Articles | Volume 16, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3005-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3005-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jul 2022
Research article |
| 28 Jul 2022
| 28 Jul 2022
Reversal of ocean gyres near ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea caused by the interaction of sea ice and wind
Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental
Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
David P. Stevens
Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Mathematics,
University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Karen J. Heywood
Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental
Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Benjamin G. M. Webber
Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental
Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Bastien Y. Queste
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, 405
30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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Meredith G. Meyer, Robert J. W. Brewin, Xuerong Sun, Clara Manno, Florence Atherden, Sasha J. Kramer, Giorgio Dall'Olmo, and Karen J. Heywood
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3148, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3148, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Ocean Science (OS).
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Antarctica is a key region for carbon cycling and export. The efficiency of carbon export has been linked to the type of phytoplankton dominating the system. Our results suggest diatoms, haptophytes, and cryptophytes are present in all water column samples despite substantial physical differences between sampling locations. Our data shows a strong relationship between the proportion of diatoms, haptophytes, and cryptophytes relative to all other phytoplankton and the magnitude of carbon flux.
Andrew G. Pauling, Inga J. Smith, Torge Martin, Jeff K. Ridley, David P. Stevens, Max Thomas, Rebecca L. Beadling, Christopher Danek, Tore Hattermann, Qian Li, John Marshall, Morven Muilwijk, Ariaan Purich, and Neil C. Swart
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-658, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-658, 2026
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Climate models typically do not include meltwater entering the Southern Ocean due to Antarctic ice sheet mass loss. Previous work shows this meltwater drives sea ice growth, but the varying responses have been difficult to compare across models. We ran 11 climate models using the same meltwater input and found a wide range of sea ice responses depending on the background state in each model. Understanding this uncertainty in response is important for future projections of Antarctic sea ice.
Estel Font, Esther Portela, Sebastiaan Swart, Mauro Pinto-Juica, and Bastien Y. Queste
Ocean Sci., 22, 387–401, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-387-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-387-2026, 2026
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In the Sea of Oman, mode waters form at the surface in winter and are trapped beneath a warmer surface layer in spring, linking the surface ocean and the oxygen minimum zone. Using data from ocean gliders, our study examines how this layer evolves. Changes occur along layers of equal density, with brief episodes of vertical mixing, enhanced by eddies. Glider data reveal more variability than monthly means, showing the need for sustained glider observations to understand future ecosystem impacts.
Siyu Meng, Xun Gong, Benjamin G. M. Webber, Manoj Joshi, Xiaokun Ding, Xiang Gong, Mingliang Gu, and Huiwang Gao
Biogeosciences, 23, 867–879, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-867-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-867-2026, 2026
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The North Pacific oligotrophic ocean gyre (NPOG), with low phytoplankton biomass, covers about 40 % of the North Pacific. The variations in NPOG seasonal cycle, which have a greater impact than its annual mean changes, are influenced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation from 1998 to 2021. However, from 2021 to 2100, a weakened NPOG seasonal cycle is expected due to climate change. These changes in NPOG seasonal cycle could affect fisheries and marine ecosystems.
Tom A. Jordan, Karen J. Heywood, Anna Wåhlin, Rob A. Hall, Atsuhiro Muto, Pierre Dutrieux, Kelly Hogan, James Girton, Karen E. Alley, and Erin Pettit
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6001, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6001, 2026
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The shape of the water filled cavity hidden beneath ice shelves is extremely important, but hard to measure. Gravity data collected from aircraft can be used to predict the shape. However, in the Dotson Crosson ice shelves in West Antarctica, new direct observations from autonomous platforms sent beneath the ice, and seismic observations from the ice surface showed gravity models were systematically too shallow. We explain why and provide a solution applicable her and in other ice shelves.
Gerd A. Bruss, Estel Font, Bastien Y. Queste, and Rob A. Hall
Ocean Sci., 22, 31–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-31-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-31-2026, 2026
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We studied internal tides in the Gulf of Oman, where they had not been observed in detail before. Using seabed instruments, we found that these underwater waves travel far inshore, strengthen as the season shifts toward fall, and stay predictable for weeks. They may bring cooler, low-oxygen water to coastal areas, influencing marine ecosystems and reef health.
