Glacial ice and atmospheric forcing on the Mertz Glacier Polynya over the past 250 years

P. Campagne, Xavier Crosta (), M.N. Houssais, D. Swingedouw, S. Schmidt, A. Martin, E. Devred, S. Capo, V. Marieu, I. Closset and G. Massé ()
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P. Campagne: EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux
Xavier Crosta: EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux
M.N. Houssais: LOCEAN, UMR CNRS/UPMC/IRD/MNHN 7159, Université Pierre et Marie Curie
D. Swingedouw: EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux
S. Schmidt: EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux
A. Martin: LOCEAN, UMR CNRS/UPMC/IRD/MNHN 7159, Université Pierre et Marie Curie
E. Devred: TAKUVIK, UMI 3376 UL/CNRS, Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine
S. Capo: EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux
V. Marieu: EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux
I. Closset: LOCEAN, UMR CNRS/UPMC/IRD/MNHN 7159, Université Pierre et Marie Curie
G. Massé: LOCEAN, UMR CNRS/UPMC/IRD/MNHN 7159, Université Pierre et Marie Curie

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The Mertz Glacier Polynya off George V Land, East Antarctica, is a source of Adélie Land Bottom Water, which contributes up to ~25% of the Antarctic Bottom Water. This major polynya is closely linked to the presence of the Mertz Glacier Tongue that traps pack ice upstream. In 2010, the Mertz Glacier calved a massive iceberg, deeply impacting local sea ice conditions and dense shelf water formation. Here we provide the first detailed 250-year long reconstruction of local sea ice and bottom water conditions. Spectral analysis of the data sets reveals large and abrupt changes in sea surface and bottom water conditions with a ~70-year cyclicity, associated with the Mertz Glacier Tongue calving and regrowth dynamics. Geological data and atmospheric reanalysis, however, suggest that sea ice conditions in the polynya were also very sensitive to changes in surface winds in relation to the recent intensification of the Southern Annular Mode.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7642

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