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Elephant seals have helped scientists to demonstrate that fresh water from Antarctic’s melting ice shelves slows the processes responsible for the formation of deep-water ocean.
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Summary Elephant seals have helped scientists to demonstrate that fresh water from Antarctic’s melting ice shelves slows the processes responsible for the formation of deep-water ocean currents that regulate global temperatures. The study, led by Dr Guy Williams from the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, is published in Nature Communications. Dr Williams said the findings raised questions about potential future changes in the global ocean and climate systems. Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are like a beating heart, producing deep and powerful currents of cold water that drive global ocean mixing and regulate atmospheric temperatures, Dr Williams said. “These currents begin with intense sea ice formation around the Antarctica in winter, which creates cold, salty and dense water that sinks and flows away from the continent in enormous volumes.” “If this production of Antarctic bottom water weakens, it leads to changes in global ocean circulation patterns that can lead to changes in the global climate.” In 2011, the same team of researchers discovered an important fourth source of this cold, salty and dense water - known as Antarctic bottom water – off Cape Darnley in East Antarctica. The latest research published, including an additional two years of data, shows that Prydz Bay makes an important secondary contribution to Cape Darnley bottom water. “However we found that the contribution from Prydz Bay is less salty and dense due to the influence of fresh water by nearby ice shelves,” Dr Williams said.