Review article: Weddell Sea Polynya formation, cessation and climatic impacts

Zhou, Lu; Ayres, Holly; Gülk, Birte; Narayanan, Aditya; de Lavergne, Casimir; Ödalen, Malin; Silvano, Alessandro; Wang, Xingchi; Lindeman, Margaret; Steiger, Nadine

doi:10.5194/tc-20-285-2026

Articles | Volume 20, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-285-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-285-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 1

Review article

|

16 Jan 2026

Review article |

| 16 Jan 2026

Review article: Weddell Sea Polynya formation, cessation and climatic impacts

Lu Zhou, Holly Ayres, Birte Gülk, Aditya Narayanan, Casimir de Lavergne, Malin Ödalen, Alessandro Silvano, Xingchi Wang, Margaret Lindeman, and Nadine Steiger

Data sets

Dataset supporting the University of Southampton doctoral thesis "Dynamics of the subpolar southern ocean response to climate change" O. C. Dragomir https://doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/D3006

Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data N. DiGirolamo et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/MPYG15WAA4WX

Nimbus-5 ESMR Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations C. Parkinson et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/W2PKTWMTY0TP

MODIS 250m Calibrated Radiances Product MODIS Characterization Support Team (MCST) https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD02QKM.061

VIIRS/NPP Moderate Resolution Terrain-Corrected Geolocation L1 6-Min Swath 750m NRT VIIRS Calibration Support Team (VCST) https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VNP03MOD_NRT.002

ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1940 to present H. Hersbach et al. https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.adbb2d47

Global Ocean Physics Reanalysis Copernicus Marine Service https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00021

Short summary

Polynyas are large openings in polar sea ice that can influence global climate and ocean circulation. After disappearing for 40 years, major polynyas reappeared in the Weddell Sea in 2016 and 2017, sparking new scientific questions. Our review explores how ocean currents, atmospheric conditions, and deep ocean heat drive their formation. These polynyas impact ecosystems, carbon exchange, and deep water formation, but their future remains uncertain, requiring better observations and models.