2014 AGU Fall Meeting

December 15 - 19, 2014

Processes occurring at or close to the ice-ocean interface around Antarctica influence the state and circulation of a large proportion of the global ocean. The annual cycle of sea ice formation, export and melt is critical to the formation of both Antarctic Bottom Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water, which together fill more than half of the global sub-surface ocean. Inflow of warm Circumpolar Deep Water beneath floating shelves of marine-terminating glaciers promotes retreat of the grounded portion of the ice sheet, and thus sea level rise. Though historically limited by the prohibitive costs of in situ observations and high-resolution models, recent field campaigns and focused model development efforts are now rapidly advancing our understanding of these processes. This session will showcase recent advances in understanding the physical processes occurring in the Antarctic marginal seas, across the Antarctic continental shelf and slope, and within the ocean cavities beneath floating ice shelves. Studies based on observations, numerical models and theory are all welcome. The authors particularly encourage submissions addressing ocean-sea ice interactions, warm water pathways from continental slope to grounding zones, and inter-connectivity between sectors of the Antarctic margins and the broader Southern Ocean.

• OM - Ocean Modeling
• PL - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Larger
• PS - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller