Circulation and melting under the Ross Ice Shelf: estimates from evolving CFC,salinity and temperature fields in the Ross Sea

Temperature, salinity and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) 11, 12 and 113 were measured on a line of stations along the front of the Ross Ice Shelf in the austral summers of 1984, 1994 and 2000. Water mass distributions were similar each year but with high variability in the cross-sectional areas. CFC concentrations increased and salinity decreased with time throughout the water column. CFC saturation levels in the shelf and surface waters also increased with time and ranged from 43% to 90%. The undersaturation was due to inflow of low-CFC modified Circumpolar Deep Water, gas exchange limited by sea ice cover and isolation of water from the atmosphere beneath the ice shelf. The residence time of dense shelf waters resulting from sea ice formation is less well constrained by the chemical data than is the strong flow into the Ross Ice Shelf cavity. Shelf waters are transformed over about 3.5 years, by net basal melting of the ice shelf, into fresher Ice Shelf Water (ISW), which emerges as a large plume near the central ice front at temperatures below the sea surface freezing point. We estimate an average ISW production rate of 0.86 Sv and an average net basal melt rate of 60 km³/year for the Ross Ice Shelf exceeding a 300 m draft (75% of the ice cavity) during recent decades from box and stream tube models fit to all of the CFC and salinity data. Model fits to the individual data sets suggest ISW production and net basal melt rate variability due to interannual changes on a shorter time scale than our observations. ISW production based on the CFC budget is better constrained than net basal melting based on thermohaline data, with a heat budget yielding a rate of only 20 km³/yr. Reconciling differences between apparent freshwater and temperature changes under the ice shelf involves considerations of mixing, freezing and the flow of meltwater across the ice shelf grounding line.     

Cross-shelf exchange in a model of the Ross Sea circulation and biogeochemistry

Transport of warm, nutrient-rich Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto Antarctic continental shelves and coastal seas has important effects on physical and biological processes. The present study investigates the locations of this transport and its dynamics in the Ross Sea with a high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model. The model circulation is forced by daily wind stress along with heat and salt fluxes calculated from atmospheric climatologies by bulk formulae. All surface fluxes are modified by an imposed climatological ice cover. Waters under the Ross Ice Shelf are not included explicitly, but their effect on temperature and salinity is imposed in a buffer zone at the southern end of the model domain. A simple nutrient uptake is calculated based on the climatological chlorophyll distribution and Monod uptake kinetics.Model circulation is strongly affected by bottom topography, due to weak stratification, and agrees with schematics of the general flow and long-term current measurements except near the southern boundary. The sea-surface temperature is similar to satellite estimates except that the warmest simulated temperatures are slightly higher than observations. There is a significant correlation between the curvature of the shelf break and the transport across the shelf break. A momentum term balance shows that momentum advection helps to force flow across the shelf break in specific locations due to the curvature of the bathymetry (that is, the isobaths curve in front of the flow). For the model to create a strong intrusion of CDW onto the shelf, it appears two mechanisms are necessary. First, CDW is driven onto the shelf at least partially due to momentum advection and the curvature of the shelf break; then, the general circulation on the shelf takes the CDW into the interior.     

南极普里兹湾及其邻近海域水团研究

普里兹湾及其邻近海域是中国南大洋调查研究的传统优势海域与重点区域。围绕夏季表层水、冬季水、陆架水、绕极深层水、南极底层水、普里兹湾底层水、冰架水等研究海区主要水团的特征和分布,总结了前人在南极普里兹湾及其邻近海域基于调查资料开展的水团研究中所取得的成果。研究表明,前人在对陆架水的示性指标界定上,将陆架水是否区分为高盐陆架水和低盐陆架水存在较大争议,在高盐陆架水和普里兹湾底层水的定义上存在重叠;目前尚没有证据表明绕极深层水向南可以伸展到普里兹湾的陆架区域,也没有发现在普里兹湾附近海域生成南极底层水的直接证据。     

Thermohaline variability and Antarctic bottom water formation at the Ross Sea shelf break

