Decadal Ocean Forcing and Antarctic Ice Sheet Response: Lessons from the Amundsen Sea

• DOI: 10.5670/oceanog.2016.103
• Publication Date: 2016-12-12T17:08:54Z
• Authors: Adrian Jenkins; Pierre Dutrieux; Stan Jacobs; Eric Steig; Hilmar Gudmundsson; James Smith; Karen Heywood
• Keywords: Antarctic ice sheet; Forcing (mathematics); Lead (geology)

Mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet is driven by changes at marine margins. In Amundsen Sea, thinning of ice shelves has allowed outlet glaciers to accelerate and thin, resulting in inland migration their grounding lines. The ultimate driver often assumed be ocean warming, but recent record temperature dominated decadal variability rather than a trend. distribution water masses on Sea continental shelf particularly sensitive atmospheric forcing, while regional circulation highly variable, least part because impact tropical variability. Changes force melting, which drive step-wise movement line between localized high points bed. When located point, glacier flow atmosphere-ocean variability, once retreat or advance next point been triggered, melt rate associated with evolution geometry sub-ice-shelf cavity dominate, sensitivity forcing greatly reduced.