High-latitude oceanography using the Autosub autonomous underwater vehicle

Nicholls, Keith W., Abrahamsen, E. Povl, Heywood, Karen J., Stansfield, Kate and Osterhus, Svein (2008) High-latitude oceanography using the Autosub autonomous underwater vehicle. Limnology and Oceanography, 53 (5 Part 2), 2309-2320.

Abstract

A combination of measurements from Autosub, an autonomous underwater vehicle, and ship-based
instruments are used to describe the oceanographic conditions beneath Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The data
show an intricate oceanographic regime that is suggestive of variability at seasonal or longer time scales. Results
from a numerical model of the flow beneath the ice shelf lend support to a strong seasonal variability, and data
from instruments moored beneath the ice shelf show substantial temporal variations. The Autosub data indicate
temperatures within the cavity somewhat lower than our model results would suggest; thus, our modeled melt
rates (average of 0.85 m yr21) might be overestimates, although they are substantially lower than from previously
published model studies (4.9 and 1.9 m yr21). The contribution of ice shelf melt in the freshwater balance of the
waters upstream of the climatically important Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf needs to be reassessed.

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