Journal
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS
Volume 118, Issue 11, Pages 6046-6063Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2013JC009009
Keywords
freshening; Antarctic Bottom Water; Winter Water; global hydrological cycle; freshwater flux
Categories
Funding
- MEXT of the Japanese Government [21310002, 20221001]
- Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program, through the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC)
- Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education through the Australian Climate Change Science Program
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [25241001, 24810030, 21310002] Funding Source: KAKEN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Long-term water mass changes during 1994-2012 are examined from nine repeat hydrographic sections in the Seasonal Ice Zone along 140 degrees E, off Antarctica. Significant freshening trends are detected within most of the water masses from the bottom to surface. Bottom Water freshened by 0.008-0.009 decade(-1) below isopycnal surfaces and its layer thickness decreased by 120-160 dbar decade(-1) throughout the study period. In addition to general thinning, the layer thickness was anomalously thin in 2012, suggesting a possible link with the sudden calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue and subsequent reduction in sea-ice production. Winter Water freshened by 0.03 decade(-1) throughout the study period, with significant interannual variability. In the offshore region, a long-term increase in precipitation can explain a substantial portion of the freshening trend. The Lower Circumpolar Deep Water on the continental slope underwent freshening at the same rate as the Bottom Water during the last two decades. Modified Shelf Water also shows robust freshening at a rate of 0.03 decade(-1). Combined with the freshening of near-surface and Bottom Water masses in this region, these data indicate freshening of the entire water column over the continental slope. This widespread freshening is broadly consistent with the enhancement of the global hydrological cycle, together with a possible acceleration of land ice melting.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available