Southern Ocean Dynamics A Strategy for Scientific Exploration, 1973-1983 (1974) / Chapter Skim
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ANTARCTIC BOTTOM WATER FORMATION
ANTARCTIC BOTTOM WATER FORMATION
Pages 25-36
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From page 25... ...
PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONS 1. We recommend the initiation of planning for a program of direct observations of various processes for simultaneous test of several hypotheses on the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water in the Weddell Sea.
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From page 26... ...
The principal questions are the following: What physical mechanisms produce Antarctic Bottom Water? Where are the potential formation areas?
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From page 27... ...
He noted that since unmixed shelf water has not been observed at great depths, bottom water is formed principally in shallow water. Formation of bottom water may also occur when the coastal-current water is cooled as it flows along and beneath the vast ice shelves in the southern Weddell Sea [Seabrooke et al., 1971]
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From page 28... ...
RECOMMENDED PROGRAM A GENERAL SURVEY DATA REQUIRED Using data collected by various national programs up to 1960 and by the USNS Eltanin from 1962 to 1972, oceanographers have begun to formulate the questions previously mentioned.
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From page 29... ...
C SPECIFIC PROGRAM FOR THE WEDDELL SEA We recommend a plan for simultaneous test in the Weddell Sea of several hypotheses on the formation of bottom water.
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From page 30... ...
Relative values of the transport of water in the Weddell Sea can be calculated from hydrographic data using the geostrophic equations, but absolute values can be obtained only from current measurements over a long enough period. A successful strategy might be to combine hydrographic stations with measurements of the bottom currents, especially those into the Weddell Sea in the east between about 25° W and 30° W, and the subsurface currents along the Continental Shelf.
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From page 31... ...
The bottom topography of the Continental Shelf is of particular interest, since the flow of water along the shelf may be partially controlled by the configuration of the bottom contours. Of perhaps even greater importance is the bottom typography of the Continental Slope, since the flow of A AB w or its precursor could take place largely along the slope, and the presence of large canyons on the slope could lead to a concentration of flow in density currents down these canyons.
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From page 32... ...
Hydrography. We recommend that a program to study the hydrography of the Weddell Sea be initiated as soon as possible, noting that because of the technological problems imposed by the heavy ice cover, considerable planning and preliminary field work will be required for comprehensive observations.
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From page 33... ...
In the remainder of the Weddell Sea, the year-round close ice cover will probably prevent retrieval of current meters using conventional techniques. The development of acoustically interrogated bottom-current meters might provide a means of obtaining long records of currents without the necessity of retrieval.
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From page 34... ...
Finally, if the studies of the oceanography under the Ross Ice Shelf that are planned in conjunction with the Ross Ice Shelf Drilling Project show that the ice shelf can modify the surrounding waters in a quantitatively important manner, then similar studies should be carried out under the Filchner Ice Shelf. It is clear from property distributions that some bottom water is formed in the Ross Sea, although at a much lower rate than in the Weddell Sea.
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From page 35... ...
TABLE 4.2 RECOMMENDED PROGRAM STRUCTURE Antarctic Bottom Water Formation Time-Phased Diagram ACTIVITY TIME FRAME 1973 - 1976 1976 - 1979 1979 - 1WZ CONTINUAL PLANNING AND REVIEW 1 CaneraJ. Survey Oata Collection n Complete Clrcumpolar Survey Sun-irr Surveys Collect Winter Data Begin > | Specific Weddell Sea Program I Ice Cover and Transport ' *
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From page 36... ...
1970. Ross Sea oceanography and Antarctic Bottom Water formation.
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