The Shelf Circulation of the Bellingshausen Sea
Name
JGR Oceans - 2021 - Schulze Chretien - The Shelf Circulation of the Bellingshausen Sea.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
7.69 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b22139dd84a13a6ea802c7e11759c3d0
Author(s)
Schulze Chretien, LM
Thompson, AF
Flexas, MM
Speer, K
Swaim, N
Oelerich, R
Ruan, X
Schubert, R
LoBuglio, C
Date Issued
April 29, 2021
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Schulze Chretien, L. M., Thompson, A. F., Flexas, M. M., Speer, K., Swaim, N., Oelerich, R., et al. (2021). The shelf circulation of the Bellingshausen Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016871.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Over recent decades, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has experienced rapid thinning of its floating ice shelves as well as grounding line retreat across its marine‐terminating glaciers. The transport of warm Modified Circumpolar Deep Water (MCDW) onto the continental shelf, extensively documented along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), and in the Amundsen Sea, has been identified as the key process for inducing these changes. The Bellingshausen Sea sits between the Amundsen Sea and the northern part of the WAP, but its oceanic properties remain remarkably under‐studied compared to surrounding regions. Here, we present observations collected from a hydrographic survey of the Bellingshausen Sea continental shelf in austral summer 2019. Using a combination of ship‐based and glider‐based CTD and lowered ADCP observations, we show that submarine troughs provide topographically steered pathways for MCDW from the shelf break toward deep embayments and ultimately under floating ice shelves. Warm MCDW enters the continental shelf at the deepest part of the Belgica Trough and flows onshore along the eastern side of the trough. Modification of these shoreward‐flowing waters by glacial melt is estimated by calculating meltwater fractions using an optimal multiparameter analysis. Meltwater is found to be elevated at the western edge of both the Latady and Belgica troughs. Meltwater distributions, consistent with other diagnostics, suggest a recirculation in each trough with modified waters eventually flowing westward upon leaving the Belgica Trough. Our results show that the Bellingshausen Sea is a critical part of the larger West Antarctic circulation system, linking the WAP and the Amundsen Sea.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jc016871
