Necessary Conditions for Warm Inflow Toward the Filchner Ice Shelf, Weddell Sea


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Hartmut.Hellmer [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

Understanding changes in Antarctic ice shelf basal melting is a major challenge for predicting future sea level. Currently, warm Circumpolar Deep Water surrounding Antarctica has limited access to the Weddell Sea continental shelf; consequently, melt rates at Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf are low. However, large-scale model projections suggest that changes to the Antarctic Slope Front and the coastal circulation may enhance warm inflows within this century. We use a regional high-resolution ice shelf cavity and ocean circulation model to explore forcing changes that may trigger this regime shift. Our results suggest two necessary conditions for supporting a sustained warm inflow into the Filchner Ice Shelf cavity: (i) an extreme relaxation of the Antarctic Slope Front density gradient and (ii) substantial freshening of the dense shelf water. We also find that the on-shelf transport over the western Weddell Sea shelf is sensitive to the Filchner Trough overflow characteristics.



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Eprint ID
53300
DOI https://www.doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089237

Cite as
Daae, K. , Hattermann, T. , Darelius, E. , Mueller, R. , Naughten, K. , Timmermann, R. and Hellmer, H. (2020): Necessary Conditions for Warm Inflow Toward the Filchner Ice Shelf, Weddell Sea , Geophysical Research Letters, 47 (22), pp. 1-11 . doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089237


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