Articles | Volume 19, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1529-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1529-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Nov 2023
Research article |
| 07 Nov 2023
| 07 Nov 2023
On the drivers of regime shifts in the Antarctic marginal seas, exemplified by the Weddell Sea
Physical Oceanography of the Polar Seas, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Ralph Timmermann
Physical Oceanography of the Polar Seas, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Özgür Gürses
Junior Group Marine Carbon and Ecosystem Feedbacks in the Earth System, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Hartmut H. Hellmer
Physical Oceanography of the Polar Seas, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
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Verena Haid, Doroteaciro Iovino, and Simona Masina
The Cryosphere, 11, 1387–1402, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1387-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1387-2017, 2017
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Since the Antarctic sea ice extent shows a recent increase, we investigate the sea ice response to changed amount and distribution of surface freshwater addition in the Southern Ocean with the ocean–sea ice model NEMO/LIM2. We find that freshwater addition within the range of current estimates increases the ice extent, but higher amounts could have an opposing effect. The freshwater distribution is of great influence on the ice dynamics and the ice thickness is strongly influenced by it.
Vanessa Teske, Ralph Timmermann, Cara Nissen, Rolf Zentek, Tido Semmler, and Günther Heinemann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2873, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2873, 2024
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We investigate the structural changes the Antarctic Slope Front in the southern Weddell Sea experiences in a warming climate by conducting two ocean simulations driven by atmospheric data of different horizontal resolution. Cross-slope currents associated with a regime shift from a cold to a warm Filchner Trough on the continental shelf temporarily disturb the structure of the slope front and reduce its depth, but the primary reason for a regime shift is the cross-slope density gradient.
Jan De Rydt, Nicolas C. Jourdain, Yoshihiro Nakayama, Mathias van Caspel, Ralph Timmermann, Pierre Mathiot, Xylar S. Asay-Davis, Hélène Seroussi, Pierre Dutrieux, Ben Galton-Fenzi, David Holland, and Ronja Reese
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7105–7139, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7105-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7105-2024, 2024
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Global climate models do not reliably simulate sea-level change due to ice-sheet–ocean interactions. We propose a community modelling effort to conduct a series of well-defined experiments to compare models with observations and study how models respond to a range of perturbations in climate and ice-sheet geometry. The second Marine Ice Sheet–Ocean Model Intercomparison Project will continue to lay the groundwork for including ice-sheet–ocean interactions in global-scale IPCC-class models.
Torsten Kanzow, Angelika Humbert, Thomas Mölg, Mirko Scheinert, Matthias Braun, Hans Burchard, Francesca Doglioni, Philipp Hochreuther, Martin Horwath, Oliver Huhn, Jürgen Kusche, Erik Loebel, Katrina Lutz, Ben Marzeion, Rebecca McPherson, Mahdi Mohammadi-Aragh, Marco Möller, Carolyne Pickler, Markus Reinert, Monika Rhein, Martin Rückamp, Janin Schaffer, Muhammad Shafeeque, Sophie Stolzenberger, Ralph Timmermann, Jenny Turton, Claudia Wekerle, and Ole Zeising
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-757, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-757, 2024
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The Greenland Ice Sheet represents the second-largest contributor to global sea-level rise. We quantify atmosphere, ice and ocean-based processes related to the mass balance of glaciers in Northeast Greenland, focusing on Greenland’s largest floating ice tongue, the 79N Glacier. We find that together, the different in situ and remote sensing observations and model simulations to reveal a consistent picture of a coupled atmosphere-ice sheet-ocean system, that has entered a phase of major change.
Ole Richter, Ralph Timmermann, G. Hilmar Gudmundsson, and Jan De Rydt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-648, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-648, 2024
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The new coupled ice sheet-ocean model addresses challenges related to horizontal resolution through advanced mesh flexibility, enabled by the use of unstructured grids. We describe the new model, verify its functioning in an idealised setting and demonstrate its advantages in a global-ocean/Antarctic ice sheet domain. The results of this study comprise an important step towards improving predictions of the Antarctic contribution to sea level rise over centennial time scales.
