Ice front retreat reconfigures meltwater-driven gyres modulating ocean heat delivery to an Antarctic ice shelf

Seung-Tae Yoon, Won Sang Lee (), SungHyun Nam (), Choon-Ki Lee, Sukyoung Yun, Karen Heywood, Lars Boehme, Yixi Zheng, Inhee Lee, Yeon Choi, Adrian Jenkins, Emilia Kyung Jin, Robert Larter, Julia Wellner, Pierre Dutrieux and Alexander T. Bradley
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Seung-Tae Yoon: Kyungpook National University
Won Sang Lee: Korea Polar Research Institute
SungHyun Nam: Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu
Choon-Ki Lee: Korea Polar Research Institute
Sukyoung Yun: Korea Polar Research Institute
Karen Heywood: University of East Anglia, Norwich
Lars Boehme: University of St Andrews, Andrews
Yixi Zheng: University of East Anglia, Norwich
Inhee Lee: Pusan National University, Geumjeong-gu
Yeon Choi: Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu
Adrian Jenkins: Northumbria University
Emilia Kyung Jin: Korea Polar Research Institute
Robert Larter: British Antarctic Survey
Julia Wellner: University of Houston
Pierre Dutrieux: British Antarctic Survey
Alexander T. Bradley: British Antarctic Survey

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS) buttresses the Pine Island Glacier, the key contributor to sea-level rise. PIIS has thinned owing to ocean-driven melting, and its calving front has retreated, leading to buttressing loss. PIIS melting depends primarily on the thermocline variability in its front. Furthermore, local ocean circulation shifts adjust heat transport within Pine Island Bay (PIB), yet oceanic processes underlying the ice front retreat remain unclear. Here, we report a PIB double-gyre that moves with the PIIS calving front and hypothesise that it controls ocean heat input towards PIIS. Glacial melt generates cyclonic and anticyclonic gyres near and off PIIS, and meltwater outflows converge into the anticyclonic gyre with a deep-convex-downward thermocline. The double-gyre migrated eastward as the calving front retreated, placing the anticyclonic gyre over a shallow seafloor ridge, reducing the ocean heat input towards PIIS. Reconfigurations of meltwater-driven gyres associated with moving ice boundaries might be crucial in modulating ocean heat delivery to glacial ice.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-27968-8

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