Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea

Alessandro Silvano; Paul R. Holland; Kaitlin A. Naughten; Oana Dragomir; Pierre Dutrieux; Adrian Jenkins; Yidongfang Si; Andrew L. Stewart; Beatriz Peña Molino; Gregor W. Janzing; Tiago S. Dotto; Alberto C. Naveira Garabato

doi:10.1029/2022gl100646

Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea

Alessandro Silvano^*, Paul R. Holland, Kaitlin A. Naughten, Oana Dragomir, Pierre Dutrieux, Adrian Jenkins, Yidongfang Si, Andrew L. Stewart, Beatriz Peña Molino, Gregor W. Janzing, Tiago S. Dotto, Alberto C. Naveira Garabato

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geography and Environmental Sciences Department

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Abstract

Warm ocean waters drive rapid ice‐shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea. The ocean heat transport toward the ice shelves is associated with the Amundsen Undercurrent, a near‐bottom current that flows eastward along the shelf break and transports warm waters onto the continental shelf via troughs. Here we use a regional ice‐ocean model to show that, on decadal time scales, the undercurrent's variability is baroclinic (depth‐dependent). Decadal ocean surface cooling in the tropical Pacific results in cyclonic wind anomalies over the Amundsen Sea. These wind anomalies drive a westward perturbation of the shelf‐break surface flow and an eastward anomaly (strengthening) of the undercurrent, leading to increased ice‐shelf melting. This contrasts with shorter time scales, for which surface current and undercurrent covary, a barotropic (depth‐independent) behavior previously assumed to apply at all time scales. This suggests that interior ocean processes mediate the decadal ice‐shelf response in the Amundsen Sea to climate forcing.

Original language	English
Article number	e2022GL100646
Number of pages	10
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	49
Issue number	24
Early online date	14 Dec 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl100646
Publication status	Published - 28 Dec 2022

Keywords

Cryosphere
ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE
Air/sea constituent fluxes
Volcanic effects
BIOGEOSCIENCES
Climate dynamics
Modeling
COMPUTATIONAL GEOPHYSICS
Numerical solutions
CRYOSPHERE
Ice shelves
Tundra
Avalanches
Mass balance
GEODESY AND GRAVITY
Ocean/Earth/atmosphere/hydrosphere/cryosphere interactions
Ocean monitoring with geodetic techniques
Global change from geodesy
GLOBAL CHANGE
Sea level change
Abrupt/rapid climate change
Climate variability
Earth system modeling
Impacts of global change
Land/atmosphere interactions
Oceans
Regional climate change
Solid Earth
Water cycles
HYDROLOGY
Climate impacts
Hydrological cycles and budgets
INFORMATICS
MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS
Continental shelf and slope processes
Gravity and isostasy
ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES
Climate change and variability
Climatology
General circulation
Ocean/atmosphere interactions
Regional modeling
Theoretical modeling
OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL
Arctic and Antarctic oceanography
Climate and interannual variability
Numerical modeling
NATURAL HAZARDS
Atmospheric
Geological
Oceanic
Physical modeling
Climate impact
Risk
Disaster risk analysis and assessment
OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL
Air/sea interactions
Decadal ocean variability
Ocean influence of Earth rotation
Sea level: variations and mean
Surface waves and tides
Tsunamis and storm surges
PALEOCEANOGRAPHY
POLICY SCIENCES
Benefit‐cost analysis
RADIO SCIENCE
Radio oceanography
SEISMOLOGY
Earthquake ground motions and engineering seismology
Volcano seismology
VOLCANOLOGY
Volcano/climate interactions
Atmospheric effects
Volcano monitoring
Effusive volcanism
Mud volcanism
Explosive volcanism
Volcanic hazards and risks
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Antarctica
Arctic region
Research Letter
Amundsen Sea
ice shelf
basal melting
Pine Island Glacier
undercurrent
decadal variability

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1029/2022gl100646Licence: CC BY

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Silvano, A., Holland, P. R., Naughten, K. A., Dragomir, O., Dutrieux, P., Jenkins, A., Si, Y., Stewart, A. L., Peña Molino, B., Janzing, G. W., Dotto, T. S., & Naveira Garabato, A. C. (2022). Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(24), Article e2022GL100646. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl100646