Ole Zeising, Niklas Neckel, Nils Dörr, Veit Helm, Daniel Steinhage, Ralph Timmermann, and Angelika Humbert
The Cryosphere, 18, 1333–1357, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1333-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1333-2024, 2024
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The 79° North Glacier in Greenland has experienced significant changes over the last decades. Due to extreme melt rates, the ice has thinned significantly in the vicinity of the grounding line, where a large subglacial channel has formed since 2010. We attribute these changes to warm ocean currents and increased subglacial discharge from surface melt. However, basal melting has decreased since 2018, indicating colder water inflow into the cavity below the glacier.
Martin Butzin, Ying Ye, Christoph Völker, Özgür Gürses, Judith Hauck, and Peter Köhler
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 1709–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1709-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1709-2024, 2024
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In this paper we describe the implementation of the carbon isotopes 13C and 14C into the marine biogeochemistry model FESOM2.1-REcoM3 and present results of long-term test simulations. Our model results are largely consistent with marine carbon isotope reconstructions for the pre-anthropogenic period, but also exhibit some discrepancies.
Cara Nissen, Ralph Timmermann, Mathias van Caspel, and Claudia Wekerle
Ocean Sci., 20, 85–101, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-85-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-85-2024, 2024
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The southeastern Weddell Sea is important for global ocean circulation due to the cross-shelf-break exchange of Dense Shelf Water and Warm Deep Water, but their exact circulation pathways remain elusive. Using Lagrangian model experiments in an eddy-permitting ocean model, we show how present circulation pathways and transit times of these water masses on the continental shelf are altered by 21st-century climate change, which has implications for local ice-shelf basal melt rates and ecosystems.
Lukrecia Stulic, Ralph Timmermann, Stephan Paul, Rolf Zentek, Günther Heinemann, and Torsten Kanzow
Ocean Sci., 19, 1791–1808, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1791-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1791-2023, 2023
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In the southern Weddell Sea, the strong sea ice growth in coastal polynyas drives formation of dense shelf water. By using a sea ice–ice shelf–ocean model with representation of the changing icescape based on satellite data, we find that polynya sea ice growth depends on both the regional atmospheric forcing and the icescape. Not just strength but also location of the sea ice growth in polynyas affects properties of the dense shelf water and the basal melting of the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf.
Pierre Friedlingstein, Michael O'Sullivan, Matthew W. Jones, Robbie M. Andrew, Dorothee C. E. Bakker, Judith Hauck, Peter Landschützer, Corinne Le Quéré, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Glen P. Peters, Wouter Peters, Julia Pongratz, Clemens Schwingshackl, Stephen Sitch, Josep G. Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Robert B. Jackson, Simone R. Alin, Peter Anthoni, Leticia Barbero, Nicholas R. Bates, Meike Becker, Nicolas Bellouin, Bertrand Decharme, Laurent Bopp, Ida Bagus Mandhara Brasika, Patricia Cadule, Matthew A. Chamberlain, Naveen Chandra, Thi-Tuyet-Trang Chau, Frédéric Chevallier, Louise P. Chini, Margot Cronin, Xinyu Dou, Kazutaka Enyo, Wiley Evans, Stefanie Falk, Richard A. Feely, Liang Feng, Daniel J. Ford, Thomas Gasser, Josefine Ghattas, Thanos Gkritzalis, Giacomo Grassi, Luke Gregor, Nicolas Gruber, Özgür Gürses, Ian Harris, Matthew Hefner, Jens Heinke, Richard A. Houghton, George C. Hurtt, Yosuke Iida, Tatiana Ilyina, Andrew R. Jacobson, Atul Jain, Tereza Jarníková, Annika Jersild, Fei Jiang, Zhe Jin, Fortunat Joos, Etsushi Kato, Ralph F. Keeling, Daniel Kennedy, Kees Klein Goldewijk, Jürgen Knauer, Jan Ivar Korsbakken, Arne Körtzinger, Xin Lan, Nathalie Lefèvre, Hongmei Li, Junjie Liu, Zhiqiang Liu, Lei Ma, Greg Marland, Nicolas Mayot, Patrick C. McGuire, Galen A. McKinley, Gesa Meyer, Eric J. Morgan, David R. Munro, Shin-Ichiro Nakaoka, Yosuke Niwa, Kevin M. O'Brien, Are Olsen, Abdirahman M. Omar, Tsuneo Ono, Melf Paulsen, Denis Pierrot, Katie Pocock, Benjamin Poulter, Carter M. Powis, Gregor Rehder, Laure Resplandy, Eddy Robertson, Christian Rödenbeck, Thais M. Rosan, Jörg Schwinger, Roland Séférian, T. Luke Smallman, Stephen M. Smith, Reinel Sospedra-Alfonso, Qing Sun, Adrienne J. Sutton, Colm Sweeney, Shintaro Takao, Pieter P. Tans, Hanqin Tian, Bronte Tilbrook, Hiroyuki Tsujino, Francesco Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, Erik van Ooijen, Rik Wanninkhof, Michio Watanabe, Cathy Wimart-Rousseau, Dongxu Yang, Xiaojuan Yang, Wenping Yuan, Xu Yue, Sönke Zaehle, Jiye Zeng, and Bo Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5301–5369, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5301-2023, 2023
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The Global Carbon Budget 2023 describes the methodology, main results, and data sets used to quantify the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and their partitioning among the atmosphere, land ecosystems, and the ocean over the historical period (1750–2023). These living datasets are updated every year to provide the highest transparency and traceability in the reporting of CO2, the key driver of climate change.
Ying Ye, Guy Munhoven, Peter Köhler, Martin Butzin, Judith Hauck, Özgür Gürses, and Christoph Völker
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-181, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-181, 2023
Revised manuscript under review for GMD
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Many biogeochemistry models assume all material reaching the seafloor is remineralized and returned to solution, which is sufficient for studies on short-term climate change. Under long-term climate change the storage of carbon in sediments slows down carbon cycling and influences feedbacks in the atmosphere-ocean-sediment system. Here we coupled a sediment model to an ocean biogeochemistry model and found a shift of carbon storage from the atmosphere to the ocean-sediment system.
Özgür Gürses, Laurent Oziel, Onur Karakuş, Dmitry Sidorenko, Christoph Völker, Ying Ye, Moritz Zeising, Martin Butzin, and Judith Hauck
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4883–4936, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4883-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4883-2023, 2023
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This paper assesses the biogeochemical model REcoM3 coupled to the ocean–sea ice model FESOM2.1. The model can be used to simulate the carbon uptake or release of the ocean on timescales of several hundred years. A detailed analysis of the nutrients, ocean productivity, and ecosystem is followed by the carbon cycle. The main conclusion is that the model performs well when simulating the observed mean biogeochemical state and variability and is comparable to other ocean–biogeochemical models.
