Sources and pathways of glacial meltwater in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica

Sheehan, Peter M. F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4906-5724, Heywood, Karen J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9859-0026, Thompson, Andrew F., Flexas, M. Mar and Shodlok, Michael P. (2023) Sources and pathways of glacial meltwater in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters, 50 (14). ISSN 0094-8276

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Abstract

Meltwater content and pathways determine the impact of Antarctica's melting ice shelves on ocean circulation and climate. Using ocean glider observations, we quantify meltwater distribution and transport within the Bellingshausen Sea's Belgica Trough. Meltwater is present at different densities and with different turbidities: both are indicative of a layer's ice shelf of origin. To investigate how ice-shelf origin separates meltwater into different export pathways, we compare these observations with high-resolution tracer-release model simulations. Meltwater filaments branch off the Antarctic Coastal Current into the southwestern trough. Meltwater also enters the Belgica Trough in the northwest via an extended western pathway, hence the greater observed southward (0.50 mSv) than northward (0.17 mSv) meltwater transport. Together, the observations and simulations reveal meltwater retention within a cyclonic in-trough gyre, which has the potential to promote climactically important feedbacks on circulation and future melting.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Research Funding: European Research Council. Grant Number: 741120; National Science Foundation. Grant Number: OPP-1644172; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	03 Jul 2023 14:30
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2023 08:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92555
DOI:	10.1029/2023GL102785

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