@article{79f93b673f69462aab816db568291999,

title = "Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea",

abstract = "Warm ocean waters drive rapid ice‐shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea. The ocean heat transport toward the ice shelves is associated with the Amundsen Undercurrent, a near‐bottom current that flows eastward along the shelf break and transports warm waters onto the continental shelf via troughs. Here we use a regional ice‐ocean model to show that, on decadal time scales, the undercurrent's variability is baroclinic (depth‐dependent). Decadal ocean surface cooling in the tropical Pacific results in cyclonic wind anomalies over the Amundsen Sea. These wind anomalies drive a westward perturbation of the shelf‐break surface flow and an eastward anomaly (strengthening) of the undercurrent, leading to increased ice‐shelf melting. This contrasts with shorter time scales, for which surface current and undercurrent covary, a barotropic (depth‐independent) behavior previously assumed to apply at all time scales. This suggests that interior ocean processes mediate the decadal ice‐shelf response in the Amundsen Sea to climate forcing.",

keywords = "Cryosphere, ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE, Air/sea constituent fluxes, Volcanic effects, BIOGEOSCIENCES, Climate dynamics, Modeling, COMPUTATIONAL GEOPHYSICS, Numerical solutions, CRYOSPHERE, Ice shelves, Tundra, Avalanches, Mass balance, GEODESY AND GRAVITY, Ocean/Earth/atmosphere/hydrosphere/cryosphere interactions, Ocean monitoring with geodetic techniques, Global change from geodesy, GLOBAL CHANGE, Sea level change, Abrupt/rapid climate change, Climate variability, Earth system modeling, Impacts of global change, Land/atmosphere interactions, Oceans, Regional climate change, Solid Earth, Water cycles, HYDROLOGY, Climate impacts, Hydrological cycles and budgets, INFORMATICS, MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, Continental shelf and slope processes, Gravity and isostasy, ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES, Climate change and variability, Climatology, General circulation, Ocean/atmosphere interactions, Regional modeling, Theoretical modeling, OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL, Arctic and Antarctic oceanography, Climate and interannual variability, Numerical modeling, NATURAL HAZARDS, Atmospheric, Geological, Oceanic, Physical modeling, Climate impact, Risk, Disaster risk analysis and assessment, OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL, Air/sea interactions, Decadal ocean variability, Ocean influence of Earth rotation, Sea level: variations and mean, Surface waves and tides, Tsunamis and storm surges, PALEOCEANOGRAPHY, POLICY SCIENCES, Benefit‐cost analysis, RADIO SCIENCE, Radio oceanography, SEISMOLOGY, Earthquake ground motions and engineering seismology, Volcano seismology, VOLCANOLOGY, Volcano/climate interactions, Atmospheric effects, Volcano monitoring, Effusive volcanism, Mud volcanism, Explosive volcanism, Volcanic hazards and risks, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, Antarctica, Arctic region, Research Letter, Amundsen Sea, ice shelf, basal melting, Pine Island Glacier, undercurrent, decadal variability",

author = "Alessandro Silvano and Holland, {Paul R.} and Naughten, {Kaitlin A.} and Oana Dragomir and Pierre Dutrieux and Adrian Jenkins and Yidongfang Si and Stewart, {Andrew L.} and {Pe{\~n}a Molino}, Beatriz and Janzing, {Gregor W.} and Dotto, {Tiago S.} and {Naveira Garabato}, {Alberto C.}",

note = "Funding information: Natural Environment Research Council. Grant Numbers: NE/S011994/1, NE/V014285/1",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1029/2022gl100646",

language = "English",

volume = "49",

journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",

issn = "0094-8276",

publisher = "American Geophysical Union",

number = "24",

}

Silvano, A, Holland, PR, Naughten, KA, Dragomir, O, Dutrieux, P, Jenkins, A, Si, Y, Stewart, AL, Peña Molino, B, Janzing, GW, Dotto, TS & Naveira Garabato, AC 2022, 'Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 49, no. 24, e2022GL100646. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl100646

TY - JOUR

T1 - Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea

AU - Silvano, Alessandro

AU - Holland, Paul R.

AU - Naughten, Kaitlin A.

AU - Dragomir, Oana

AU - Dutrieux, Pierre

AU - Jenkins, Adrian

AU - Si, Yidongfang

AU - Stewart, Andrew L.

AU - Peña Molino, Beatriz

AU - Janzing, Gregor W.

AU - Dotto, Tiago S.

AU - Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.

