian Iron and Its Contribution to Phytoplankton Production  in McMurdo Sound, Southwest Ross Sea, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Victoria Holly Liberty Winton
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Phytoplankton Growth ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Phytoplankton Productivity ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Mass Accumulation Rate ◽  
Mass Accumulation

<p>Each summer the waters in McMurdo Sound (Lat. 77.5ºS; Long. 165ºE), south-western (SW) Ross Sea encounter vast phytoplankton blooms. This phenomenon is stimulated by the addition of bio-available iron (Fe) to an environment where phytoplankton growth is otherwise Fe-limited. One possible source of such Fe is aeolian sand and dust (ASD) which accumulates on sea ice and is released into the ocean during the summer melt season. The amount of bio-available Fe (i.e. the amount of Fe immedately accessible to phytoplankton) potentially supplied to the ocean by ASD depends on a number of factors including; the ASD flux into the ocean, its particle size distribution and Fe content. However, none of these parameters are well constrained in the SW Ross Sea region and, as a result, the significance of this Fe source in the biogeochemical cycle of phytoplankton growth remains to be quantified. This study focuses on an area (7400 km²) of Southern McMurdo Sound, one of the few areas where direct sampling of ASD that has accumulated on sea ice is possible. To evaluate the flux and solubility of Fe contained in ASD into McMurdo Sound, the mass accumulation rate and particle size of 70 surface snow samples and 3 shallow (3 m) firn cores from the nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf covering the period 2000 - 2008 have been analysed. Selected samples were also measured for total and soluble Fe, Sr and Nd isotopic ratios and mineralogy as a guide to Fe-fertilisation potential and provenance, respectively. Mass and particle size data show an exponential decrease in mass accumulation rate (from 26.00 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ to 0.70 g m⁻² yr⁻¹) and a decrease in modal particle size (from 130 to 69 μm) over a distance of 120 km from Southern McMurdo Sound northwards to Granite Harbour. Both these trends are consistent with ASD being dispersed northwards across the sea ice by southerly storms from an area of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, where submarine freezing and surface ablation have resulted in a surface covered with debris from the sea floor, known as the 'dirty ice' or 'debris bands' (Lat. 77.929ºS; Long. 165.505ºE) in Southern McMurdo Sound. This assertion is further supported by the Sr and Nd isotopic signature of ASD matching local source rocks and the presence of vesicular glass of Southern McMurdo Sound in all samples which also points to the debris bands as the origin of ASD in McMurdo Sound. Bio-available Fe is extremely difficult to quantify hence Fe solubility was used as an approximation in this thesis. Analysis of both total (i.e. particulate and soluble) and the percentage of soluble Fe in the 0.4 - 10 μm dust size fraction (i.e. the fraction most likely to become bio-available) by solution ICP-MS shows a narrow range of values; 3.84 ± 1.99 wt % and 9.42 ± 0.70 % respectively. Combining these values with mass accumulation rate estimates for the particles 0.4 - 10 μm in size, gives an annual soluble Fe flux for the region 500 km² north of the debris bands in McMurdo Sound of 0.55 mg m⁻² yr⁻¹ (9.89 μmol m⁻² yr⁻¹), with spatial variability largely determined by differences in mass accumulation rate. These fluxes are at least an order of magnitude greater than predicted in global dust deposition models for the Southern Ocean and measured in snow samples from East Antarctica. Furthermore, these values exceed the Fe threshold, estimated as 0.2 nM (Boyd and Abraham, 2001), required for phytoplankton growth following the simple dust-biota model of Boyd et al. (2010) and assuming the release of captured ASD in snow is instantaneous. Whilst not constrained in the present study, ASD sourced from the debris bands may be sufficiently widely dispersed, particularly during storm years, to contribute to Fe-fertilisation up to 1200 km from Southern McMurdo Sound. Short, ~10 year long, firn core records of mass accumulation and methylsuphonate concentration, a proxy for phytoplankton productivity, shows a close correspondence between the two during particularly stormy years. Whilst not demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship, this observation suggests coastal ice cores may contain an important record of the interplay between climate, dust supply, Fe-fertilisation of near shore waters and phytoplankton productivity on decadal and longer timescales.</p>

scholarly journals Aeolian Iron and Its Contribution to Phytoplankton Production  in McMurdo Sound, Southwest Ross Sea, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Victoria Holly Liberty Winton
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Phytoplankton Growth ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Phytoplankton Productivity ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Mass Accumulation Rate ◽  
Mass Accumulation

