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Conference Paper

Generation of the Southern Ocean pycnocline by sea ice-ocean interactions

Authors

Klocker,  Andreas
IUGG 2023, General Assemblies, 1 General, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), External Organizations;

Naveira Garabato,  Alberto
IUGG 2023, General Assemblies, 1 General, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), External Organizations;

Roquet,  Fabien
IUGG 2023, General Assemblies, 1 General, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), External Organizations;

de Lavergne,  Casimir
IUGG 2023, General Assemblies, 1 General, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), External Organizations;

Rintoul,  Steve
IUGG 2023, General Assemblies, 1 General, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), External Organizations;

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Citation

Klocker, A., Naveira Garabato, A., Roquet, F., de Lavergne, C., Rintoul, S. (2023): Generation of the Southern Ocean pycnocline by sea ice-ocean interactions, XXVIII General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) (Berlin 2023).
https://doi.org/10.57757/IUGG23-2717


Cite as: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5019174
Abstract
The ocean's internal pycnocline is a layer of elevated stratification that separates the well-ventilated upper ocean from the more slowly-renewed deep ocean. Despite its pivotal role in organizing ocean circulation, the processes governing the formation of the internal pycnocline remain little understood. Classical theories on pycnocline formation have been couched in terms of temperature and it is not clear how the theory applies in the high-latitude Southern Ocean, where stratification is dominated by salinity. Here we assess the mechanism generating the internal pycnocline in the subpolar Southern Ocean through the analysis of a high-resolution, realistic, global sea ice-ocean model. We show evidence suggesting that the internal pycnocline's formation is associated with seasonal sea ice-ocean interactions in two distinct ice-covered regions, fringing the Antarctic continental slope and the winter sea-ice edge. In both areas, persistent sea-ice melt creates strong, salinity-based stratification at the base of the surface mixed layer in winter. The resulting sheets of high stratification subsequently descend into the ocean interior at fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and connect seamlessly to the internal pycnocline in areas further north in which pycnocline stratification is determined by temperature. Our findings thus suggest an important role of localized sea ice-ocean interactions in configuring the vertical structure of the Southern Ocean.