Pierre Friedlingstein, Michael O'Sullivan, Matthew W. Jones, Robbie M. Andrew, Luke Gregor, Judith Hauck, Corinne Le Quéré, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Are Olsen, Glen P. Peters, Wouter Peters, Julia Pongratz, Clemens Schwingshackl, Stephen Sitch, Josep G. Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Robert B. Jackson, Simone R. Alin, Ramdane Alkama, Almut Arneth, Vivek K. Arora, Nicholas R. Bates, Meike Becker, Nicolas Bellouin, Henry C. Bittig, Laurent Bopp, Frédéric Chevallier, Louise P. Chini, Margot Cronin, Wiley Evans, Stefanie Falk, Richard A. Feely, Thomas Gasser, Marion Gehlen, Thanos Gkritzalis, Lucas Gloege, Giacomo Grassi, Nicolas Gruber, Özgür Gürses, Ian Harris, Matthew Hefner, Richard A. Houghton, George C. Hurtt, Yosuke Iida, Tatiana Ilyina, Atul K. Jain, Annika Jersild, Koji Kadono, Etsushi Kato, Daniel Kennedy, Kees Klein Goldewijk, Jürgen Knauer, Jan Ivar Korsbakken, Peter Landschützer, Nathalie Lefèvre, Keith Lindsay, Junjie Liu, Zhu Liu, Gregg Marland, Nicolas Mayot, Matthew J. McGrath, Nicolas Metzl, Natalie M. Monacci, David R. Munro, Shin-Ichiro Nakaoka, Yosuke Niwa, Kevin O'Brien, Tsuneo Ono, Paul I. Palmer, Naiqing Pan, Denis Pierrot, Katie Pocock, Benjamin Poulter, Laure Resplandy, Eddy Robertson, Christian Rödenbeck, Carmen Rodriguez, Thais M. Rosan, Jörg Schwinger, Roland Séférian, Jamie D. Shutler, Ingunn Skjelvan, Tobias Steinhoff, Qing Sun, Adrienne J. Sutton, Colm Sweeney, Shintaro Takao, Toste Tanhua, Pieter P. Tans, Xiangjun Tian, Hanqin Tian, Bronte Tilbrook, Hiroyuki Tsujino, Francesco Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, Anthony P. Walker, Rik Wanninkhof, Chris Whitehead, Anna Willstrand Wranne, Rebecca Wright, Wenping Yuan, Chao Yue, Xu Yue, Sönke Zaehle, Jiye Zeng, and Bo Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4811–4900, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4811-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4811-2022, 2022
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The Global Carbon Budget 2022 describes the datasets and methodology used to quantify the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and their partitioning among the atmosphere, the land ecosystems, and the ocean. These living datasets are updated every year to provide the highest transparency and traceability in the reporting of CO2, the key driver of climate change.
Pierre Friedlingstein, Matthew W. Jones, Michael O'Sullivan, Robbie M. Andrew, Dorothee C. E. Bakker, Judith Hauck, Corinne Le Quéré, Glen P. Peters, Wouter Peters, Julia Pongratz, Stephen Sitch, Josep G. Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Rob B. Jackson, Simone R. Alin, Peter Anthoni, Nicholas R. Bates, Meike Becker, Nicolas Bellouin, Laurent Bopp, Thi Tuyet Trang Chau, Frédéric Chevallier, Louise P. Chini, Margot Cronin, Kim I. Currie, Bertrand Decharme, Laique M. Djeutchouang, Xinyu Dou, Wiley Evans, Richard A. Feely, Liang Feng, Thomas Gasser, Dennis Gilfillan, Thanos Gkritzalis, Giacomo Grassi, Luke Gregor, Nicolas Gruber, Özgür Gürses, Ian Harris, Richard A. Houghton, George C. Hurtt, Yosuke Iida, Tatiana Ilyina, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Atul Jain, Steve D. Jones, Etsushi Kato, Daniel Kennedy, Kees Klein Goldewijk, Jürgen Knauer, Jan Ivar Korsbakken, Arne Körtzinger, Peter Landschützer, Siv K. Lauvset, Nathalie Lefèvre, Sebastian Lienert, Junjie Liu, Gregg Marland, Patrick C. McGuire, Joe R. Melton, David R. Munro, Julia E. M. S. Nabel, Shin-Ichiro Nakaoka, Yosuke Niwa, Tsuneo Ono, Denis Pierrot, Benjamin Poulter, Gregor Rehder, Laure Resplandy, Eddy Robertson, Christian Rödenbeck, Thais M. Rosan, Jörg Schwinger, Clemens Schwingshackl, Roland Séférian, Adrienne J. Sutton, Colm Sweeney, Toste Tanhua, Pieter P. Tans, Hanqin Tian, Bronte Tilbrook, Francesco Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, Nicolas Vuichard, Chisato Wada, Rik Wanninkhof, Andrew J. Watson, David Willis, Andrew J. Wiltshire, Wenping Yuan, Chao Yue, Xu Yue, Sönke Zaehle, and Jiye Zeng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1917–2005, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1917-2022, 2022
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The Global Carbon Budget 2021 describes the data sets and methodology used to quantify the emissions of carbon dioxide and their partitioning among the atmosphere, land, and ocean. These living data are updated every year to provide the highest transparency and traceability in the reporting of CO2, the key driver of climate change.
