Interannual variability beneath Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica

As a result of their importance in the production of Antarctic Bottom Water, processes over the Antarctic continental shelf have a strong impact on the global ocean. Some of the ice shelves that cover much of the continental shelf are thought to play a significant role in the production of AABW, particularly in the southern Weddell Sea [Foldvik and Gammelsrød, 1988]. The impact of the ocean on ice shelves is of interest from a glaciological perspective also, as ice shelves form the seaward boundary of much of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.