Articles | Volume 17, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-335-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-335-2021
Research article
 | 
18 Feb 2021
Research article |  | 18 Feb 2021

Multidecadal polynya formation in a conceptual (box) model

Amber Boot, René M. van Westen, and Henk A. Dijkstra

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Cited articles

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Short summary
The Maud Rise polynya is a hole in the sea ice surrounding Antarctica that occurs during winter. It appeared in 2016 and 2017. Our study concludes that heat and salt accumulation around 1000 m depth are likely to be important for polynya formation. The heat is mixed upward to the surface where it is able to melt the sea ice and, thus, create a polynya. How often the polynya forms depends largely on the variation in the time of the heat and salt accumulation.