scholarly journals Marine Ecosystem Research at the Weddell Sea Ice Edge: The AMERIEZ Program

Oceanography ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walker Smith ◽  
David Garrison
1989 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 157-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vernon A. Squire

Movement of the sea-ice edge on short time-scales (<1 d) is due to a balance of forces between several mechanisms (wind stress, sea-surface tilt, internal ice stress, and Coriolis force) which are often comparable in magnitude. Other factors such as the force induced by partial reflection of short seas, internal gravity waves in the pycnocline, etc., may also contribute. Through the momentum equation, these mechanisms affect the dynamics of the ice edge. In this paper we suggest another mechanism which may have importance, namely, a radiation-stress contribution which derives from obliquely incident waves which are totally reflected from the ice edge by a process analogous to total internal reflection in optics. Such reflection generates both normal and shear forces at the ice edge, the former tending to compact the pack ice and the latter to shear the absolute edge. The effect is studied using some recent data collected during the Winter Weddell Sea Project 1986 in Antarctica, where it is found that the contribution to the force balance is significant. For thicker sea ice and icebergs acted upon by oblique seas, the radiation stress-induced force may outweigh more conventional terms in the momentum equation.


1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 221-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire L. Parkinson

Records from the expeditions of Cook, Bellingshausen, Wilkes, and Ross in the late 18th and early 19th centuries have been examined for the information they provide on locations of the Southern Ocean sea-ice edge during the period of the late Little Ice Age in much of the Northern Hemisphere. When these locations are compared with satellite-derived ice edge locations in the mid 1970s, there is a suggestion of particularly heavy ice covers in the eastern Weddell Sea in December 1772, in the Amundsen Sea in March 1839, and perhaps, on the basis of an isolated observation, in a portion of the western Weddell Sea in January 1820. However, overall no strong Little Ice Age signal is found for the sea ice of the Southern Ocean. Many of the observations from the four expeditions indicate sea-ice edge locations that lie within the range of ice edge locations at the same time of year in the mid 1970s, and a few of the observations suggest a less extensive ice cover than in the 1970s.


1989 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 157-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vernon A. Squire

Movement of the sea-ice edge on short time-scales (&lt;1 d) is due to a balance of forces between several mechanisms (wind stress, sea-surface tilt, internal ice stress, and Coriolis force) which are often comparable in magnitude. Other factors such as the force induced by partial reflection of short seas, internal gravity waves in the pycnocline, etc., may also contribute. Through the momentum equation, these mechanisms affect the dynamics of the ice edge. In this paper we suggest another mechanism which may have importance, namely, a radiation-stress contribution which derives from obliquely incident waves which are totally reflected from the ice edge by a process analogous to total internal reflection in optics. Such reflection generates both normal and shear forces at the ice edge, the former tending to compact the pack ice and the latter to shear the absolute edge. The effect is studied using some recent data collected during the Winter Weddell Sea Project 1986 in Antarctica, where it is found that the contribution to the force balance is significant. For thicker sea ice and icebergs acted upon by oblique seas, the radiation stress-induced force may outweigh more conventional terms in the momentum equation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2721-2730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Edinburgh ◽  
Jonathan J. Day

Abstract. In stark contrast to the sharp decline in Arctic sea ice, there has been a steady increase in ice extent around Antarctica during the last three decades, especially in the Weddell and Ross seas. In general, climate models do not to capture this trend and a lack of information about sea ice coverage in the pre-satellite period limits our ability to quantify the sensitivity of sea ice to climate change and robustly validate climate models. However, evidence of the presence and nature of sea ice was often recorded during early Antarctic exploration, though these sources have not previously been explored or exploited until now. We have analysed observations of the summer sea ice edge from the ship logbooks of explorers such as Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and their contemporaries during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (1897–1917), and in this study we compare these to satellite observations from the period 1989–2014, offering insight into the ice conditions of this period, from direct observations, for the first time. This comparison shows that the summer sea ice edge was between 1.0 and 1.7° further north in the Weddell Sea during this period but that ice conditions were surprisingly comparable to the present day in other sectors.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Edinburgh ◽  
Jonathan J. Day

Abstract. In stark contrast to the sharp decline in Arctic sea ice, there has been a steady increase in ice extent around Antarctica during the last three decades, especially in the Weddell and Ross Seas. In general, climate models do not to capture this trend and a lack of information about sea ice coverage in the pre-satellite period limits our ability to quantify the sensitivity of sea ice to climate change and robustly validate climate models. However, evidence of the presence and nature of sea ice was often recorded during early Antarctic exploration, though these sources have not previously been explored or exploited until now. We have analysed observations of the summer sea ice edge from the ship logbooks of explorers such as Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and their contemporaries during the Heroic Age of Exploration (1897–1917) and in this study, we compare these to satellite observations from the period 1989–2014, offering insight into the ice conditions of this period, from direct observations, for the first time. This comparison shows that the summer sea ice edge was between 1.0° and 1.7° further north in the Weddell Sea during this period but that ice conditions were surprisingly comparable to the present day in other sectors.


1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 221-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire L. Parkinson

Records from the expeditions of Cook, Bellingshausen, Wilkes, and Ross in the late 18th and early 19th centuries have been examined for the information they provide on locations of the Southern Ocean sea-ice edge during the period of the late Little Ice Age in much of the Northern Hemisphere. When these locations are compared with satellite-derived ice edge locations in the mid 1970s, there is a suggestion of particularly heavy ice covers in the eastern Weddell Sea in December 1772, in the Amundsen Sea in March 1839, and perhaps, on the basis of an isolated observation, in a portion of the western Weddell Sea in January 1820. However, overall no strong Little Ice Age signal is found for the sea ice of the Southern Ocean. Many of the observations from the four expeditions indicate sea-ice edge locations that lie within the range of ice edge locations at the same time of year in the mid 1970s, and a few of the observations suggest a less extensive ice cover than in the 1970s.


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