Ocean and atmosphere effects on sea ice in McMurdo Sound

Each winter the ocean in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica freezes to form sea ice. I will present results from my PhD studying the effect of atmosphere and ocean on the thickness of landfast sea-ice. Measurements were taken between 1986–2022 which provided a baseline against which I examined the variation in landfast sea-ice thickness between years. I will highlight the atmosphere and ocean properties most likely to influence landfast sea-ice thickness in McMurdo Sound. There is no main driver of fast-ice thickness in McMurdo Sound, but I found that in years when the air is colder, (southerly) wind speed is higher, and there are less southerly storms, the landfast sea ice is thicker. There remains a need for a future event-based analysis, especially around extreme storm events driving winter landfast sea- ice break up and persistence. The talk will give a general overview of Antarctic sea ice and McMurdo Sound in particular, as well as fieldwork undertaken during my PhD.

12.00pm, Wednesday 23 August 2023

Room 314, Science III Building