We use hydrological and current meter data collected in the Ross Sea, Antarctica between 1995 and 2006 to describe the spatial and temporal variability of water masses involved in the production of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Data were collected in two regions of known outflows of dense shelf water in this region; the Drygalski Trough (DT) and the Glomar-Challenger Trough (GCT). Dense shelf water just inshore of the shelf break is dominated by High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) in the DT and Ice Shelf Water (ISW) in the GCT. The HSSW in the northern DT freshened by ∼0.06 in 11 y, while the ISW in the northern GCT freshened by ∼0.04 in 8 y and warmed by ∼0.04 °C in 11 y, dominated by a rapid warming during austral summer 2001/02. The Antarctic Slope Front separating the warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the shelf waters is more stable near GCT than near DT, with CDW and mixing products being found on the outer DT shelf but not on the outer GCT shelf. The different source waters and mixing processes at the two sites lead to production of AABW with different thermohaline characteristics in the central and western Ross Sea. Multi-year time series of hydrography and currents at long-term moorings within 100 km of the shelf break in both troughs confirm the interannual signals in the dense shelf water and reveal the seasonal cycle of water mass properties. Near the DT the HSSW salinities experienced maxima in March/April and minima in September/October. The ISW in the GCT is warmest in March/April and coolest between August and October. Mooring data also demonstrate significant high-frequency variability associated with tides and other processes. Wavelet analysis of near-bottom moored sensors sampling the dense water cascade over the continental slope west of the GCT shows intermittent energetic pulses of cold, dense water with periods from ∼32 h to ∼5 days.     

南极Dome A至普里兹湾沿岸下降风特征

本文利用我国极地数值天气预报系统和美国南极中尺度预报系统的存档数据,分析了Dome A至普里兹湾沿岸地区下降风风场的时空分布和大气质量通量,给出了该地区下降风的基本特点。该地区下降风受南极冰盖地形影响强烈,艾默里冰架西侧等陡峭地区风速总体较大;下降风随季节变化较大,冬季的下降风较强。强下降风在前进过程中有绝热增温现象,并给艾默里冰架西部带来近表层升温。下降风风速最大处位于地面以上约100～200 m高度,风速较大地区的下降风在垂直方向上分布较为深厚。下降风在普里兹湾沿岸的表层大气质量通量在时空分布上极不均匀,艾默里冰架西侧的下降风气流较强时,普里兹湾海域有较多的中尺度气旋活动。下降风引发普里兹湾中尺度气旋旋生的过程值得关注,需进一步研究下降风引发中尺度气旋的机理。     

南极普里兹湾海域夏季异常表层水温及其成因

用连续两次（１９９１／１９９２年，１９９２／１９９３年）南大洋考察的ＣＴＤ资料，分析了普里兹湾海域夏季表层温度分布。分析表明，在艾默里冰架东北部有一个高温区。用卫星遥感冰图讨论了出现高水温海况的原因。     

Recognition of contour-current influence in mixed contourite-turbidite sequences of the western Weddell Sea,Antarctica

