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.
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.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Review article
| 
16 Jan 2026
Review article |
| 16 Jan 2026
| 16 Jan 2026
Review article: Weddell Sea Polynya formation, cessation and climatic impacts
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Holly Ayres
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Birte Gülk
Department of Marine Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, MNHN, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, LOCEAN/IPSL, 75005 Paris, France
Aditya Narayanan
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Casimir de Lavergne
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, MNHN, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, LOCEAN/IPSL, 75005 Paris, France
Malin Ödalen
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway
Alessandro Silvano
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Xingchi Wang
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Margaret Lindeman
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Nadine Steiger
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, MNHN, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, LOCEAN/IPSL, 75005 Paris, France
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Linus Vogt, Jean-Baptiste Sallée, and Casimir de Lavergne
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Ria Oelerich, Birte Gülk, Julia Dräger-Dietel, and Alexa Griesel
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Jean-Baptiste Sallée, Lucie Vignes, Audrey Minière, Nadine Steiger, Etienne Pauthenet, Antonio Lourenco, Kevin Speer, Peter Lazarevich, and Keith W. Nicholls
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Lu Zhou, Julienne Stroeve, Vishnu Nandan, Rosemary Willatt, Shiming Xu, Weixin Zhu, Sahra Kacimi, Stefanie Arndt, and Zifan Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 4399–4434, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4399-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4399-2024, 2024
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Snow over Antarctic sea ice, influenced by highly variable meteorological conditions and heavy snowfall, has a complex stratigraphy and profound impact on the microwave signature. We employ advanced radiation transfer models to analyse the effects of complex snow properties on brightness temperatures over the sea ice in the Southern Ocean. Great potential lies in the understanding of snow processes and the application to satellite retrievals.
Weixin Zhu, Siqi Liu, Shiming Xu, and Lu Zhou
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Holly C. Ayres, David Ferreira, Wonsun Park, Joakim Kjellsson, and Malin Ödalen
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Céline Heuzé, Lu Zhou, Martin Mohrmann, and Adriano Lemos
The Cryosphere, 15, 3401–3421, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3401-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3401-2021, 2021
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Jun Shao, Lowell D. Stott, Laurie Menviel, Andy Ridgwell, Malin Ödalen, and Mayhar Mohtadi
Clim. Past, 17, 1507–1521, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1507-2021, 2021
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Planktic and shallow benthic foraminiferal stable carbon isotope
(δ13C) data show a rapid decline during the last deglaciation. This widespread signal was linked to respired carbon released from the deep ocean and its transport through the upper-ocean circulation. Using numerical simulations in which a stronger flux of respired carbon upwells and outcrops in the Southern Ocean, we find that the depleted δ13C signal is transmitted to the rest of the upper ocean through air–sea gas exchange.
Shiming Xu, Jialiang Ma, Lu Zhou, Yan Zhang, Jiping Liu, and Bin Wang
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 603–628, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-603-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-603-2021, 2021
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A multi-resolution tripolar grid hierarchy is constructed and integrated in CESM (version 1.2.1). The resolution range includes 0.45, 0.15, and 0.05°. Based on atmospherically forced sea ice experiments, the model simulates reasonable sea ice kinematics and scaling properties. Landfast ice thickness can also be systematically shifted due to non-convergent solutions to an
elastic–viscous–plastic (EVP) model. This work is a framework for multi-scale modeling of the ocean and sea ice with CESM.
Lu Zhou, Julienne Stroeve, Shiming Xu, Alek Petty, Rachel Tilling, Mai Winstrup, Philip Rostosky, Isobel R. Lawrence, Glen E. Liston, Andy Ridout, Michel Tsamados, and Vishnu Nandan
The Cryosphere, 15, 345–367, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-345-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Snow on sea ice plays an important role in the Arctic climate system. Large spatial and temporal discrepancies among the eight snow depth products are analyzed together with their seasonal variability and long-term trends. These snow products are further compared against various ground-truth observations. More analyses on representation error of sea ice parameters are needed for systematic comparison and fusion of airborne, in situ and remote sensing observations.
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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.
Polynyas are large openings in polar sea ice that can influence global climate and ocean...