Maren Elisabeth Richter, Karen J. Heywood, Rob A. Hall, and Peter E. D. Davis
Ocean Sci., 21, 3341–3359, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-3341-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-3341-2025, 2025
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Warm ocean water causes rapid melting of Antarctic glaciers. The circulation and mixing of warm water in ice shelf cavities is mostly unknown. We observed ocean currents and mixing under Dotson Ice Shelf. Mixing is low, with patches of higher mixing associated with stronger currents and vertical current shear. The levels of turbulent mixing will lead to negligible heat loss during the path of the warm water to the grounding line, leaving plenty of heat available to melt the ice shelf there.
Daisy D. Pickup, Dorothee C. E. Bakker, Karen J. Heywood, Francis Glassup, Emily M. Hammermeister, Sharon E. Stammerjohn, Gareth A. Lee, Socratis Loucaides, Bastien Y. Queste, Benjamin G. M. Webber, and Patricia L. Yager
Ocean Sci., 21, 2727–2741, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2727-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2727-2025, 2025
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Autonomous platforms in the Amundsen Sea have allowed for detection of isolated water masses that are colder, saltier and denser than overlying water. They are also associated with a higher dissolved inorganic carbon concentration and lower pH. The water masses, referred to as lenses, could have implications for the transfer of heat and storage of carbon in the region. We hypothesise that they form in surrounding areas that experience intense cooling and sea ice formation in autumn/winter.
Christian T. Wild, Tasha Snow, Tiago S. Dotto, Peter E. D. Davis, Scott Tyler, Ted A. Scambos, Erin C. Pettit, and Karen J. Heywood
Ocean Sci., 21, 2605–2629, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2605-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2605-2025, 2025
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Thwaites Glacier is retreating due to warm ocean water melting it from below, but its thick ice shelf makes this heat hard to monitor. Using hot-water drilling, we placed sensors beneath the floating ice, revealing how surface freezing in Pine Island Bay influences heat at depth. Alongside gradual warming, we found bursts of heat that could speed up melting at the grounding zone, which may become more common as sea ice declines.
Shenjie Zhou, Pierre Dutrieux, Claudia F. Giulivi, Adrian Jenkins, Alessandro Silvano, Christopher Auckland, E. Povl Abrahamsen, Michael Meredith, Irena Vaňková, Keith Nicholls, Peter E. D. Davis, Svein Østerhus, Arnold L. Gordon, Christopher J. Zappa, Tiago S. Dotto, Ted Scambos, Kathryn L. Gunn, Stephen R. Rintoul, Shigeru Aoki, Craig Stevens, Chengyan Liu, Sukyoung Yun, Tae-Wan Kim, Won Sang Lee, Markus Janout, Tore Hattermann, Julius Lauber, Elin Darelius, Anna Wåhlin, Leo Middleton, Pasquale Castagno, Giorgio Budillon, Karen J. Heywood, Jennifer Graham, Stephen Dye, Daisuke Hirano, and Una Kim Miller
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 5693–5706, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5693-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5693-2025, 2025
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We created the first standardised dataset of in-situ ocean measurements time series from around Antarctica collected since 1970s. This includes temperature, salinity, pressure, and currents recorded by instruments deployed in icy, challenging conditions. Our analysis highlights the dominance of tidal currents and separates these from other patterns to study regional energy distribution. This unique dataset offers a foundation for future research on Antarctic ocean dynamics and ice interactions.
Peter M. F. Sheehan, Benjamin G. M. Webber, Alejandra Sanchez-Franks, and Bastien Y. Queste
Ocean Sci., 21, 1575–1588, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1575-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1575-2025, 2025
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Using measurements and computer models, we identify a large flux of oxygen within the Southwest Monsoon Current, which flows north into the Bay of Bengal between June and September each year. Oxygen levels in the bay are very low, but they are not quite low enough for key nutrient cycles to be as dramatically altered as in other low-oxygen regions. We suggest that the flux which we identify contributes to keeping oxygen levels in the bay above the threshold below which dramatic changes would occur.
Estel Font, Sebastiaan Swart, Puthenveettil Narayana Vinayachandran, and Bastien Y. Queste
Ocean Sci., 21, 1349–1368, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1349-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1349-2025, 2025
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Mode water is formed annually and sits between the warm surface water and deeper older waters. In the Arabian Sea, it plays a crucial role in regulating ocean heat and oxygen variability by acting as a doorway between the surface and deeper waters. Using observations and models, we show that its formation is primarily driven by atmospheric forcing, though ocean currents, eddies, and biological heating also influence its life cycle. This water mass contributes up to 40 % of the region's oxygen content.
