The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 15, issue 10
Articles | Volume 15, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4999-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4999-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 15, issue 10
Brief communication
 | 
29 Oct 2021
Brief communication |  | 29 Oct 2021

Brief communication: The anomalous winter 2019 sea-ice conditions in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Greg H. Leonard, Kate E. Turner, Maren E. Richter, Maddy S. Whittaker, and Inga J. Smith

Data sets

MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1 km, Version 6, [Ice Temperature] D. K. Hall and G. A. Riggs https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD29.006

AMSR2 ASI sea ice concentration data, Antarctic, version 5.4 (NetCDF) (July 2012-December 2019) C. Melsheimer and G. Spreen https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898400

Circum-Antarctic landfast sea ice extent, 2000-2018, Ver. 2.2 A. D. Fraser and R. Massom https://doi.org/10.26179/5d267d1ceb60c

MODIS/Terra Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1 km, Version 6, [Ice Temperature] D. K. Hall and G. A. Riggs https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD29.006

Download
Short summary
McMurdo Sound sea ice can generally be partitioned into two regimes: a stable fast-ice cover forming south of approximately 77.6° S and a more dynamic region north of 77.6° S that is regularly impacted by polynyas. In 2019, a stable fast-ice cover formed unusually late due to repeated break-out events. This subsequently affected sea-ice operations in the 2019/20 field season. We analysed the 2019 sea-ice conditions and found a strong correlation with unusually large southerly wind events.
Read more