Sedimentary processes and structures across the continental rise in the western Weddell Sea have been investigated using sediment acoustic and multichannel seismic data, integrated with multibeam depth sounding and core investigations. The results show that a network of channels with associated along-channel ridges covers the upper continental slope. The seismic profiles reveal that the channels initially developed as erosive turbidite channels with associated levees on their northern side due to Coriolis force. Later they were partly or fully infilled, probably as a result of decreasing turbidite activity. Now the larger ones exist as erosive turbidite channels of reduced size, whereas the smaller ones are non-erosive channels, their shape being maintained by contour current activity. Drift bodies only developed where slumps caused a distinctive break in slope inclination on the upper continental rise, which served to initiate the growth of a drift body fed by contour currents or by the combined action of turbidites and contourites. The history of sedimentation can be reconstructed tentatively by correlation of seismo-stratigraphic units with the stages of evolution of the drifts on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Three stages can be distinguished in the western Weddell Sea after a pre-drift stage, which is delimited by an erosional unconformity at the top: (1) a growth stage, dominated by turbidites, with occasional occurrence of slumps during its initial phase; (2) during a maintenance stage turbiditiy-current intensity (and presumably sedimentation rate also) decreased, probably as a result of the ice masses retreating from the shelf edge, and sedimentation became increasingly dominated by contour current activity; and (3) a phase of sheeted-sequence formation. A southward decrease in sediment thickness shows that the Larsen Ice Shelf plays an important role in sediment delivery to the western Weddell Sea. This study shows that the western Weddell Sea has some characteristics in common with the southern as well as the northwestern Weddell Sea: contour currents off the Larsen Ice Shelf have been present for a long time, probably since the late Miocene, but during times of high sediment input from the shelves as a result of advancing ice masses a channel-levee system developed and dominated over the contour-current transport of sediment. At times of relatively low sediment input the contour-current transport dominated, leading to the formation of drift deposits on the upper continental rise. Seaward of areas without shelf ice masses the continental rise mainly shows a rough topography with small channels and underdeveloped levees. The results demonstrate that sediment supply is an important, maybe the controlling factor of drift development on the Antarctic continental rise.     

南极麦肯齐湾冰间湖的时空变化及主要影响因素分析

利用2003—2009年AMSR-E日平均海冰密集度数据,对南极普里兹湾埃默里冰架前缘中西部的麦肯齐湾冰间湖进行了分析。针对冰架前缘冰间湖的特点,本文在阈值法和连通域法的基础上,提出了生长点法作为识别此类冰间湖的方法。研究发现,该冰间湖的开始时间为每年的3月中下旬,结束时间为每年的10月末到11月初,平均出现天数为226d。冰间湖的面积每天都发生变化,表现出天气尺度的变化特征。全年累计的冰间湖面积平均为(8.33±1.55)×105 km2。冰间湖最大面积为1.69×104 km2,出现在2004年。结合NCEP再分析数据中的日平均风速资料的分析发现,在6～8月,冰间湖的天气尺度变化主要是受风场的影响,冰间湖面积与离岸风速有很好的相关性。     

南极海冰边缘区密集度的年际变化与西风的Ekman输运

为了揭示南极海冰年际变化的机制,利用南极海冰边缘区密集度和海面风资料,选择南极海冰边缘区海冰密集度年际变化较大的5个海区进行统计分析.研究表明：南半球冬季在这5个海区海冰密集度年际变化与南侧西风的年际变化有较密切的关系,南半球冬季南极海冰边缘区南侧西风形成向北的Ekman输运对海冰边缘区的海冰密集度有重要的影响,这种影响在南太平洋和南大西洋比在南印度洋东部更明显.     

大尺度环流异常对南极印度洋扇区海表面高盐异常的影响

南极印度洋扇区分布了许多南极底层水的生成区,此海域海水盐度变化对全球的气候变化有着深远影响。本文采用EN4再分析数据、实测海豹资料和WOD18数据,结合大气再分析和海冰密集度数据,对南极印度洋扇区表面盐度长期变化及其对大尺度环流异常的响应进行探究。2008年以来,南极沿岸出现显著的海表面持续性高盐异常,其中印度洋扇区变化最为显著,表层高盐水主要集中在达恩利冰间湖附近与沙克尔顿冰架以北的海域。沿岸海域的高盐陆架水向北扩张且影响深度不断加深,高盐的绕极深层水上涌也更加明显。此高盐异常与南极涛动(Antarctic Oscillation,AAO)、印度洋偶极子(Indian Ocean Dipole,IOD)两种大尺度环流密切相关。AAO与IOD正位相下,西风显著增强,促进海冰大量生成,为海表面提供了大量的盐通量。同时,海表面出现更显著的风场旋度负异常与低压异常,促进高盐深层水上涌,对高盐异常有重要维持作用。此外,纬向风剪切与蒸发增强也是影响该高盐异常的重要局地过程。     