N1 - Funding information: Natural Environment Research Council. Grant Numbers: NE/S011994/1, NE/V014285/1

PY - 2022/12/28

Y1 - 2022/12/28

N2 - Warm ocean waters drive rapid ice‐shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea. The ocean heat transport toward the ice shelves is associated with the Amundsen Undercurrent, a near‐bottom current that flows eastward along the shelf break and transports warm waters onto the continental shelf via troughs. Here we use a regional ice‐ocean model to show that, on decadal time scales, the undercurrent's variability is baroclinic (depth‐dependent). Decadal ocean surface cooling in the tropical Pacific results in cyclonic wind anomalies over the Amundsen Sea. These wind anomalies drive a westward perturbation of the shelf‐break surface flow and an eastward anomaly (strengthening) of the undercurrent, leading to increased ice‐shelf melting. This contrasts with shorter time scales, for which surface current and undercurrent covary, a barotropic (depth‐independent) behavior previously assumed to apply at all time scales. This suggests that interior ocean processes mediate the decadal ice‐shelf response in the Amundsen Sea to climate forcing.

AB - Warm ocean waters drive rapid ice‐shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea. The ocean heat transport toward the ice shelves is associated with the Amundsen Undercurrent, a near‐bottom current that flows eastward along the shelf break and transports warm waters onto the continental shelf via troughs. Here we use a regional ice‐ocean model to show that, on decadal time scales, the undercurrent's variability is baroclinic (depth‐dependent). Decadal ocean surface cooling in the tropical Pacific results in cyclonic wind anomalies over the Amundsen Sea. These wind anomalies drive a westward perturbation of the shelf‐break surface flow and an eastward anomaly (strengthening) of the undercurrent, leading to increased ice‐shelf melting. This contrasts with shorter time scales, for which surface current and undercurrent covary, a barotropic (depth‐independent) behavior previously assumed to apply at all time scales. This suggests that interior ocean processes mediate the decadal ice‐shelf response in the Amundsen Sea to climate forcing.

KW - Cryosphere

KW - ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE

KW - Air/sea constituent fluxes

KW - Volcanic effects

KW - BIOGEOSCIENCES

KW - Climate dynamics

KW - Modeling

KW - COMPUTATIONAL GEOPHYSICS

KW - Numerical solutions

KW - CRYOSPHERE

KW - Ice shelves

KW - Tundra

KW - Avalanches

KW - Mass balance

KW - GEODESY AND GRAVITY

KW - Ocean/Earth/atmosphere/hydrosphere/cryosphere interactions

KW - Ocean monitoring with geodetic techniques

KW - Global change from geodesy

KW - GLOBAL CHANGE

KW - Sea level change

KW - Abrupt/rapid climate change

KW - Climate variability

KW - Earth system modeling

KW - Impacts of global change

KW - Land/atmosphere interactions

KW - Oceans

KW - Regional climate change

KW - Solid Earth

KW - Water cycles

KW - HYDROLOGY

KW - Climate impacts

KW - Hydrological cycles and budgets

KW - INFORMATICS

KW - MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS

KW - Continental shelf and slope processes

KW - Gravity and isostasy

KW - ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES

KW - Climate change and variability

KW - Climatology

KW - General circulation

KW - Ocean/atmosphere interactions

KW - Regional modeling

KW - Theoretical modeling

KW - OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL

KW - Arctic and Antarctic oceanography

KW - Climate and interannual variability

KW - Numerical modeling

KW - NATURAL HAZARDS

KW - Atmospheric

KW - Geological

KW - Oceanic

KW - Physical modeling

KW - Climate impact

KW - Risk

KW - Disaster risk analysis and assessment

KW - OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL

KW - Air/sea interactions

KW - Decadal ocean variability

KW - Ocean influence of Earth rotation

KW - Sea level: variations and mean

KW - Surface waves and tides

KW - Tsunamis and storm surges

KW - PALEOCEANOGRAPHY

KW - POLICY SCIENCES

KW - Benefit‐cost analysis

KW - RADIO SCIENCE

KW - Radio oceanography

KW - SEISMOLOGY

KW - Earthquake ground motions and engineering seismology

KW - Volcano seismology

KW - VOLCANOLOGY

KW - Volcano/climate interactions

KW - Atmospheric effects

KW - Volcano monitoring

KW - Effusive volcanism

KW - Mud volcanism

KW - Explosive volcanism

KW - Volcanic hazards and risks

KW - GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

KW - Antarctica

KW - Arctic region

KW - Research Letter

KW - Amundsen Sea

KW - ice shelf

KW - basal melting

KW - Pine Island Glacier

KW - undercurrent

KW - decadal variability

U2 - 10.1029/2022gl100646

DO - 10.1029/2022gl100646

M3 - Article

SN - 0094-8276

VL - 49

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

IS - 24

M1 - e2022GL100646

ER -

Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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