Thick and deformed Antarctic sea ice mapped with autonomous underwater vehicles
Thick and deformed Antarctic sea ice mapped with autonomous underwater vehicles
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DOI：
10.1038/ngeo2299
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发表时间：
2015
影响因子：
18.3
通讯作者：
G. Williams;T. Maksym;J. Wilkinson;C. Kunz;Chris Murphy;Peter W. Kimball;Hanumant Singh
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
G. Williams;T. Maksym;J. Wilkinson;C. Kunz;Chris Murphy;Peter W. Kimball;Hanumant Singh
几十年来，卫星记录了南极海冰面积及其变异性的趋势，但从遥感数据估计南极海冰厚度仍然具有挑战性。在情况下，验证遥感数据和海冰模型所需的观测有限；大多数仅限于对选定浮冰的几个点的测量，或船上的目视估计。在这里，我们提供了10个浮冰的三维(3D)浮标地图，这些地图是由一个自动水下机器人在春季两次探险南极洲韦德尔、贝灵豪森和威尔克斯陆地部分的近海地区汇编而成的。平均吃水范围为1.4~5.5米，最大可达16米。我们还发现，平均而言，76%的冰量是变形冰。我们的调查表明，浮冰比大多数南极海冰钻探和船基测量报告的厚度和变形程度要大得多。我们认为，在南极海冰的状况评估中，近岸和内陆的厚冰可能没有得到充分的反映，因此，平均而言，南极海冰可能比之前认为的更厚。
Satellites have documented trends in Antarctic sea-ice extent and its variability for decades, but estimating sea-ice thickness in the Antarctic from remote sensing data remains challenging.In situobservations needed for validation of remote sensing data and sea-ice models are limited; most have been restricted to a few point measurements on selected ice floes, or to visual shipboard estimates. Here we present three-dimensional (3D) floe-scale maps of sea-ice draft for ten floes, compiled from two springtime expeditions by an autonomous underwater vehicle to the near-coastal regions of the Weddell, Bellingshausen, and Wilkes Land sectors of Antarctica. Mean drafts range from 1.4 to 5.5 m, with maxima up to 16 m. We also find that, on average, 76% of the ice volume is deformed ice. Our surveys indicate that the floes are much thicker and more deformed than reported by most drilling and ship-based measurements of Antarctic sea ice. We suggest that thick ice in the near-coastal and interior pack may be under-represented in existingin situassessments of Antarctic sea ice and hence, on average, Antarctic sea ice may be thicker than previously thought.