The influence of an Antarctic glacier tongue on near-field ocean circulation and mixing
Author
Stevens, C.L.
McPhee, M.G.
Forrest, A.L.
Leonard, G.H.
Stanton, Timothy P.
Haskell, T.G.
Date
2014Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In situ measurements of flow and stratification in the vicinity of the Erebus Glacier Tongue, a
12 km long floating Antarctic glacier, show the significant influence of the glacier. Three ADCPs (75, 300,
and 600 kHz) were deployed close (<50 m) to the sidewall of the glacier in order to capture near-field flow
distortion. Scalar (temperature and conductivity) and shear microstructure profiling captured small-scale
vertical variability. Flow magnitudes exceeded 0.3 m s21 through a combination of tidal flow ( 8 cm s21)
and a background/residual flow ( 4–10 cm s21) flowing to the NW. Turbulence was dominated by deeper
mixing during spring tide, likely indicative of the role of bathymetric variation which locally forms an obstacle
as great as the glacier. During the neap tide, near-surface mixing was as energetic as that seen in the
spring tide, suggesting the presence of buoyancy-driven near-surface flows. Estimates of integrated dissipation
rate suggest that these floating extensions of the Antarctic ice sheet alter energy budgets through
enhanced dissipation, and thus influence coastal near-surface circulation.
Description
The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013JC009070
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
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