ALBERT

Description: Seismic reflection soundings of ice thickness and seabed depth were acquired on the Larsen C Ice Shelf in order to test a sub-ice shelf bathymetry model derived from the inversion of IceBridge gravity data. A series of lines was collected, from the Churchill Peninsula in the north to the Joerg Peninsula in the south, and also towards the ice front. Sites were selected using the bathymetry model derived from the inversion of free-air gravity data to indicate key regions where sub-ice shelf oceanic circulation may be affected by ice draft and seabed depth. The seismic velocity profile in the upper 100 m of firn and ice was derived from shallow refraction surveys at a number of locations. Measured temperatures within the ice column and at the ice base were used to define the velocity profile through the remainder of the ice column. Seismic velocities in the water column were derived from previous in situ measurements. Uncertainties in ice and water cavity thickness are in general 〈 10 m. Compared with the seismic measurements, the root-mean-square error in the gravimetrically derived bathymetry at the seismic sites is 162 m. The seismic profiles prove the non-existence of several bathymetric features that are indicated in the gravity inversion model, significantly modifying the expected oceanic circulation beneath the ice shelf. Similar features have previously been shown to be highly significant in affecting basal melt rates predicted by ocean models. The discrepancies between the gravity inversion results and the seismic bathymetry are attributed to the assumption of uniform geology inherent in the gravity inversion process and also the sparsity of IceBridge flight lines. Results indicate that care must be taken when using bathymetry models derived by the inversion of free-air gravity anomalies. The bathymetry results presented here will be used to improve existing sub-ice shelf ocean circulation models.

Description: Seismic reflection soundings of ice thickness and seabed depth were acquired on the Larsen C Ice Shelf in order to test a sub-shelf bathymetry model derived from the inversion of IceBridge gravity data. A series of lines were collected, from the Churchill Peninsula in the north to the Joerg Peninsula in the south, and also towards the ice front. Sites were selected using the bathymetry model derived from the inversion of free-air gravity data to indicate key regions where sub-shelf oceanic circulation may be affected by ice draft and sub-shelf cavity thickness. The seismic velocity profile in the upper 100 m of firn and ice was derived from shallow refraction surveys at a number of locations. Measured temperatures within the ice column and at the ice base were used to define the velocity profile through the remainder of the ice column. Seismic velocities in the water column were derived from previous in situ measurements. Uncertainties in ice and water cavity thickness are in general

Description: Melt water from the floating ice shelves at the margins of the southeastern Weddell Sea makes a significant contribution to the fresh water budget of the region. In February 2005 a multi-institution team conducted an oceanographic campaign at Fimbul Ice Shelf on the Greenwich Meridian as part of the Autosub Under Ice programme. This included a mission of the autonomous submarine Autosub 25 km into the cavity beneath Fimbul Ice Shelf, and a number of ship-based hydrographic sections on the continental shelf and adjacent to the ice shelf front. The measurements reveal two significant sources of glacial melt water at Fimbul Ice Shelf: the main cavity under the ice shelf and an ice tongue, Trolltunga, that protrudes from the main ice front and out over the continental slope into deep water. Glacial melt water is concentrated in a 200 m thick Ice Shelf Water (ISW) layer below the base of the ice shelf at 150–200 m, with a maximum glacial melt concentration of up to 1.16%. Some glacial melt is found throughout the water column, and much of this is from sources other than Fimbul Ice Shelf. However, at least 0.2% of the water in the ISW layer cannot be accounted for by other processes and must have been contributed by the ice shelf. Just downstream of Fimbul Ice Shelf we observe locally created ISW mixing out across the continental slope. The ISW formed here is much less dense than that formed in the southwest Weddell Sea, and will ultimately contribute a freshening (and reduction in δ18O) to the upper 100–150 m of the water column in the southeast Weddell Sea.

Description: Melt water from the floating ice shelves at the margins of the southeastern Weddell Sea makes a significant contribution to the fresh water budget of the region. In February 2005 a multi-institution team conducted an oceanographic campaign at Fimbul Ice Shelf on the Greenwich Meridian as part of the Autosub Under Ice programme. This included a mission of the autonomous submarine Autosub 25 km into the cavity beneath Fimbul Ice Shelf, and a number of ship-based hydrographic sections on the continental shelf and adjacent to the ice shelf front. The measurements reveal two significant sources of glacial melt water at Fimbul Ice Shelf: the main cavity under the ice shelf and an ice tongue that protrudes from the main ice front and out over the continental slope into deep water. Glacial melt water is concentrated in a 200 m thick Ice Shelf Water (ISW) layer below the base of the ice shelf at 150–200 m, with a maximum glacial melt concentration of up to 1.16%. Some glacial melt is found throughout the water column, and much of this is from sources other than Fimbul Ice Shelf. However, at least 0.2% of the water in the ISW layer cannot be accounted for by other processes and must have been contributed by the ice shelf. Just downstream of Fimbul Ice Shelf we observe locally created ISW mixing out across the continental slope. The ISW formed here is much less dense than that formed in the southwest Weddell Sea, and will ultimately contribute a freshening (and reduction in δ18O) to the upper 100–150 m of the water column in the southeast Weddell Sea.