Between the devil and the deep blue sea: The role of the Amundsen Sea Continental Shelf in exchanges between ocean and ice shelves

Heywood, Karen J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9859-0026, Biddle, Louise C., Boehme, Lars, Dutrieux, Pierre, Fedak, Michael, Jenkins, Adrian, Jones, Richard W., Kaiser, Jan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1553-4043, Mallett, Helen, Garabato, Alberto C. Naveira, Renfrew, Ian A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9379-8215, Stevens, David P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-4405 and Webber, Benjamin G. M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8812-5929 (2016) Between the devil and the deep blue sea: The role of the Amundsen Sea Continental Shelf in exchanges between ocean and ice shelves. Oceanography, 29 (4). pp. 118-129. ISSN 1042-8275

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Abstract

The Amundsen Sea is a key region of Antarctica where ocean, atmosphere, sea ice, and ice sheet interact. For much of Antarctica, the relatively warm water of the open Southern Ocean (a few degrees above freezing) does not reach the Antarctic continental shelf in large volumes under current climate conditions. However, in the Amundsen Sea, warm water penetrates onto the continental shelf and provides heat that can melt the underside of the area’s floating ice shelves, thinning them. Here, we discuss how the ocean’s role in melting has come under increased scrutiny, present 2014 observations from the Amundsen Sea, and discuss their implications, highlighting aspects where understanding is still incomplete.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science > School of Chemistry
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Science > School of Mathematics
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climatic Research Unit
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Fluid and Solid Mechanics
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Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 17 Dec 2016 00:07
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2023 12:48
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/61760
DOI: 10.5670/oceanog.2016.104

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