Subsurface floats in the Filchner Trough provide first direct under-ice tracks of eddies and circulation on shelf

Type Article
Acceptance Date 2023-12-11 IN PRESS
Language English
Author(s) Sallée Jean-Baptiste1, Vignes Lucie1, Minière Audrey2, Steiger NadineORCID1, Pauthenet EtienneORCID1, 5, Lourenco Antonio1, Speer Kevin3, Lazarevich Peter3, Nicholls KeithORCID4
Affiliation(s) 1 : Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat, Sorbonne Université / CNRS, Paris, France
2 : Mercator Ocean International, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sbatier, Toulouse, France
3 : Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute and Department of Scientific Computing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
4 : British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
5 : Univ Brest, Ifremer, CNRS, IRD, LOPS, F-29280 Plouzané, France
Source Preprint (Copernicus GmbH) In Press
DOI 10.5194/egusphere-2023-2952
Note this preprint is open for discussion.
Abstract

Bottom water formation in the Weddell Sea and mass loss from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf are tightly linked by the supply of Warm Deep Water to the continental shelf. Heavy sea ice cover and icebergs restrict ship access and upper ocean measurements by moorings, compelling us to try new sampling methods. We present results from the first dedicated under-sea-ice float experiment tracking circulation on the continental shelf between the Brunt Ice Shelf and Filchner Ice Shelf. Seven Apex profiling floats were deployed in 2017 at three different locations, targeting the sources of modified Warm Deep Water (mWDW) inflow and Ice Shelf Water (ISW) circulation in the Filchner Trough. The floats capture a warm mWDW regime with southward inflow over the eastern continental shelf and a cold ISW regime with a recirculation of ISW in the Filchner Trough throughout the four years of observations. The mWDW flowing onto the continental shelf follows two pathways: the eastern flank of the Filchner Trough and via a Small Trough on the shallow shelf farther east. In the present circulation regime, this warm water is blocked from reaching the ice shelf cavity due to the presence of the thick ISW layer inside the Filchner Trough. The floats' trajectories and hydrography reveal the dynamically active front, flow reversal, and eddy generation between these two water masses along the eastern flank of the Filchner Trough.

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Sallée Jean-Baptiste, Vignes Lucie, Minière Audrey, Steiger Nadine, Pauthenet Etienne, Lourenco Antonio, Speer Kevin, Lazarevich Peter, Nicholls Keith. Subsurface floats in the Filchner Trough provide first direct under-ice tracks of eddies and circulation on shelf. Preprint IN PRESS. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2952 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97889/