Meredith G. Meyer, Esther Portela, Walker O. Smith Jr., and Karen J. Heywood
Ocean Sci., 21, 1223–1236, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1223-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1223-2025, 2025
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During the annual phytoplankton bloom, rates of primary production and carbon export in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, are uncoupled from each other and from oxygen and carbon stocks. These biogeochemical rates support the high-productivity, low-export classification of the region and suggest that environmental factors influence these stocks and rates differently and make projections under future climate change scenarios difficult.
Blandine Jacob, Bastien Y. Queste, and Marcel D. du Plessis
Ocean Sci., 21, 359–379, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-359-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-359-2025, 2025
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Few observations exist in the Amundsen Sea. Consequently, studies rely on reanalysis (e.g., ERA5) to investigate how the atmosphere affects ocean variability (e.g., sea-ice formation and melt). We use data collected along ice shelves to show that cold, dry air blowing from Antarctica triggers large ocean heat loss, which is underestimated by ERA5. We then use an ocean model to show that this bias has an important impact on the ocean, with implications for sea-ice forecasts.
Ria Oelerich, Karen J. Heywood, Gillian M. Damerell, Marcel du Plessis, Louise C. Biddle, and Sebastiaan Swart
Ocean Sci., 19, 1465–1482, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1465-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1465-2023, 2023
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At the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, relatively warm waters encounter the colder waters surrounding Antarctica. Observations from underwater vehicles and altimetry show that medium-sized cold-core eddies influence the southern boundary's barrier properties by strengthening the slopes of constant density lines across it and amplifying its associated jet. As a result, the ability of exchanging properties, such as heat, across the southern boundary is reduced.
Pierre L'Hégaret, Florian Schütte, Sabrina Speich, Gilles Reverdin, Dariusz B. Baranowski, Rena Czeschel, Tim Fischer, Gregory R. Foltz, Karen J. Heywood, Gerd Krahmann, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Philippe Le Bot, Stéphane Leizour, Callum Rollo, Michael Schlundt, Elizabeth Siddle, Corentin Subirade, Dongxiao Zhang, and Johannes Karstensen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1801–1830, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1801-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1801-2023, 2023
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In early 2020, the EUREC4A-OA/ATOMIC experiment took place in the northwestern Tropical Atlantic Ocean, a dynamical region where different water masses interact. Four oceanographic vessels and a fleet of autonomous devices were deployed to study the processes at play and sample the upper ocean, each with its own observing capability. The article first describes the data calibration and validation and second their cross-validation, using a hierarchy of instruments and estimating the uncertainty.
Manoj Joshi, Robert A. Hall, David P. Stevens, and Ed Hawkins
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 443–455, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-443-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-443-2023, 2023
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The 18.6-year lunar nodal cycle arises from variations in the angle of the Moon's orbital plane and affects ocean tides. In this work we use a climate model to examine the effect of this cycle on the ocean, surface, and atmosphere. The timing of anomalies is consistent with the so-called slowdown in global warming and has implications for when global temperatures will exceed 1.5 ℃ above pre-industrial levels. Regional anomalies have implications for seasonal climate areas such as Europe.
Peter M. F. Sheehan, Gillian M. Damerell, Philip J. Leadbitter, Karen J. Heywood, and Rob A. Hall
Ocean Sci., 19, 77–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-77-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-77-2023, 2023
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We calculate the rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation, i.e. the mixing driven by small-scale ocean turbulence, in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean via two methods. We find good agreement between the results of both. A region of elevated mixing is found between 200 and 500 m, and we calculate the associated heat and salt fluxes. We find that double-diffusive mixing in salt fingers, a common feature of the tropical oceans, drives larger heat and salt fluxes than the turbulent mixing.
Callum Rollo, Karen J. Heywood, and Rob A. Hall
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 11, 359–373, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-11-359-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-11-359-2022, 2022
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Using an underwater buoyancy-powered autonomous glider, we collected profiles of temperature and salinity from the ocean north-east of Barbados. Most of the temperature and salinity profiles contained staircase-like structures of alternating constant values and large gradients. We wrote an algorithm to identify these staircases. We hypothesise that these staircases are prevented from forming where background gradients in temperature and salinity are too great.
Elise S. Droste, Mario Hoppema, Melchor González-Dávila, Juana Magdalena Santana-Casiano, Bastien Y. Queste, Giorgio Dall'Olmo, Hugh J. Venables, Gerd Rohardt, Sharyn Ossebaar, Daniel Schuller, Sunke Trace-Kleeberg, and Dorothee C. E. Bakker
Ocean Sci., 18, 1293–1320, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1293-2022, 2022
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Tides affect the marine carbonate chemistry of a coastal polynya neighbouring the Ekström Ice Shelf by movement of seawater with different physical and biogeochemical properties. The result is that the coastal polynya in the summer can switch between being a sink or a source of CO2 multiple times a day. We encourage consideration of tides when collecting in polar coastal regions to account for tide-driven variability and to avoid overestimations or underestimations of air–sea CO2 exchange.
Benjamin R. Loveday, Timothy Smyth, Anıl Akpinar, Tom Hull, Mark E. Inall, Jan Kaiser, Bastien Y. Queste, Matt Tobermann, Charlotte A. J. Williams, and Matthew R. Palmer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3997–4016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3997-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3997-2022, 2022
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Using a new approach to combine autonomous underwater glider data and satellite Earth observations, we have generated a 19-month time series of North Sea net primary productivity – the rate at which phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide minus that lost through respiration. This time series, which spans 13 gliders, allows for new investigations into small-scale, high-frequency variability in the biogeochemical processes that underpin the carbon cycle and coastal marine ecosystems in shelf seas.
Michael P. Hemming, Jan Kaiser, Jacqueline Boutin, Liliane Merlivat, Karen J. Heywood, Dorothee C. E. Bakker, Gareth A. Lee, Marcos Cobas García, David Antoine, and Kiminori Shitashima
Ocean Sci., 18, 1245–1262, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1245-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1245-2022, 2022
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An underwater glider mission was carried out in spring 2016 near a mooring in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. The glider deployment served as a test of a prototype ion-sensitive field-effect transistor pH sensor. Mean net community production rates were estimated from glider and buoy measurements of dissolved oxygen and inorganic carbon concentrations before and during the spring bloom. Incorporating advection is important for accurate mass budgets. Unexpected metabolic quotients were found.
Yanxin Wang, Karen J. Heywood, David P. Stevens, and Gillian M. Damerell
Ocean Sci., 18, 839–855, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-839-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-839-2022, 2022
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It is important that climate models give accurate projections of future extremes in summer and winter sea surface temperature because these affect many features of the global climate system. Our results demonstrate that some models would give large errors if used for future projections of these features, and models with more detailed representation of vertical structure in the ocean tend to have a better representation of sea surface temperature, particularly in summer.
Helen E. Phillips, Amit Tandon, Ryo Furue, Raleigh Hood, Caroline C. Ummenhofer, Jessica A. Benthuysen, Viviane Menezes, Shijian Hu, Ben Webber, Alejandra Sanchez-Franks, Deepak Cherian, Emily Shroyer, Ming Feng, Hemantha Wijesekera, Abhisek Chatterjee, Lisan Yu, Juliet Hermes, Raghu Murtugudde, Tomoki Tozuka, Danielle Su, Arvind Singh, Luca Centurioni, Satya Prakash, and Jerry Wiggert
Ocean Sci., 17, 1677–1751, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1677-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1677-2021, 2021
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Over the past decade, understanding of the Indian Ocean has progressed through new observations and advances in theory and models of the oceanic and atmospheric circulation. This review brings together new understanding of the ocean–atmosphere system in the Indian Ocean, describing Indian Ocean circulation patterns, air–sea interactions, climate variability, and the critical role of the Indian Ocean as a clearing house for anthropogenic heat.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
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The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
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Short summary
New observations reveal the Thwaites gyre in a habitually ice-covered region in the Amundsen Sea for the first time. This gyre rotates anticlockwise, despite the wind here favouring clockwise gyres like the Pine Island Bay gyre – the only other ocean gyre reported in the Amundsen Sea. We use an ocean model to suggest that sea ice alters the wind stress felt by the ocean and hence determines the gyre direction and strength. These processes may also be applied to other gyres in polar oceans.
New observations reveal the Thwaites gyre in a habitually ice-covered region in the Amundsen Sea...
