Antarctic Sea Ice Holds the Fate of Antarctic Ice-Shelf Basal Melting in a Warming Climate

Changes in the Antarctic ice sheet play a critical role in the Southern Ocean and global climates. Although many studies have pointed out that enhanced ocean heat delivery onto the Antarctic continental shelf regions can cause significant changes in Antarctic ice-shelf basal melting, the associated physical mechanisms require further research. Here, we perform numerical experiments using an ocean-sea ice model with an ice-shelf component to simulate future projections in Antarctic ice-shelf basal melting in a warming climate, focusing on the driving mechanism and the physical linkages with the seasonal Antarctic sea ice fields and coastal water masses. The model projects a distinct superlinear response of ice-shelf basal melting to future atmospheric warming, demonstrating that future projections of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate bifurcate with the level of global warming. Detailed examinations of sea ice and water masses show that in an extreme warming scenario, a combination of enhanced intrusions of warm deep water and warm summertime surface water can cause the nonlinear response of Antarctic ice-shelf basal melting. A large reduction in Antarctic coastal sea ice and the associated ocean freshening by decreasing coastal sea ice production in winter provide favorable conditions for summertime warm surface water formation and warm deep water intrusions onto some continental shelves. The model results demonstrate that disappearing summertime sea ice along the Antarctic coastal margins in a warming climate heralds the nonlinear increase in Antarctic ice-shelf basal melting, presumably contributing to the negative mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea level rise.

Automated summary

Future atmospheric warming can result in enhanced basal melting of Antarctic ice shelves, caused by a combination of warm deep water intrusions and warm surface water formation. This melting will lead to irreversible changes in the Antarctic ice shelves and Southern Ocean climate.