On the Flow of Modified Warm Deep Water toward the Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf, Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Abstract

Enhanced basal melt rates have been observed at many ice shelves around Antarctica in the last decade, which has mostly been attributed to an increased transport of warm mid-depth water onto the continental shelf and ultimately into the ice shelf cavities. This thesis investigates the seasonal flow of warm water toward the Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS), which is by volume the largest ice shelf in Antarctica. While today the large continental shelf in front of FRIS is covered with cold and dense water, model studies have suggested the potential for an increased flow of Modified Warm Deep Water (MWDW) toward and into the FRIS cavity, via the Filchner Trough. Moored time series, ship-based CTD data and numerical modelling are used to study the seasonal hydrography and controlling processes on the southern Weddell Sea continental shelf.