Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2837-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2837-2025
Research article
 | 
05 Aug 2025
Research article |  | 05 Aug 2025

Enhanced basal melting in winter and spring: seasonal ice–ocean interactions at the Ekström Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

Ole Zeising, Tore Hattermann, Lars Kaleschke, Sophie Berger, Olaf Boebel, Reinhard Drews, M. Reza Ershadi, Tanja Fromm, Frank Pattyn, Daniel Steinhage, and Olaf Eisen

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Cited articles

Adusumilli, S., Fricker, H. A., Medley, B., Padman, L., and Siegfried, M. R.: Interannual variations in meltwater input to the Southern Ocean from Antarctic ice shelves, Nat. Geosci., 13, 616–620, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0616-z, 2020. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung: Neumayer III and Kohnen Station in Antarctica operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Journal of Large-Scale Research Facilities, 2, A85, https://doi.org/10.17815/jlsrf-2-152, 2016. a
Arndt, S., Hoppmann, M., Schmithüsen, H., Fraser, A. D., and Nicolaus, M.: Seasonal and interannual variability of landfast sea ice in Atka Bay, Weddell Sea, Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 14, 2775–2793, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2775-2020, 2020. a
Beitsch, A., Kaleschke, L., and Kern, S.: Investigating high-resolution AMSR2 sea ice concentrations during the February 2013 fracture event in the Beaufort Sea, Remote Sens.-Basel, 6, 3841–3856, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6053841, 2014. a
Boebel, O., Kindermann, L., Klinck, H., Bornemann, H., Plötz, J., Steinhage, D., Riedel, S., and Burkhardt, E.: Real-time underwater sounds from the Southern Ocean, EOS T. Am. Geophys. Un., 87, 361–361, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006EO360002, 2006. a
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Short summary
Basal melting of ice shelves impacts the mass loss of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. This study focuses on the Ekström Ice Shelf in East Antarctica, using multiyear data from an autonomous radar system. Results show a surprising seasonal pattern of high melt rates in winter and spring. The seasonalities of sea-ice growth and ocean density indicate that, in winter, dense water enhances plume activity and melt rates. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for improving future mass balance projections.
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