Christian B. Rodehacke, Madlene Pfeiffer, Tido Semmler, Özgür Gurses, and Thomas Kleiner
Earth Syst. Dynam., 11, 1153–1194, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-11-1153-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-11-1153-2020, 2020
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In the warmer future, Antarctica's ice sheet will lose more ice due to enhanced iceberg calving and a warming ocean that melts more floating ice from below. However, the hydrological cycle is also stronger in a warmer world. Hence, more snowfall will precipitate on Antarctica and may balance the amplified ice loss. We have used future climate scenarios from various global climate models to perform numerous ice sheet simulations to show that precipitation may counteract mass loss.
Yoshihiro Nakayama, Ralph Timmermann, and Hartmut H. Hellmer
The Cryosphere, 14, 2205–2216, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2205-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2205-2020, 2020
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Previous studies have shown accelerations of West Antarctic glaciers, implying that basal melt rates of these glaciers were small and increased in the middle of the 20th century. We conduct coupled sea ice–ice shelf–ocean simulations with different levels of ice shelf melting from West Antarctic glaciers. This study reveals how far and how quickly glacial meltwater from ice shelves in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas propagates downstream into the Ross Sea and along the East Antarctic coast.
Patrick Scholz, Dmitry Sidorenko, Ozgur Gurses, Sergey Danilov, Nikolay Koldunov, Qiang Wang, Dmitry Sein, Margarita Smolentseva, Natalja Rakowsky, and Thomas Jung
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 4875–4899, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4875-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4875-2019, 2019
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This paper is the first in a series documenting and assessing important key components of the Finite-volumE Sea ice-Ocean Model version 2.0 (FESOM2.0). We assess the hydrographic biases, large-scale circulation, numerical performance and scalability of FESOM2.0 compared with its predecessor, FESOM1.4. The main conclusion is that the results of FESOM2.0 compare well to FESOM1.4 in terms of model biases but with a remarkable performance speedup with a 3 times higher throughput.
Özgür Gürses, Vanessa Kolatschek, Qiang Wang, and Christian Bernd Rodehacke
The Cryosphere, 13, 2317–2324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2317-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2317-2019, 2019
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The warming of the Earth's climate system causes sea level rise. In Antarctica, ice streams flow into the sea and develop ice shelves. These are floating extensions of the ice streams. Ocean water melts these ice shelves. It has been proposed that a submarine wall could shield these ice shelves from the warm water. Our model simulation shows that the wall protects ice shelves. However, the warm water flows to neighboring ice shelves. There, enhanced melting reduces the effectiveness of the wall.
Ali Aydoğdu, Nadia Pinardi, Emin Özsoy, Gokhan Danabasoglu, Özgür Gürses, and Alicia Karspeck
Ocean Sci., 14, 999–1019, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-999-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-999-2018, 2018
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A 6-year simulation of the Turkish Straits System is presented. The simulation is performed by a model using unstructured triangular mesh and realistic atmospheric forcing. The dynamics and circulation of the Marmara Sea are analysed and the mean state of the system is discussed on annual averages. Volume fluxes computed throughout the simulation are presented and the response of the model to severe storms is shown. Finally, it was possible to assess the kinetic energy budget in the Marmara Sea.
Kaitlin A. Naughten, Katrin J. Meissner, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Matthew H. England, Ralph Timmermann, Hartmut H. Hellmer, Tore Hattermann, and Jens B. Debernard
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 1257–1292, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1257-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1257-2018, 2018
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MetROMS and FESOM are two ocean/sea-ice models which resolve Antarctic ice-shelf cavities and consider thermodynamics at the ice-shelf base. We simulate the period 1992–2016 with both models, and with two options for resolution in FESOM, and compare output from the three simulations. Ice-shelf melt rates, sub-ice-shelf circulation, continental shelf water masses, and sea-ice processes are compared and evaluated against available observations.
