HR: 09:15h
AN: C41A-06 [PDF]
TI: Glacial Meltwater Fractions in Ice Shelf Water Derived From Stable Isotopes and Noble Gases: Comparison
of the Filchner Ronne and Ross Ice Shelves
AU: * Schlosser, P
EM: peters@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: * Schlosser, P
EM: peters@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 United States
AU: * Schlosser, P
EM: peters@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 United States
AU: Collon, P
EM: pcollon@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Winckler, G
EM: winckler@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Jacobs, S
EM: sjacobs@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AB:
Stable isotopes of water (H$_2$$^{18}$O/H$_2$$^{16}$O ratio) and noble gases (helium and neon) can be used to study the
interaction of shelf water and glacial ice underneath the floating ice shelves around Antarctica. These isotopes can further
be used to investigate the role of shelf waters that have been modified by glacial meltwater in formation of intermediate and
deep waters on the Antarctic continent. Typical fractions of pure glacial meltwater observed in the cores of ISW flowing out
from underneath the ice shelves are about 3 to 5 per mil. The resulting melt rates of glacial ice are of the order of
several 10 cm for the Filchner/Ronne Ice Shelf. The glacial meltwater signal in ISW can be traced into the deep waters of the
Southern Ocean and the low-salinity ISW contributes significantly to the formation of Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW). In
this contribution we summarize early and recent results from tracer studies of glacial meltwater fractions and the impact of
glacial ice/shelf water interaction on the formation of deep waters around Antarctic. The sites include the Filchner/Ronne
Ice Shelf, the Ross Ice Shelf and the ice shelves in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen seas.
DE: 4283 Water masses
DE: 4808 Chemical tracers
DE: 4820 Gases
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting