ALBERT

Description: Mesoscale model simulations were conducted for the Weddell Sea region for the autumn and winter periods of 2008 using a high-resolution, limited-area, non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. A sea ice–ocean model was run with enhanced horizontal resolution and high-resolution forcing data of the atmospheric model. Daily passive thermal and microwave satellite data was used to derive the polynya area in the Weddell Sea region. The focus of the study is on the formation of polynyas in the coastal region of Coats Land, which is strongly affected by katabatic flows. The polynya areas deduced from two independent remote sensing methods and data sources show good agreement, while the results of the sea ice simulation show some weaknesses. Linkages between the pressure gradient force composed of a katabatic and a synoptic component, offshore wind regimes and polynya area are identified. It is shown that the downslope surface offshore wind component of Coats Land is the main forcing factor for polynya dynamics, which is mainly steered by the offshore pressure gradient force, where the katabatic force is the dominant term. We find that the synoptic pressure gradient is opposed to the katabatic force during major katabatic wind events.

Description: The development of coastal polynyas, areas of enhanced heat flux and sea ice production strongly depend on atmospheric conditions. In Antarctica, measurements are scarce and models are essential for the investigation of polynyas. A robust quantification of polynya exchange processes in simulations relies on a realistic representation of atmospheric conditions in the forcing dataset. The sensitivity of simulated coastal polynyas in the south-western Weddell Sea to the atmospheric forcing is investigated with the Finite-Element Sea ice-Ocean Model (FESOM) using daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data (NCEP), 6 hourly Global Model Europe (GME) data and two different hourly datasets from the high-resolution Consortium for Small-Scale Modelling (COSMO) model. Results are compared for April to August in 2007–09. The two coarse-scale datasets often produce the extremes of the data range, while the finer-scale forcings yield results closer to the median. The GME experiment features the strongest winds and, therefore, the greatest polynya activity, especially over the eastern continental shelf. This results in higher volume and export of High Salinity Shelf Water than in the NCEP and COSMO runs. The largest discrepancies between simulations occur for 2008, probably due to differing representations of the ENSO pattern at high southern latitudes. The results suggest that the large-scale wind field is of primary importance for polynya development.

Description: In a warming climate, satellite data indicate that the sea ice extent around Antarctica has increased over the last decades. One of the suggested explanations is the stabilizing effect of increased mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet. Here, we investigate the sea ice response to changes in both the amount and the spatial distribution of freshwater input to the ocean by comparing a set of numerical sensitivity simulations with additional supply of water at the Antarctic ocean surface. We analyze the short-term response of the sea ice cover and the on-shelf water column to variations in the amount and distribution of the prescribed surface freshwater flux.Our results confirm that enhancing the freshwater input can increase the sea ice extent. Our experiments show a negative development of the sea ice extent only for extreme freshwater additions. We find that the spatial distribution of freshwater is of great influence on sea ice concentration and thickness as it affects sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics. For strong regional contrasts in the freshwater addition the dynamic response dominates the local change in sea ice, which generally opposes the thermodynamic response. Furthermore, we find that additional coastal runoff generally leads to fresher and warmer dense shelf waters.