Ralph Timmermann and Sebastian Goeller
Ocean Sci., 13, 765–776, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-765-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-765-2017, 2017
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A coupled model has been developed to study the interaction between the ocean and the Antarctic ice sheet. Simulations for present-day climate yield realistic ice-shelf melt rates and a grounding line position close to the observed state. In a warm-water-inflow scenario, the model suggests a substantial thinning of the ice shelf and a local retreat of the grounding line. The coupled model yields a stronger increase in ice-shelf basal melt rates than a fixed-geometry control experiment.
Verena Haid, Doroteaciro Iovino, and Simona Masina
The Cryosphere, 11, 1387–1402, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1387-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1387-2017, 2017
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Since the Antarctic sea ice extent shows a recent increase, we investigate the sea ice response to changed amount and distribution of surface freshwater addition in the Southern Ocean with the ocean–sea ice model NEMO/LIM2. We find that freshwater addition within the range of current estimates increases the ice extent, but higher amounts could have an opposing effect. The freshwater distribution is of great influence on the ice dynamics and the ice thickness is strongly influenced by it.
Amelie Driemel, Eberhard Fahrbach, Gerd Rohardt, Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller, Antje Boetius, Gereon Budéus, Boris Cisewski, Ralph Engbrodt, Steffen Gauger, Walter Geibert, Patrizia Geprägs, Dieter Gerdes, Rainer Gersonde, Arnold L. Gordon, Hannes Grobe, Hartmut H. Hellmer, Enrique Isla, Stanley S. Jacobs, Markus Janout, Wilfried Jokat, Michael Klages, Gerhard Kuhn, Jens Meincke, Sven Ober, Svein Østerhus, Ray G. Peterson, Benjamin Rabe, Bert Rudels, Ursula Schauer, Michael Schröder, Stefanie Schumacher, Rainer Sieger, Jüri Sildam, Thomas Soltwedel, Elena Stangeew, Manfred Stein, Volker H Strass, Jörn Thiede, Sandra Tippenhauer, Cornelis Veth, Wilken-Jon von Appen, Marie-France Weirig, Andreas Wisotzki, Dieter A. Wolf-Gladrow, and Torsten Kanzow
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 211–220, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-211-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-211-2017, 2017
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Our oceans are always in motion – huge water masses are circulated by winds and by global seawater density gradients resulting from different water temperatures and salinities. Measuring temperature and salinity of the world's oceans is crucial e.g. to understand our climate. Since 1983, the research icebreaker Polarstern has been the basis of numerous water profile measurements in the Arctic and the Antarctic. We report on a unique collection of 33 years of polar salinity and temperature data.
Janin Schaffer, Ralph Timmermann, Jan Erik Arndt, Steen Savstrup Kristensen, Christoph Mayer, Mathieu Morlighem, and Daniel Steinhage
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 543–557, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-543-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-543-2016, 2016
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The RTopo-2 data set provides consistent maps of global ocean bathymetry and ice surface topographies for Greenland and Antarctica at 30 arcsec grid spacing. We corrected data from earlier products in the areas of Petermann, Hagen Bræ, and Helheim glaciers, incorporated original data for the floating ice tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier, and applied corrections for the geometry of Getz, Abbot, and Fimbul ice shelf cavities. The data set is available from the PANGAEA database.
S. L. Cornford, D. F. Martin, A. J. Payne, E. G. Ng, A. M. Le Brocq, R. M. Gladstone, T. L. Edwards, S. R. Shannon, C. Agosta, M. R. van den Broeke, H. H. Hellmer, G. Krinner, S. R. M. Ligtenberg, R. Timmermann, and D. G. Vaughan
The Cryosphere, 9, 1579–1600, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1579-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1579-2015, 2015
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We used a high-resolution ice sheet model capable of resolving grounding line dynamics (BISICLES) to compute responses of the major West Antarctic ice streams to projections of ocean and atmospheric warming. This is computationally demanding, and although other groups have considered parts of West Antarctica, we think this is the first calculation for the whole region at the sub-kilometer resolution that we show is required.
