An Amundsen Sea source of decadal temperature changes on the Antarctic continental shelf

Drijfhout, S.S.; Bull, C.Y.S.; Hewitt, H.; Holland, P.R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8370-289X; Jenkins, A.; Mathiot, P.; Garabato, A.N.. 2024 An Amundsen Sea source of decadal temperature changes on the Antarctic continental shelf. Ocean Dynamics, 74. 37-52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-023-01587-3

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Official URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10236-0...

Abstract/Summary

Mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet is dominated by basal melting–induced warm ocean water. Ice-sheet mass loss and thinning of buttressing ice shelves occur primarily in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas. Here, we show that in a global ocean simulation using the 0.25° Nucleus for European Modeling of Ocean (NEMO) model driven by the JRA55 reanalysis from 1982 to 2017, the Amundsen sector of the Antarctic continental shelf acts as a gateway, regulating the on-shelf access of warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the deep ocean and its westward transfer to other sectors up to ca. 90° E, particularly the Ross Sea. As a result, anomalies in Antarctic-shelf-averaged temperature mainly originate in the Amundsen sector. These changes are primarily governed by shifts in the Amundsen Sea Low associated with tropical climate variability, modulating the on-shelf transport of CDW via wind-driven perturbations to ocean currents. The ensuing temperature anomalies progress westward from the Amundsen Sea via three distinct routes: a slow, convoluted westward pathway on the shelf via the Antarctic Coastal Current; a faster westward pathway along the shelf break via the Antarctic Slope Current and then onto the shelf along topographic troughs; and a third, eastward route toward the Bellingshausen sector, whereby temperature anomalies are transported into a region of local wind-generated changes farther north. These results emphasize the importance of the Amundsen sector for climate variability over the Antarctic shelves.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-023-01587-3
ISSN:	1616-7341
Additional Keywords:	Amundsen Sea · Circumpolar Deep Water · Antarctic continental shelf · Subsurface warming · Global ocean model · Basal melt
Date made live:	27 Nov 2023 10:37 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536331

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-023-01587-3

ISSN:

1616-7341

Additional Keywords:

Amundsen Sea · Circumpolar Deep Water · Antarctic continental shelf · Subsurface warming · Global ocean model · Basal melt

Date made live:

27 Nov 2023 10:37 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536331