Shelf-Edge Circulation on the West Antarctic Peninsula: An Analysis Utilizing Existing Data and Regional Model Output

Skidaway Institute Of Oceanography, Savannah GA

Investigators

Abstract

The primary goal of this project is to determine the exchange of water masses between the open ocean and the continental shelf along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The proposed analyses will make use of existing acoustic doppler current profile (ADCP) data collected on board antarctic oceanographic research vessels in the context of the Southern Ocean experiment of the Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics Study. The data will be examined for consistency with other analyzed velocity fields, and will be complemented by an analysis of the output from a regional model of shelf-edge velocities and density fields (the Rutgers/UCLA Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)). The high horizontal resolution of ADCP velocity fields, combined with recent advances in regional oceanic modeling provides new opportunities to: (1) determine the mean outer shelf and shelf-edge circulation at horizontal scales that were previously unresolved; (2) investigate variability of circulation with wind, buoyancy, and boundary current forcing, and with alongshelf bathymetric variability; (3) examine across-slope transport mechanisms and pathways; and (4) analyze the dynamics of dominant processes at the shelf-edge. Recent research has indicated that the open ocean may act as a significant source of nutrients, heat, and salt for antarctic continental shelves. Therefore, processes at the shelf-edge can significantly affect water mass modification, sea ice cycling, and cross-shelf exchanges of nutrients and other biogenic material on the shelf.