<p>Each summer the waters in McMurdo Sound (Lat. 77.5ºS; Long. 165ºE), south-western (SW) Ross Sea encounter vast phytoplankton blooms. This phenomenon is stimulated by the addition of bio-available iron (Fe) to an environment where phytoplankton growth is otherwise Fe-limited. One possible source of such Fe is aeolian sand and dust (ASD) which accumulates on sea ice and is released into the ocean during the summer melt season. The amount of bio-available Fe (i.e. the amount of Fe immedately accessible to phytoplankton) potentially supplied to the ocean by ASD depends on a number of factors including; the ASD flux into the ocean, its particle size distribution and Fe content. However, none of these parameters are well constrained in the SW Ross Sea region and, as a result, the significance of this Fe source in the biogeochemical cycle of phytoplankton growth remains to be quantified. This study focuses on an area (7400 km²) of Southern McMurdo Sound, one of the few areas where direct sampling of ASD that has accumulated on sea ice is possible. To evaluate the flux and solubility of Fe contained in ASD into McMurdo Sound, the mass accumulation rate and particle size of 70 surface snow samples and 3 shallow (3 m) firn cores from the nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf covering the period 2000 - 2008 have been analysed. Selected samples were also measured for total and soluble Fe, Sr and Nd isotopic ratios and mineralogy as a guide to Fe-fertilisation potential and provenance, respectively. Mass and particle size data show an exponential decrease in mass accumulation rate (from 26.00 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ to 0.70 g m⁻² yr⁻¹) and a decrease in modal particle size (from 130 to 69 μm) over a distance of 120 km from Southern McMurdo Sound northwards to Granite Harbour. Both these trends are consistent with ASD being dispersed northwards across the sea ice by southerly storms from an area of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, where submarine freezing and surface ablation have resulted in a surface covered with debris from the sea floor, known as the 'dirty ice' or 'debris bands' (Lat. 77.929ºS; Long. 165.505ºE) in Southern McMurdo Sound. This assertion is further supported by the Sr and Nd isotopic signature of ASD matching local source rocks and the presence of vesicular glass of Southern McMurdo Sound in all samples which also points to the debris bands as the origin of ASD in McMurdo Sound. Bio-available Fe is extremely difficult to quantify hence Fe solubility was used as an approximation in this thesis. Analysis of both total (i.e. particulate and soluble) and the percentage of soluble Fe in the 0.4 - 10 μm dust size fraction (i.e. the fraction most likely to become bio-available) by solution ICP-MS shows a narrow range of values; 3.84 ± 1.99 wt % and 9.42 ± 0.70 % respectively. Combining these values with mass accumulation rate estimates for the particles 0.4 - 10 μm in size, gives an annual soluble Fe flux for the region 500 km² north of the debris bands in McMurdo Sound of 0.55 mg m⁻² yr⁻¹ (9.89 μmol m⁻² yr⁻¹), with spatial variability largely determined by differences in mass accumulation rate. These fluxes are at least an order of magnitude greater than predicted in global dust deposition models for the Southern Ocean and measured in snow samples from East Antarctica. Furthermore, these values exceed the Fe threshold, estimated as 0.2 nM (Boyd and Abraham, 2001), required for phytoplankton growth following the simple dust-biota model of Boyd et al. (2010) and assuming the release of captured ASD in snow is instantaneous. Whilst not constrained in the present study, ASD sourced from the debris bands may be sufficiently widely dispersed, particularly during storm years, to contribute to Fe-fertilisation up to 1200 km from Southern McMurdo Sound. Short, ~10 year long, firn core records of mass accumulation and methylsuphonate concentration, a proxy for phytoplankton productivity, shows a close correspondence between the two during particularly stormy years. Whilst not demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship, this observation suggests coastal ice cores may contain an important record of the interplay between climate, dust supply, Fe-fertilisation of near shore waters and phytoplankton productivity on decadal and longer timescales.</p>

scholarly journals Brief communication: The anomalous winter 2019 sea ice conditions in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg H. Leonard ◽  
Kate E. Turner ◽  
Maren E. Richter ◽  
Maddy S. Whittaker ◽  
Inga J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Katabatic Wind ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Southerly Wind ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Fast Ice ◽  
Wind Events

Abstract. McMurdo Sound sea ice can generally be partitioned into two regimes: (1) a stable fast-ice cover, forming south of approximately 77.6° S around March/April, then breaking out the following January/February; and, (2) a more dynamic region north of 77.6° S that the McMurdo Sound and Ross Sea polynyas regularly impact. In 2019, a stable fast-ice cover formed unusually late due to repeated breakout events. We analyse the 2019 sea-ice conditions and relate them to southerly wind events using a Katabatic Wind Index (KWI). We find there is a strong correlation between breakout events and several unusually large KWI events.

scholarly journals Brief communication: The anomalous winter 2019 sea-ice conditions in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 4999-5006
Author(s):  
Greg H. Leonard ◽  
Kate E. Turner ◽  
Maren E. Richter ◽  
Maddy S. Whittaker ◽  
Inga J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Southerly Wind ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Fast Ice ◽  
Wind Events ◽  
Storm Index

Abstract. McMurdo Sound sea ice can generally be partitioned into two regimes: (1) a stable fast-ice cover, forming south of approximately 77.6∘ S around March–April and then breaking out the following January–February, and (2) a more dynamic region north of 77.6∘ S that the McMurdo Sound and Ross Sea polynyas regularly impact. In 2019, a stable fast-ice cover formed unusually late due to repeated break-out events. We analyse the 2019 sea-ice conditions and relate them to a modified storm index (MSI), a proxy for southerly wind events. We find there is a strong correlation between the timing of break-out events and several unusually large MSI events.

Impact of the B-15 iceberg “stranding event” on the physical and biological properties of sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 593-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Remy ◽  
S. Becquevort ◽  
T.G. Haskell ◽  
J.-L. Tison
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Algae Biomass ◽  
Second Year

AbstractIce cores were sampled at four stations in McMurdo Sound (Ross Sea) between 1999 and 2003. At the beginning of year 2000, a very large iceberg (B-15) detached itself from the Ross Ice Shelf and stranded at the entrance of the Sound, preventing the usual oceanic circulation purging of the annual sea ice cover from this area. Ice textural studies showed that a second year sea ice cover was built-up at three out of the four stations: ice thickness increased to about 3 m. Repeated alternation of columnar and platelet ice appeared, and bulk salinity showed a strong decrease, principally in the upper part of the ice sheet, with associated brine volume decrease. Physical modification influenced the biology as well. By decreasing the light and space available for organisms in the sea ice cover, the stranding of B-15 has i) hampered autotrophic productivity, with chlorophyllaconcentration and algae biomass significantly lower for second year ice stations, and ii) affected trophic relationships such as the bacterial biomass/chlaconcentration correlation, or the autotrophic to heterotrophic ratio.

scholarly journals High-resolution mineral dust and sea ice proxy records from the Talos Dome ice core

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2789-2807 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schüpbach ◽  
U. Federer ◽  
P. R. Kaufmann ◽  
S. Albani ◽  
C. Barbante ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Proxy Records

Abstract. In this study we report on new non-sea salt calcium (nssCa2+, mineral dust proxy) and sea salt sodium (ssNa+, sea ice proxy) records along the East Antarctic Talos Dome deep ice core in centennial resolution reaching back 150 thousand years (ka) before present. During glacial conditions nssCa2+ fluxes in Talos Dome are strongly related to temperature as has been observed before in other deep Antarctic ice core records, and has been associated with synchronous changes in the main source region (southern South America) during climate variations in the last glacial. However, during warmer climate conditions Talos Dome mineral dust input is clearly elevated compared to other records mainly due to the contribution of additional local dust sources in the Ross Sea area. Based on a simple transport model, we compare nssCa2+ fluxes of different East Antarctic ice cores. From this multi-site comparison we conclude that changes in transport efficiency or atmospheric lifetime of dust particles do have a minor effect compared to source strength changes on the large-scale concentration changes observed in Antarctic ice cores during climate variations of the past 150 ka. Our transport model applied on ice core data is further validated by climate model data. The availability of multiple East Antarctic nssCa2+ records also allows for a revision of a former estimate on the atmospheric CO2 sensitivity to reduced dust induced iron fertilisation in the Southern Ocean during the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene (T1). While a former estimate based on the EPICA Dome C (EDC) record only suggested 20 ppm, we find that reduced dust induced iron fertilisation in the Southern Ocean may be responsible for up to 40 ppm of the total atmospheric CO2 increase during T1. During the last interglacial, ssNa+ levels of EDC and EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) are only half of the Holocene levels, in line with higher temperatures during that period, indicating much reduced sea ice extent in the Atlantic as well as the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. In contrast, Holocene ssNa+ flux in Talos Dome is about the same as during the last interglacial, indicating that there was similar ice cover present in the Ross Sea area during MIS 5.5 as during the Holocene.

