A Wedge Mechanism for Summer Surface Water Inflow Into the Ross Ice Shelf Cavity

Abstract

AbstractOcean heat supply to ice shelves has a significant impact on the long‐term evolution of ice shelves. Intrusions of warm surface waters into the frontal region of the cavity, known as “Mode 3” circulation, are capable of melting the ice shelf base. However, ablation of the vertical walls of the ice shelf front has, to date, received little attention. Here we propose a mechanism for Mode 3 circulation that is aided by ice shelf front ablation: Direct contact of warm Antarctic Surface Water with the ice wall generates meltwater that buoyantly ascends the vertical face and leads to formation of a “wedge” of fresher water immediately adjacent to the wall. This wedge, which thins with distance from the ice shelf front, allows isopycnals to curve gently downward, creating an efficient conduit by which surface waters moved by other forces such as tidal flow and eddies enter an ice shelf cavity with minimal mixing. Here we use new and existing observational data from the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf cavity to demonstrate the existence of the wedge. Our analysis and a review of the literature suggest that the freshwater wedge structure is a pervasive feature of the Western Ross Sea in summer and enhances other inflow mechanisms.