New Antarctic Ocean observatory

[GordMay]

Scientists establish new Antarctic Ocean observatory

This partnership, between Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a University of Victoria initiative, and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) will advance scientific understanding of one of the most under-observed parts of the planet, the Southern Ocean, or the Antarctic Ocean.

Open-source data, from Canadian-Spanish project, could pick up changes to sea ice, glacier formation, ice retreat.

The underwater observatory, near Livingston Island, in the South Shetlands archipelago, collects measurements, including temperature, oxygen concentration, conductivity, depth, clarity in the water, and chlorophyll levels; and will fill a gap in data, to help understand the impact of climate change, in the waters around Antarctica.

The Southern Ocean, and its circumpolar current [Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific oceans] are critical, to how much the water in the area circulates, and having long-term data, from a stationary location, will help researchers spot changes.

Press Release ➥ https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2024...+media-release

CSIC ➥ https://www.csic.es/en

ONC ➥ https://www.oceannetworks.ca/

Explore the data ➥ https://data.oceannetworks.ca/Plotti...NzB8MTE0MjEHEQ

[S/V Illusion]

According to the most recent count, that is the 71st research base. Getting crowded there!

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

According to the most recent count, that is the 71st research base. Getting crowded there!

Yup, including the sea around as a good part of the stations are on islands surrounding the Antarctic main land it's "only" half a million sqkm/base. They really must feel the tight there

[GordMay]

Mystery behind huge opening in Antarctic sea ice solved

Each austral winter, Antarctica undergoes a radical change.

Sea ice, surrounding the continent, expands outward, effectively doubling Antarctica's size. But, during the winters of 2016 and 2017, a rare hole, called a polynya ["Maud Rise polynya”], opened, in the middle of the sea ice. And scientists have just now figured out how it came to be.

According to a new study [1], it ultimately formed, due to a combination of wind, ocean currents, and underwater geography that created the perfect salty conditions, to melt the sea ice.

The Maud Rise polynya goes back further than 2016. It was first identified, by Earth-sensing satellites, in the 1970s, most notably during the winters from 1974 to 1976. Scientists assumed that the polynya would return each winter, but that hasn't been the case. It has only reappeared sporadically, and for brief periods.

In 2016 and 2017, the circular ocean current, in the Weddell Sea, was stronger than usual. As such, upwelling around Maud Rise brought warmer, saltier water, closer to the surface.

Using data from satellites, autonomous floats, and tagged marine mammals, the team determined that turbulent eddies, around Maud Rise, brought more salt into the area, which was then transferred to the surface, through a process called Ekman transport. Through Ekman transport, water moves at a 90-degree angle to the wind above, and influences ocean currents.

Some of the same processes that were involved in the forming of the Maud Rise polynya, such as the upwelling of deep and salty water, are also driving a general reduction in sea ice in the Southern Ocean.

The imprint of polynyas can remain in the water, for multiple years after they’ve formed. They can change how water moves around, and how currents carry heat towards the continent.
The dense waters that form here, can spread across the global ocean

Press Release about ➥ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1042891?

[1] “Ekman-Driven Salt Transport as a Key Mechanism for Open-Ocean Polynya Formation at Maud Rise” ~ by Aditya Narayana et al
➥ https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj0777

Aerial View of the Maud Rise polynya
➥ https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/image...017266_lrg.jpg