Abstract
Two polar vessels, Akademik Shokalskiy and Xuelong, were trapped by thick sea ice in the Antarctic coastal region just to the west of 144°E and between 66.5°S and 67°S in late December 2013. This event demonstrated the rapid establishment of extreme Antarctic sea ice conditions on synoptic time scales. The event was associated with cyclones that developed at lower latitudes. Near the event site, cyclone-enhanced strong southeasterly katabatic winds drove large westward drifts of ice floes. In addition, the cyclones also gave southward ice drift. The arrival and grounding of Iceberg B9B in Commonwealth Bay in March 2011 led to the growth of fast ice around it, forming a northward protruding barrier. This barrier blocked the westward ice drift and hence aided sea ice consolidation on its eastern side. Similar cyclone-induced events have occurred at this site in the past after the grounding of Iceberg B9B. Future events may be predictable on synoptic time scales, if cyclone-induced strong wind events can be predicted.
Highlights
Two polar vessels, Akademik Shokalskiy and Xuelong, were trapped by thick sea ice in the Antarctic coastal region just to the west of 1446E and between 66.56S and 676S in late December 2013
Sea ice distribution from high resolution MODIS (The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) imagery around the site where the two vessels were trapped in late December 2013 was characterized by ice fixed to the coast connected to Iceberg B9B to the west (Fig. 1)
The MODIS image on 29 December 2013 (Fig. 1d) already shows that well consolidated ice packed around those areas of fast ice including the area around Iceberg B9B, while the image on 3 January 2014 (Fig. 1e) clearly shows a sharp distinction between ice-free polynyas and areas covered by thick sea ice
Summary
Akademik Shokalskiy and Xuelong, were trapped by thick sea ice in the Antarctic coastal region just to the west of 1446E and between 66.56S and 676S in late December 2013 This event demonstrated the rapid establishment of extreme Antarctic sea ice conditions on synoptic time scales. In late December 2013, two polar vessels, Akademik Shokalskiy (ice strengthened) and Xuelong (an ice breaker), were trapped by thick sea ice in the Dumont d’Urville Sea (north of the coast of Adelie Land, East Antarctica), just to the west of 144uE and between 66.5uS and 67uS This extreme event, which has attracted wide press and public attention across the world, demonstrated that thick sea ice can be created on synoptic time scales at this specific site. This event offers an important opportunity to investigate how strong winds associated with cyclones force Antarctic sea ice change and even lead to the rapid creation of extreme sea ice conditions in the Antarctic coastal region
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