The Ocean Boundary Layer beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf: Insights from Large-Eddy Simulations with a Near-Wall Model
View / Open Files
Authors
Vreugdenhil, CA
Taylor, JR
Davis, PED
Nicholls, KW
Holland, PR
Jenkins, A
Publication Date
2022Journal Title
Journal of Physical Oceanography
ISSN
0022-3670
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Vreugdenhil, C., Taylor, J., Davis, P., Nicholls, K., Holland, P., & Jenkins, A. (2022). The Ocean Boundary Layer beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf: Insights from Large-Eddy Simulations with a Near-Wall Model. Journal of Physical Oceanography https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0166.1
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>The melt rate of Antarctic ice shelves is of key importance for rising sea levels and future climate scenarios. Recent observations beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf revealed an ocean boundary layer that was highly turbulent and raised questions on the effect of these rich flow dynamics on the ocean heat transfer and the ice shelf melt rate. Directly motivated by the field observations, we have conducted large-eddy simulations (LES) to further examine the ocean boundary layer beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf. The LES was initialized with uniform temperature and salinity (<jats:italic>T–S</jats:italic>) and included a realistic tidal cycle and a small basal slope. A new parameterization based on previous work was applied at the top boundary to model near-wall turbulence and basal melting. The resulting vertical <jats:italic>T–S</jats:italic> profiles, melt rate, and friction velocity matched well with the Larsen C Ice Shelf observations. The instantaneous melt rate varied strongly with the tidal cycle, with faster flow increasing the turbulence and mixing of heat toward the ice base. An Ekman layer formed beneath the ice base and, due to the strong vertical shear of the current, Ekman rolls appeared in the mixed layer and stratified region (depth ≈ 20–60 m). In an additional high-resolution simulation (conducted with a smaller domain) the Ekman rolls were associated with increased turbulent kinetic energy, but a relatively small vertical heat flux. Our results will help with interpreting field observations and parameterizing the ocean-driven basal melting of ice shelves.</jats:p>
Keywords
Ice shelves, Ocean dynamics, Turbulence, Mixing, Tides
Sponsorship
Natural Environment Research Council
Funder references
Natural Environment Research Council (NE/N009746/1)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0166.1
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/336631
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.
Recommended or similar items
The current recommendation prototype on the Apollo Repository will be turned off on 03 February 2023. Although the pilot has been fruitful for both parties, the service provider IKVA is focusing on horizon scanning products and so the recommender service can no longer be supported. We recognise the importance of recommender services in supporting research discovery and are evaluating offerings from other service providers. If you would like to offer feedback on this decision please contact us on: support@repository.cam.ac.uk