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Tides regulate the flow and density of Antarctic Bottom Water from the western Ross Sea

Tides regulate the flow and density of Antarctic Bottom Water from the western Ross Sea
Tides regulate the flow and density of Antarctic Bottom Water from the western Ross Sea

Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) stores heat and gases over decades to centuries after contact with the atmosphere during formation on the Antarctic shelf and subsequent flow into the global deep ocean. Dense water from the western Ross Sea, a primary source of AABW, shows changes in water properties and volume over the last few decades. Here we show, using multiple years of moored observations, that the density and speed of the outflow are consistent with a release from the Drygalski Trough controlled by the density in Terra Nova Bay (the “accelerator”) and the tidal mixing (the “brake”). We suggest tides create two peaks in density and flow each year at the equinoxes and could cause changes of ~ 30% in the flow and density over the 18.6-year lunar nodal tide. Based on our dynamic model, we find tides can explain much of the decadal variability in the outflow with longer-term changes likely driven by the density in Terra Nova Bay.

2045-2322
Bowen, Melissa M.
158e3f23-152c-4570-ad79-0ec462f5f436
Fernandez, Denise
a584de9c-ae44-4e1b-9937-d930c4b957d2
Gordon, Arnold L.
17579e7b-ea0c-4eeb-bab3-2cab03d701a7
Huber, Bruce
b759efb4-5f25-4c5f-80cf-fc707d687299
Castagno, Pasquale
aaef2fbf-9770-43a4-98fe-bbdb339afc51
Falco, Pierpaolo
15575f67-5836-47d2-b0f0-5aad80b8d583
Budillon, Giorgio
8902bf6b-c3ce-4ba4-9241-8a15f00b3cc7
Gunn, Kathryn L.
5952c101-ecf3-4b62-b817-86007cdc8ce4
Forcen-Vazquez, Aitana
f8335331-9a4e-49c5-9928-d673ce4c22b7
Bowen, Melissa M.
158e3f23-152c-4570-ad79-0ec462f5f436
Fernandez, Denise
a584de9c-ae44-4e1b-9937-d930c4b957d2
Gordon, Arnold L.
17579e7b-ea0c-4eeb-bab3-2cab03d701a7
Huber, Bruce
b759efb4-5f25-4c5f-80cf-fc707d687299
Castagno, Pasquale
aaef2fbf-9770-43a4-98fe-bbdb339afc51
Falco, Pierpaolo
15575f67-5836-47d2-b0f0-5aad80b8d583
Budillon, Giorgio
8902bf6b-c3ce-4ba4-9241-8a15f00b3cc7
Gunn, Kathryn L.
5952c101-ecf3-4b62-b817-86007cdc8ce4
Forcen-Vazquez, Aitana
f8335331-9a4e-49c5-9928-d673ce4c22b7

Bowen, Melissa M., Fernandez, Denise, Gordon, Arnold L., Huber, Bruce, Castagno, Pasquale, Falco, Pierpaolo, Budillon, Giorgio, Gunn, Kathryn L. and Forcen-Vazquez, Aitana (2023) Tides regulate the flow and density of Antarctic Bottom Water from the western Ross Sea. Scientific Reports, 13 (1), [3873]. (doi:10.1038/s41598-023-32101-w).

Record type: Letter

Abstract

Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) stores heat and gases over decades to centuries after contact with the atmosphere during formation on the Antarctic shelf and subsequent flow into the global deep ocean. Dense water from the western Ross Sea, a primary source of AABW, shows changes in water properties and volume over the last few decades. Here we show, using multiple years of moored observations, that the density and speed of the outflow are consistent with a release from the Drygalski Trough controlled by the density in Terra Nova Bay (the “accelerator”) and the tidal mixing (the “brake”). We suggest tides create two peaks in density and flow each year at the equinoxes and could cause changes of ~ 30% in the flow and density over the 18.6-year lunar nodal tide. Based on our dynamic model, we find tides can explain much of the decadal variability in the outflow with longer-term changes likely driven by the density in Terra Nova Bay.

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Accepted/In Press date: 6 March 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 March 2023
Published date: 8 March 2023
Additional Information: Funding Information: “This study and support for M.B. and D.F. were funded by the New Zealand Strategic Science Investment Fund: Antarctic Science Platform Contract ANTA1801. A.F.-V. was supported by the Deep South National Science Challenge. The mooring G data were collected in the framework of MORSea projects supported by the Italian National Program for Antarctic Research‐PNRA, which provided financial and logistic support. P.C. was funded by the PNRA, Grant PNRA18_00256. The PNRA is funded by the Italian Minister of the University”. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 484370
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/484370
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 32b87fa9-00c5-4465-8f67-2355ec1fd32a
ORCID for Kathryn L. Gunn: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2397-5364

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Date deposited: 15 Nov 2023 18:33
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:16

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Contributors

Author: Melissa M. Bowen
Author: Denise Fernandez
Author: Arnold L. Gordon
Author: Bruce Huber
Author: Pasquale Castagno
Author: Pierpaolo Falco
Author: Giorgio Budillon
Author: Kathryn L. Gunn ORCID iD
Author: Aitana Forcen-Vazquez

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