Articles | Volume 19, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2229-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-2229-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Jun 2025
Research article |
| 25 Jun 2025
| 25 Jun 2025
Mechanisms and impacts of anomalous high-salinity shelf water formation in the Ross Sea
Xiaoqiao Wang
College of Meteorology and Oceanography, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
Key Laboratory of High Impact Weather (special), China Meteorological Administration, Changsha, China
Key Laboratory of Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Ministry of Education and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polar Life and Environment Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Polar Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shanghai, 200136, China
Chuan Xie
Key Laboratory of Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Ministry of Education and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
Xi Zhao
School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, 519000, China
Key Laboratory of Comprehensive Observation of Polar Environment, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Zhuhai, 519082, China
Chuning Wang
Key Laboratory of Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Ministry of Education and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polar Life and Environment Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Polar Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
Heng Hu
Key Laboratory of Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Ministry of Education and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
Yuanjie Chen
Key Laboratory of Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Ministry of Education and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
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Joey J. Voermans, Jean Rabault, Kirill Filchuk, Ivan Ryzhov, Petra Heil, Aleksey Marchenko, Clarence O. Collins III, Mohammed Dabboor, Graig Sutherland, and Alexander V. Babanin
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Lisa Thompson, Madison Smith, Jim Thomson, Sharon Stammerjohn, Steve Ackley, and Brice Loose
The Cryosphere, 14, 3329–3347, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3329-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3329-2020, 2020
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Guillaume Boutin, Camille Lique, Fabrice Ardhuin, Clément Rousset, Claude Talandier, Mickael Accensi, and Fanny Girard-Ardhuin
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We investigate the interactions of surface ocean waves with sea ice taking place at the interface between the compact sea ice cover and the open ocean. We use a newly developed coupling framework between a wave and an ocean–sea ice numerical model. Our results show how the push on sea ice exerted by waves changes the amount and the location of sea ice melting, with a strong impact on the ocean surface properties close to the ice edge.
Agnieszka Herman, Sukun Cheng, and Hayley H. Shen
The Cryosphere, 13, 2901–2914, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2901-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2901-2019, 2019
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Sea ice interactions with waves are extensively studied in recent years, but mechanisms leading to wave energy attenuation in sea ice remain poorly understood. One of the reasons limiting progress in modelling is a lack of observational data for model validation. The paper presents an analysis of laboratory observations of waves propagating in colliding ice floes. We show that wave attenuation is sensitive to floe size and wave period. A numerical model is calibrated to reproduce this behaviour.
Chen Cheng, Adrian Jenkins, Paul R. Holland, Zhaomin Wang, Chengyan Liu, and Ruibin Xia
The Cryosphere, 13, 265–280, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-265-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-265-2019, 2019
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The sub-ice platelet layer (SIPL) under fast ice is most prevalent in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Using a modified plume model, we investigated the responses of SIPL thickening rate and frazil concentration to variations in ice shelf water supercooling in McMurdo Sound. It would be key to parameterizing the relevant process in more complex three-dimensional, primitive equation ocean models, which relies on the knowledge of the suspended frazil size spectrum within the ice–ocean boundary layer.
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Short summary
Global bottom water originates from high-salinity shelf water (HSSW), formed by intense sea ice production (SIP) in the Southern Ocean. This study uses numerical outputs for the Ross Sea to examine the extreme HSSW event in 2007, when atmospheric circulations enhanced SIP, resulting in the highest HSSW volume in a decade. However, salinity was low, owing to increased meltwater. The findings highlight the complex interplay between SIP and ice shelf melting, with key implications for ocean processes.
Global bottom water originates from high-salinity shelf water (HSSW), formed by intense sea ice...
