Characterizing physical properties and ocean currents in the eastern Ross Sea, Antarctica

Abstract

Rising concerns of global warming and climate change warrant further research in the seas surrounding the Antarctic continent. The eastern Ross Sea (ERS) is an ideal location to study changing properties of water masses transported by a major ocean current: the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC). Glaciers in the Amundsen Sea farther upstream have experienced increased melting over the past two decades, which contributes with anomalously large amounts of freshwater to the ASC. These enhanced melting could alter the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the Ross Sea and elsewhere along the Antarctic continental margins. Sparse observations exist in the eastern Ross Sea (ERS), and this project will attempt to characterize the properties and variability of water masses present in that region, and determine the rates of inshore transport from the slope and oceanic regimes. These topics of study are important to better understand the evolution of the Southern Ocean in a changing climate.