Description: Coastal polynyas are areas in the ice-covered ocean from which the sea-ice cover has been mechanically removed, primarily by winds. They are areas of enhanced exchange processes between ocean and atmosphere. The increased heat flux allows for exceptionally high freezing rates, which lead to locally increased brine-rejection. In the southwestern Weddell Sea, wide continental shelves and a weak exchange with the open ocean provide conditions that allow for substantial salinity enrichment, forming the cold and saline High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW), which is the densest water mass in the region. HSSW is one of the ingredients of Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW) and is thus essential for the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water, which covers large parts of the World Ocean’s abyss. Thus, production rates of HSSW and WSBW are of crucial importance in the ocean’s global thermohaline circulation. To study the influence of coastal polynyas on ice production and water mass formation in the southwestern Weddell Sea, we performed simulations using the Finite Element Sea ice-Ocean Model (FESOM) of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven. FESOM is a coupled system of a primitive-equation, hydrostatic ocean model and a dynamic-thermodynamic sea-ice model. Simulations were conducted on a global unstructured mesh, focussing on the southwestern Weddell Sea coastline with up to 3 km resolution. In vertical direction, the grid features 37 z-coordinate depth levels of which 6 are within the uppermost 100 m. The model runs were initialised in 1980 and forced with NCEP daily reanalysis data. In addition, a hindcast for the year 2008 was computed with GME 6-hourly data forcing. For the winter period 2008, the (hourly) output from the high-resolution regional atmosphere model COSMO of the University Trier was nested into the GME fields, covering the area of the western Weddell Sea. For data evaluation and analysis the period 1990-2009 is used. A comparison of model results to AMSR sea ice concentration shows good agreement in spatial and temporal polynya extent. Also, simulated vertical temperature and salinity profiles agree well with CTD measurements. The total area of coastal polynyas is very small compared to the area of the Weddell Sea continental shelf. Winter sea ice production within the coastal polynyas, however, exceeds the ice production of the surrounding ice-covered area by a factor of 8 in the 20-year mean, so that the polynya contribution to total sea ice formation is always larger than their areal fraction. When looking at ice production, it should be kept in mind that also in the so-called ice-covered ocean, leads and small polynyas exist with an areal fraction of typically 5 %, which integrates to a total area that is much larger than the total area of coastal polynyas - but consists of small and transient elements. Thus this "fractal polynya" in the offshore Weddell Sea yields a major contribution to sea ice production, but does not contribute to bottom water formation, whereas coastal polynyas are spatially coherent for days or even weeks, which is essential to achieve the necessary salinity enrichment. Only in coastal polynyas and directly adjoining areas does surface salinity exceed 34.65, which is the defining minimum salinity for HSSW. From our simulations we derive a formation rate of 4.2 x 10-5 km-3/yr (13 Sv) of HSSW as a 20-year mean, with peak formation rates of 3 x 10-5 km-3 /month (116 Sv) in the autumn months. The WSBW formation rate in our model was found to be 6.3 x 10-4 km-3/yr (2 Sv) which is on the low side although not unrealistic when compared to observation-based estimates.

Description: Coastal polynyas play a prominent role in the formation and modification of water masses in the polar oceans. A coastal polynya is usually kept open mechanically, primarily by winds, and the ocean surface is at freezing point. Thus a major fraction of the annual ice production of the high-latitude oceans occurs in polynyas and hence the duration and extent of their appearance has a substantial effect on bottom water formation. In the western Weddell Sea, recurring coastal polynyas are formed in front of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and in the area of the decayed Larsen A/B Ice Shelf. Simulations to study polynya formation and their impact on ice production and bottom water formation in the western Weddell Sea were performed with the Finite Element Sea ice-Ocean Model (FESOM) of Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI). FESOM is a fully coupled system of a primitive-equation, hydrostatic ocean model and a dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model. The simulations were conducted on a global grid with a resolution varying between roughly 300 km in tropical latitudes and 〈5 km along the coast of the southwestern Weddell Sea. In vertical direction, the grid uses terrain-following coordinates. The model results give insight into the mechanisms governing the formation of transient and persistent polynyas and their influence on ice production and deep water formation. Water mass formation and ice export rates are quantified and compared to observation-based estimates.

Description: The development of coastal polynyas, areas of enhanced heat flux and sea ice production strongly depend on atmospheric conditions. In Antarctica, measurements are scarce and models are essential for the investigation of polynyas. A robust quantification of polynya exchange processes in simulations relies on a realistic representation of atmospheric conditions in the forcing dataset. The sensitivity of simulated coastal polynyas in the south-western Weddell Sea to the atmospheric forcing is investigated with the Finite-Element Sea ice-Ocean Model (FESOM) using daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data (NCEP), 6 hourly Global Model Europe (GME) data and two different hourly datasets from the high-resolution Consortium for Small-Scale Modelling (COSMO) model. Results are compared for April to August in 2007–09. The two coarse-scale datasets often produce the extremes of the data range, while the finer-scale forcings yield results closer to the median. The GME experiment features the strongest winds and, therefore, the greatest polynya activity, especially over the eastern continental shelf. This results in higher volume and export of High Salinity Shelf Water than in the NCEP and COSMO runs. The largest discrepancies between simulations occur for 2008, probably due to differing representations of the ENSO pattern at high southern latitudes. The results suggest that the large-scale wind field is of primary importance for polynya development.