Collaborative Research: Transient response of regional sea level to Antarctic ice shelf fluxes

该项目将研究南极冰川融化对海平面随时间的区域变化的影响。海洋和气候模型将与观测相结合，研究冰川融化的时间和位置如何影响地区海平面上升。气候变化导致的海平面上升影响到沿海社区。了解这些影响在全球范围内的变化是一个重要的优先事项。该项目还将为K-12学校的教师提供关于使用数值模式进行预报和预报的讲习班培训。拟议研究的主要目的是调查区域海平面对南极冰架底部融化相关通量随时间演变的敏感性。这个问题将使用海洋和气候模型的层次结构来解决，从理想化的减轻重力模型到允许涡流的海洋模型，再到由观测数据提供信息的最先进的耦合全球气候模型。要解决的具体问题包括：(1)全球海平面动态变化的时间尺度、幅度和模式是什么？(2)海洋中控制这些响应的动力学机制是什么？(3)南极冰架底部融化通量对全球各地从几十年到几个世纪的时间尺度上的海平面有什么潜在的影响？海洋对融水注入和深层潜热冷却的响应，预计将由斜压和正压环流异常共同决定，在以前关于海平面上升的文献中基本上没有。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate the effects of Antarctic ice melting on the regional variations of sea level over time. Ocean and climate models will be used in conjunction with observations to study how the timing and location of ice melt affects regional sea level rise. Increasing sea level from climate change impacts coastal communities. Understanding how those impacts vary globally is an important priority. The project will also provide workshop training for teachers in K-12 schools on the topic of using numerical models to make forecasts and predictions.The primary objective of the proposed study is to investigate the time-evolving sensitivity of regional sea level to fluxes associated with Antarctic ice shelf basal melt. This question will be addressed using a hierarchy of ocean and climate models, ranging from idealized reduced-gravity models to an eddy-permitting ocean model to a state-of-the-art coupled global climate model, informed by observational data. Specific questions to be addressed include: (1) What are the timescales, amplitudes, and patterns of dynamic sea level changes around the globe in response to subsurface freshwater and latent heat perturbations along the Antarctic coast? (2) What are the dynamic mechanisms in the ocean governing these responses? (3) What are the potential impacts of Antarctic ice shelf basal melt fluxes on sea level at locations around the globe, on timescales from decades to centuries? The response of the ocean to meltwater injection and latent heat cooling at depth, which is expected to be dictated by a mixture of baroclinic and barotropic circulation anomalies, has been largely absent from previous literature on sea level rise.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.