The interaction between the ocean and the cryosphere in the Southern Ocean has become a major focus in climate research. Antarctic climate change has captured public attention, which has spawned a number of research questions, such as: Is Antarctic sea ice becoming more vulnerable in a changing climate? Where and when will ocean-driven melting of ice shelves yield a tipping point in the Antarctic climate? What drives the observed reduction in Antarctic Bottom Water production? How does the Antarctic Slope Current interact with the continental shelf? What role do ice-related processes play in nutrient upwelling on the continental shelf and in triggering carbon export to deep waters? Are we seeing a new state for Antarctic sea ice? If so, what ice shelf, sea-ice, ocean and atmospheric processes play roles in determining this new state?
Recent advances in observational technology, data coverage, and modeling provide scientists with a better understanding of the mechanisms involving ice-ocean interactions in the far South. Processes on the Antarctic continental shelf have been identified as missing links between the cryosphere, the global atmosphere and the deep open ocean that need to be captured in large-scale and global model simulations.
This session calls for studies on physical and biogeochemical oceanography linked to ice shelves and sea ice. This includes work on all scales, from local to basin-scale to circumpolar; as well as paleo, present-day and future applications. Studies based on in-situ observations, remote sensing and regional to global models are welcome. We particularly invite cross-disciplinary topics involving glaciology, sea ice physics and biological oceanography.