Oxygen and carbon stable isotope tracers of Weddell Sea water masses: new data and some paleoceanographic implications

Stable oxygen isotopic composition of sea water and stable carbon isotopes of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) on the continental shelf in the southern Weddell Sea are presented. Using the stations sampled during the summer 1995 two sections can be constructed, one closely parallel to the ice shelf edge and the other perpendicular to the upper continental slope. Generally, δ¹⁸O values clearly separate between different shelf water masses depending on the content of meteoric meltwater added during melting of glacial ice. Extrapolation of the mixing line between the cores of High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) and supercooled Ice Shelf Water (ISW) reveals δ¹⁸O values of the glacial ice of −27‰, whereas extrapolation of the mixing line between the δ¹⁸O values of the most-saline HSSW and lowest temperature ISW results in δ¹⁸O values of −34‰ for glacial ice. These values point to an origin of meltwater from below the ice shelf, where ice is less depleted in ¹⁸O, since deep beneath the ice shelf close to the grounding line, values may reach −40‰. If values between −34 and −27‰ are used as δ¹⁸O end member values for glacial ice, the amount of meltwater from the ice shelf that adds to the formation of ISW off the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf ranges from 0.2 to 0.8%, in agreement with previous studies based on δ¹⁸O and ⁴He. Carbon isotopic fractionation due to gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean at cold temperatures results in Δδ¹³C_DIC values of 0.20±0.17‰ for Weddell Sea Deep Water, the water mass that ventilates the global abyssal ocean, typically defined as Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). This confirms the low end of the range estimated previously (0.2–0.4‰), and thus corroborates the dominance of biology in shaping the deep and bottom water δ¹³C signal. It has been hypothesized that different modes of glacial/interglacial Antarctic bottom water formation may be separated by different stable isotopic compositions of deep-sea foraminiferal calcite. Here I show that differences between Δδ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of HSSW and ISW, both of which contribute to bottom water formation today, are too small to be resolved in deep and bottom water masses. Therefore, glacial/interglacial changes in relative proportions of these water masses in Antarctic deep and bottom water cannot be separated by stable isotopes of fossil benthic foraminiferal calcite.     

Ice-sheet dynamics through the Quaternary on the mid-Norwegian continental margin inferred from 3D seismic data

Reconstructing the evolution of ice sheets is critical to our understanding of the global environmental system, but most detailed palaeo-glaciological reconstructions have hitherto focused on the very recent history of ice sheets. Here, we present a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the changing nature of ice-sheet derived sedimentary architecture through the Quaternary Ice Age of almost 3 Ma. An extensive geophysical record documents a marine-terminating, calving Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) margin present periodically on the mid-Norwegian shelf since the beginning of the Quaternary. Spatial and temporal variability of the FIS is illustrated by the gradual development of fast-flowing ice streams and associated intensification of focused glacial erosion and sedimentation since that time. Buried subglacial landforms reveal a complex and dynamic ice sheet, with converging palaeo-ice streams and several flow-switching events that may reflect major changes in topography and basal thermal regime. Lack of major subglacial meltwater channels suggests a largely distributed drainage system beneath the marine-terminating part of the FIS. This palaeo-environmental examination of the FIS provides a useful framework for ice-sheet modelling and shows that fragmentary preservation of buried surfaces and variability of ice-sheet dynamics should be taken into account when reconstructing glacial history from spatially limited datasets.     

Possible source of the antarctic bottom water in the Prydz Bay Region

It has been inferred that the Prydz Bay region is one of the source regions of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) based on rather indirect evidence. In order to examine this inference, we investigate the hydrographic condition of the bay based mainly on XCTD data obtained during the Japanese Whale Research Program in the Antarctic (JARPA). The JARPA hydrographic data reveal Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), which is a salty, warm water mass approaching the shelf break, and capture Modified CDW (MCDW) intruding into the shelf water. AABW production requires mixing of CDW and cold shelf water saltier than 34.6 psu, which is a saltier type of Low Salinity Shelf Water (LSSW). Saltier LSSW is observed near the bottom over the shelf, being mixed with MCDW. We further identify saltier LSSW near the shelf break. This saltier LSSW appears close enough to unmodified CDW to be mixed with it over the continental slope, indicating a possible source of AABW in Prydz Bay.     

