Oxygen 18 and helium as tracers of ice shelf water and water/ice interaction in the Weddell Sea

Abstract

Oxygen 18 and helium isotope data from stations located in the Filchner Depression, on the continental slope of the southern Weddell Sea, and in the central Weddell Sea are presented and discussed. The 18O and 4He signals imprinted on the water circulating under the Filchner/Ronne Ice Shelf (Ice Shelf Water, or ISW) due to melting of glacial ice at the base of the ice shelf are traced across the sill separating the Filchner Depression from the Weddell Sea. Low δ18O values are correlated with high 4He concentrations in the ISW found in the Filchner Depression (minimum δ18O values: −0.8‰; maximum 4He concentrations: about 4.7×10−8 cm3 STP g−1). The fraction of glacial meltwater contained in the ISW found in the Filchner Depression is estimated to about 6 to 7‰. The 18O and helium isotope data from the overflowing shelf water component observed on the continental slope confirm the hypothesis that ISW contributes significantly to the Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW). On the basis of a inultiparameter water mass analysis it is discussed which fraction of the WSBW originates from ISW and which other shelf waters potentially could contribute to WSBW.