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Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
Citation
Tamura, T and Williams, GD and Fraser, AD and Ohshima, KI, Potential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving, Nature Communications, 3 Article 826. ISSN 2041-1723 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Abstract
Variability in dense shelf water formation can potentially impact Antarctic Bottom Water
(AABW) production, a vital component of the global climate system. In East Antarctica, the
George V Land polynya system (142–150°E) is structured by the local ‘icescape’, promoting sea
ice formation that is driven by the offshore wind regime. Here we present the first observations
of this region after the repositioning of a large iceberg (B9B) precipitated the calving of the
Mertz Glacier Tongue in 2010. Using satellite data, we find that the total sea ice production
for the region in 2010 and 2011 was 144 and 134 km3, respectively, representing a 14–20%
decrease from a value of 168 km3 averaged from 2000–2009. This abrupt change to the
regional icescape could result in decreased polynya activity, sea ice production, and ultimately
the dense shelf water export and AABW production from this region for the coming decades.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | sea ice production, Mertz Glacier, calving |
Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
Research Group: | Oceanography |
Research Field: | Physical oceanography |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments |
Objective Field: | Antarctic and Southern Ocean oceanic processes |
UTAS Author: | Tamura, T (Dr Takeshi Tamura) |
UTAS Author: | Williams, GD (Mr Guy Williams) |
UTAS Author: | Fraser, AD (Dr Alex Fraser) |
ID Code: | 78227 |
Year Published: | 2012 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 66 |
Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
Deposited On: | 2012-06-18 |
Last Modified: | 2017-10-31 |
Downloads: | 528 View Download Statistics |
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