Ice sheet – ice shelf – ocean interaction in the marginal seas
of the Southern Ocean
(hbk00034)
Torsten Kanzow1, Ralph Timmermann2, Mathias van Caspel, Marta Kasper,
Svenja Ryan, Lukrecia Stulic
Alfred Wegener Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
1
also at University Bremen; principal investigator
2
project administrator
Abstract
In this project we use a global sea ice – ice shelf – ocean model to study the interaction
between the deep Southern Ocean, the ice shelves fringing the Antarctic continent, and the
Antarctic Ice Sheet. With its unstructured grid, the Finite Element Sea ice Ocean Model
(FESOM) allows for an adequate resolution of the key regions, namely the grounding lines, the
ice shelf fronts, and the continental shelf break. We are particularly interested in water mass
exchange between the deep ocean and the continental shelf, and the pathways of water in the
sub-ice cavities. We have developed a coupled ocean – ice shelf - ice sheet model, which
enables us to investigate the relevant processes in decadal to centennial-scale simulations in a
consistent way. With the high computational burden imposed by the use of a finite-element
ocean model (to which there is no alternative if local processes are to be represented in a global
system), the project depends on resources provided through the HLRN.