S. Danilov, Q. Wang, R. Timmermann, N. Iakovlev, D. Sidorenko, M. Kimmritz, T. Jung, and J. Schröter
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1747–1761, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1747-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1747-2015, 2015
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Unstructured meshes allow multi-resolution modeling of ocean dynamics. Sea ice models formulated on unstructured meshes are a necessary component of ocean models intended for climate studies. This work presents a description of a finite-element sea ice model which is used as a component of a finite-element sea ice ocean circulation model. The principles underlying its design can be of interest to other groups pursuing ocean modelling on unstructured meshes.
A. Levermann, R. Winkelmann, S. Nowicki, J. L. Fastook, K. Frieler, R. Greve, H. H. Hellmer, M. A. Martin, M. Meinshausen, M. Mengel, A. J. Payne, D. Pollard, T. Sato, R. Timmermann, W. L. Wang, and R. A. Bindschadler
Earth Syst. Dynam., 5, 271–293, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-5-271-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-5-271-2014, 2014
Q. Wang, S. Danilov, D. Sidorenko, R. Timmermann, C. Wekerle, X. Wang, T. Jung, and J. Schröter
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 663–693, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-663-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-663-2014, 2014
D. Olbers, H. H. Hellmer, and F. F. J. H. Buck
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-8-919-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-8-919-2014, 2014
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Related subject area
Approach: Numerical Models | Properties and processes: Interactions with the atmosphere or cryosphere
Southern Weddell Sea surface freshwater flux modulated by icescape and atmospheric forcing
Response of the Arctic sea ice–ocean system to meltwater perturbations based on a one-dimensional model study
Southern Ocean warming and Antarctic ice shelf melting in conditions plausible by late 23rd century in a high-end scenario
Lukrecia Stulic, Ralph Timmermann, Stephan Paul, Rolf Zentek, Günther Heinemann, and Torsten Kanzow
Ocean Sci., 19, 1791–1808, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1791-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1791-2023, 2023
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In the southern Weddell Sea, the strong sea ice growth in coastal polynyas drives formation of dense shelf water. By using a sea ice–ice shelf–ocean model with representation of the changing icescape based on satellite data, we find that polynya sea ice growth depends on both the regional atmospheric forcing and the icescape. Not just strength but also location of the sea ice growth in polynyas affects properties of the dense shelf water and the basal melting of the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf.
Haohao Zhang, Xuezhi Bai, and Kaiwen Wang
Ocean Sci., 19, 1649–1668, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1649-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1649-2023, 2023
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Meltwater is a critical factor affecting the upper Arctic Ocean, but there has been little research on its specific effects. By artificially removing meltwater from a column model, we found that reducing meltwater weakened ocean stratification and increased summer sea ice melting. The role of meltwater in winter sea ice formation varies by region – removing meltwater increased winter sea ice formation in areas with strong stratification, while decreasing it in areas with weak stratification.
Pierre Mathiot and Nicolas C. Jourdain
Ocean Sci., 19, 1595–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1595-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1595-2023, 2023
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How much the Antarctic ice shelf basal melt rate can increase in response to global warming remains an open question. To achieve this, we compared an ocean simulation under present-day atmospheric condition to a one under late 23rd century atmospheric conditions. The ocean response to the perturbation includes a decrease in the production of cold dense water and an increased intrusion of warmer water onto the continental shelves. This induces a substantial increase in ice shelf basal melt rates.
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Short summary
Recently, it was found that cold-to-warm changes in Antarctic shelf sea areas are possible and lead to higher ice shelf melt rates. In modelling experiments, we found that if the highest density in front of the ice shelf becomes lower than the density of the warmer water off-shelf at the deepest access to the shelf, the off-shelf water will flow onto the shelf. Our results also indicate that this change will offer some, although not much, resistance to reversal and constitutes a tipping point.
Recently, it was found that cold-to-warm changes in Antarctic shelf sea areas are possible and...