普里兹湾水文特征与变化

根据澳大利亚学者分别在１９８２年１２月和１９８７年２月普里兹湾的调查资料,并结合中国＂极地＂号南极考察船１９９０～１９９１年间的调查资料印证,提出在中国＂中山站＂所在地普里兹湾在初夏与晚夏期间的水文特征。     

The distribution of tritium and CFCs in the Weddell Sea during the mid-1980s

Transient tracer data (tritium, CFC11 and CFC12) from the southern, central and northwestern Weddell Sea collected during Polarstern cruises ANT III-3, ANT V-2/3/4 and during Andenes cruise NARE 85 are presented and discussed in the context of hydrographic observations. A kinematic, time-dependent, multi-box model is used to estimate mean residence times and formation rates of several water masses observed in the Weddell Sea.Ice Shelf Water is marked by higher tritium and lower CFC concentrations compared to surface waters. The tracer signature of Ice Shelf Water can only be explained by assuming that its source water mass, Western Shelf Water, has characteristics different from those of surface waters. Using the transient nature of tritium and the CFCs, the mean residence time of Western Shelf Water on the shelf is estimated to be approximately 5 years. Ice Shelf Water is renewed on a time scale of about 14 years from Western Shelf Water by interaction of this water mass with glacial ice underneath the Filchner-Ronne Ice shelf. The Ice Shelf Water signature can be traced across the sill of the Filchner Depression and down the continental slope of the southern Weddell Sea. On the continental slope, new Weddell Sea Bottom Water is formed by entrainment of Weddell Deep Water and Weddell Sea Deep Water into the Ice Shelf Water plume. In the northwestern Weddell Sea, new Weddell Sea Bottom Water is observed in two narrow, deep boundary currents flowing along the base of the continental slope. Classically defined Weddell Sea Bottom Water (θ ≤ −0.7°C) and Weddell Sea Deep Water (−0.7°C ≤ θ ≤ 0°C) are ventilated from the deeper of these boundary currents by lateral spreading and mixing. Model-based estimates yield a total formation rate of 3.5Sv for new Weddell Sea Bottom Water (θ = −1.0°C) and a formation rate of at least 11Sv for Antarctic Bottom Water (θ = −0.5°C).     

海水物质平衡浮标对北冰洋中心区海冰温度与物质平衡的观测

利用中国第3次北极科学考察所布放海冰物质平衡浮标(Ice Mass-Balance buoy,IMB)的观测数据,分析了北冰洋中心区多年冰2008年8月-2009年7月温度与物质平衡的变化特征.结果表明,冰温廓线呈现明显的季节变化,秋季降温过程从海冰表面开始向冰体内部传播.海冰底部的生长/消融率受海水温度控制,随水温的...     

楚科奇海海冰周年变化特征及其主要关联因素

利用1999年美国国家冰雪资料中心的各种卫星遥感综合分析数据对楚科奇海海冰周年变化进行详细分析，将全年的海冰变化过程分成密集冰封期、东岸融化期、单湾结构期、双湾结构期、三湾结构期、全线北撤期、南进封闭期、全面冻结期8个阶段。海冰冻结期仅2个月，海冰融化期持续4～5个月，说明融冰过程的吸热是个漫长的过程。太平洋与北冰洋海面高度差形成的正压压强梯度力是白令海水进入北冰洋的主要动力，白令海水进入冰下形成的暖水海冰边缘区是海冰融化的重要机制。白令海水在楚科奇海扩散过程受到海底地形产生的Taylor柱效应的显著影响，使其产生绕过浅滩，沿海谷流动，在海谷的方向上输送更多的水体和热量的现象，形成海冰融化的湾状结构。楚科奇海的局地风场也是海冰形态变化的重要因素之一。局地风场在冬季阻碍白令海水的入流，而在夏季促进白令海水的入流。     

