4.7 Article

Stirring of Sea-Ice Meltwater Enhances Submesoscale Fronts in the Southern Ocean

期刊

出版社

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1029/2020JC016814

关键词

marginal ice zone; Seaglider observations; sea‐ ice meltwater; submesoscale eddies; upper ocean; wind‐ front interactions

资金

  1. Wallenberg Academy Fellowship (WAF) [2015.0186]
  2. Swedish Research Council (VR) [2019-04400]
  3. STINT-NRF Mobility Grant [STNT180910357293]
  4. NRF-SANAP [SNA170522231782, SANAP200324510487]
  5. Young Researchers Establishment Fund (YREF) [0000007361]
  6. European Union [821001]
  7. ONR [N00014-19-1-2421]
  8. NSF [1756956, 1829969]
  9. Linde Center Discovery Fund grant
  10. UCT-UEA Newton Fund
  11. SANAP [110733]
  12. Oppenheimer Memorial Trust
  13. Directorate For Geosciences
  14. Division Of Ocean Sciences [1829969] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
  15. Division Of Ocean Sciences
  16. Directorate For Geosciences [1756956] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
  17. Swedish Research Council [2019-04400] Funding Source: Swedish Research Council

向作者/读者索取更多资源

In the ice-impacted Southern Ocean, the interaction between sea-ice melt, surface boundary layer forcing, and submesoscale flows plays a significant role in determining the properties of the surface mixed layer. High-resolution observations indicate that submesoscale motions have a substantial impact on the exchange of properties at the base of the mixed layer.
In the sea-ice-impacted Southern Ocean, the spring sea-ice melt and its impact on physical processes set the rate of surface water mass modification. These modified waters will eventually subduct near the polar front and enter the global overturning circulation. Submesoscale processes modulate the stratification of the mixed layer (ML) and ML properties. Sparse observations in polar regions mean that the role of submesoscale motions in the exchange of properties across the base of the ML is not well understood. The goal of this study is to determine the interplay between sea-ice melt, surface boundary layer forcing, and submesoscale flows in setting properties of the surface ML in the Antarctic marginal ice zone. High-resolution observations suggest that fine-scale lateral fronts arise from either/both mesoscale and submesoscale stirring of sea-ice meltwater anomalies. The strong salinity-driven stratification at the base of the ML confines these fronts to the upper ocean, limiting submesoscale vertical fluxes across the ML base. This strong stratification prevents the local subduction of modified waters by submesoscale flows, suggesting that the subduction site that links to the global overturning circulation does not correspond with the location of sea-ice melt. However, surface-enhanced fronts increase the potential for Ekman-driven cross-frontal flow to modulate the stability of the ML and ML properties. The parameterization of submesoscale processes in coupled-climate models, particularly those contributing to the Ekman buoyancy flux, may improve the representation of ML heat and freshwater transport in the ice-impacted Southern Ocean during summer.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.7
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据