scholarly journals Frazil ice growth and production during katabatic wind events in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 3329-3347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Thompson ◽  
Madison Smith ◽  
Jim Thomson ◽  
Sharon Stammerjohn ◽  
Steve Ackley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Katabatic Wind ◽  
Production Rates ◽  
Frazil Ice ◽  
Salt Budget ◽  
Wind Events ◽  
Ice Production

Abstract. Katabatic winds in coastal polynyas expose the ocean to extreme heat loss, causing intense sea ice production and dense water formation around Antarctica throughout autumn and winter. The advancing sea ice pack, combined with high winds and low temperatures, has limited surface ocean observations of polynyas in winter, thereby impeding new insights into the evolution of these ice factories through the dark austral months. Here, we describe oceanic observations during multiple katabatic wind events during May 2017 in the Terra Nova Bay and Ross Sea polynyas. Wind speeds regularly exceeded 20 m s−1, air temperatures were below −25 ∘C, and the oceanic mixed layer extended to 600 m. During these events, conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) profiles revealed bulges of warm, salty water directly beneath the ocean surface and extending downwards tens of meters. These profiles reflect latent heat and salt release during unconsolidated frazil ice production, driven by atmospheric heat loss, a process that has rarely if ever been observed outside the laboratory. A simple salt budget suggests these anomalies reflect in situ frazil ice concentration that ranges from 13 to 266×10-3 kg m−3. Contemporaneous estimates of vertical mixing reveal rapid convection in these unstable density profiles and mixing lifetimes from 7 to 12 min. The individual estimates of ice production from the salt budget reveal the intensity of short-term ice production, up to 110 cm d−1 during the windiest events, and a seasonal average of 29 cm d−1. We further found that frazil ice production rates covary with wind speed and with location along the upstream–downstream length of the polynya. These measurements reveal that it is possible to indirectly observe and estimate the process of unconsolidated ice production in polynyas by measuring upper-ocean water column profiles. These vigorous ice production rates suggest frazil ice may be an important component in total polynya ice production.

scholarly journals Atmospheric forcing of sea ice anomalies in the Ross Sea Polynya region

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan R. Dale ◽  
Adrian J. McDonald ◽  
Jack H.J. Coggins ◽  
Wolfgang Rack
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Strong Wind ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Wind Event ◽  
Wind Events ◽  
Ice Production

Abstract. Despite warming trends in global temperatures, sea ice extent in the Southern Hemisphere has shown an increasing trend over recent decades. Wind-driven sea ice export from coastal polynyas is an important source of sea ice production. Areas of major polynyas in the Ross Sea, the region with largest increase in sea ice extent, have been suggested to produce a vast amount of the sea ice in the region. We investigate the impacts of strong wind events on the Ross Sea Polynyas and its sea ice concentration and possible consequences on sea ice production. We utilise Bootstrap sea ice concentration (SIC) measurements derived from satellite based, Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) brightness temperatures. We compared these with surface winds and temperatures from automatic weather stations (AWS) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Antarctic Meteorology Program. Our analysis focusses on the austral winter period defined as 1st April to 1st November in this study. Daily data were used to classified into characteristic regimes based on the percentiles of wind speed. For each regime, a composite of SIC anomaly was formed for the Ross Sea region. We found that persistent weak winds near the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf are generally associated with positive SIC anomalies in the Ross Sea Polynya (RSP). Conversely we found negative SIC anomalies in this area during persistent strong winds. By analysing sea ice motion vectors derived from SSM/I and SSMIS brightness temperatures, we find significant sea ice motion anomalies throughout the Ross Sea during strong wind events. These anomalies persist for several days after the strong wind event. Strong, negative correlations are found between SIC and AWS wind speed within the RSP indicating that strong winds cause significant advection of sea ice in the region. We were able to recreate these correlations using co-located ERA-Interim wind speeds. However when only days of a certain percentile based wind speed classification were used, the cross correlation functions produced by ERA-Interim wind speeds differed significantly from those produced using AWS wind speeds. The rapid decrease in SIC during a strong wind event is followed by a more gradual recovery in SIC. This increase occurs on a more gradual time scale than the average persistence of a strong wind event and the resulting sea ice motion anomalies, highlighting the production of new sea ice through thermodynamic processes. In the vicinity of Ross Island, ERA-Interim underestimates wind speeds by a factor of 1.7, which results in a significant misrepresentation of the impact of winds on polynya processes.

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