罗斯海西部末次冰盛期以来沉积环境重建:有机碳与生物标志化合物分析

本文研究采自位于南极罗斯海西部的ANT32-RB16C柱状沉积物,根据粒度、有机碳和生物标志化合物数据探讨末次冰盛期(24.8 ～20 ka BP)以来该地区有机质来源及沉积环境特征。该柱状样记录了冰架下沉积、冰架前沉积、开阔海域沉积的沉积环境。指示有机质来源的生物标志化合物指标表明该柱状样中所含有机质主要为浮游植物、细菌等海源输入,同时伴有少量陆源物质混合输入。末次冰盛期,由于冰架的影响有机质含量较低,环流影响使得有机质受低等浮游藻类生物等海源影响较大。末次冰消期(20～11.7 ka BP),罗斯冰架消退,冰川溶解释放的有机质在此沉积,使得陆源有机质输入增多,有机质含量升高。进入全新世,有机质含量较末次冰盛期和末次冰消期明显升高,海源输入比例增大,同时细菌等原核生物增多,导致短链正构烷烃降解程度较大。研究区的氧化还原环境主要受冰架与海冰限制作用的影响,与有机质含量和高氧的南极底层水关系不大。总体来说,从末次冰盛期到末次冰消期,研究区沉积环境受罗斯冰架进退影响,全新世以来受气候变化影响。     

南极普里兹湾暖水涌升陆架过程及在陆架上的时空分布特征分析

Hydrographic observations collected by conductivity-temperature-depth(CTD) and instrumented elephant seals on the Prydz Bay continental shelf during 2012 and 2013 are used to characterize the intrusion of modified circumpolar deep water.As a regular occurrence,modified circumpolar deep water(MCDW) intrudes onto the shelf mainly between 150–300 m layer of 73°–75°E and then turns southeast affected by the cyclonic gyre of the Prydz Bay.The southernmost point of the warm water signal is captured on the east front of Amery Ice Shelf during March 2012.In terms of vertical distribution,MCDW occupies the central layer of 200 m with about 100 m thickness in the austral summer,but when to winter transition,the layer of MCDW deepens with time on the central shelf.     

1979-2012年北极海冰运动学特征初步分析

利用美国冰雪数据中心(NSIDC)发布的海冰速度和范围数据,本文分析了1979—2012年间北极海冰的运动学特征,以及北极海冰运动与分布范围演变之间的关系。结合欧洲中期天气预报中心(ECMWF)发布的2007和2012年高分辨率的气压场、风场数据,探讨了北极风场和气压场与海冰运动、辐散辐合和海冰面积的关系。结果表明,在1979-2012年间北极海冰平均运动速度呈显著增强的趋势,冬季海冰平均运动速度增加趋势明显强于夏季;北极、波弗特-楚科奇海域和弗拉姆海峡的冬、夏季海冰平均运动速度的增加率分别为2.1%/a和1.7%/a、2.0%/a和1.6%/a以及4.9%/a和2.2%/a。1979-2012年北极海冰平均运动速度和范围的相关性为-0.77,二者存在显著的负相关关系。北极冬季和夏季风场的长期变化趋势与海冰平均运动速度的变化趋势一致,冬季和夏季的相关系数分别为0.50和0.48。风场和气压场对海冰的运动、辐散及重新分布发挥着重要作用。2007年夏季,第234~273天波弗特海域一直被高压系统控制,波弗特涡旋加强,使得波弗特海域海冰聚集在北极中央区;顺时针的风场促使海冰向格陵兰岛和加拿大北极群岛以北聚合。2012年,白令海峡和楚科奇海域处于低压和高压系统的交界处,盛行偏北风,海冰从北极东部往西部输运,加拿大海盆的多年海冰因离岸运动而辐散,向楚科奇海域的海冰输运增加,受太平洋入流暖水影响,移入此区域的海冰加速融化,从而加剧海冰的减少。