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Title: Preconditioning and Formation of Maud Rise Polynyas in a High-Resolution Earth System Model

Abstract

Open-ocean polynyas (OOPs) in the Southern Ocean are ice-free areas within the winter ice pack that are associated with deep convection, potentially contributing to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water. To enhance the credibility of Earth system models (ESMs), their ability to simulate OOPs realistically is thus crucial. Here we investigate OOPs that emerge intermittently in a high-resolution (HR) preindustrial simulation with the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, version 0.1 (E3SMv0), an offspring of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). While low-resolution (LR) simulations with E3SMv0 show no signs of OOP formation, the preindustrial E3SMv0-HR simulation produces both large Weddell Sea polynyas (WSPs) as well as small Maud Rise polynyas (MRPs). The latter are associated with a prominent seamount in the eastern Weddell Sea, and their preconditioning and formation is the focus of this study. The steep flanks of the rugged topography in this region are in E3SMv0-HR sufficiently well resolved for the impinging flow to produce pronounced Taylor caps that precondition the region for convection. Aided by an accumulation of heat in the Weddell Deep Water layer, the ultimate trigger of convection that leads to MRPs is the advection of anomalously high upper-ocean-layer salinity. The crucial difference to WSP-producingmore » LR ESM simulations is that in E3SMv0-HR, WSPs are realistically preceded by MRPs, which in turn are a result of the flow around bathymetry being represented with unprecedented detail.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Department of Oceanography, Texas A&,M University, College Station, Texas
  2. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
  3. Department of Oceanography, Texas A&,M University, College Station, Texas
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1482161
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1483544
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-28028
Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755
Grant/Contract Number:  
89233218CNA000001
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Climate
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Journal of Climate Journal Volume: 31 Journal Issue: 23; Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755
Publisher:
American Meteorological Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Earth Sciences; Southern Ocean polynyas, ocean convection, air-sea interactions

Citation Formats

Kurtakoti, Prajvala, Veneziani, Milena, Stössel, Achim, and Weijer, Wilbert. Preconditioning and Formation of Maud Rise Polynyas in a High-Resolution Earth System Model. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0392.1.
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Kurtakoti, Prajvala, Veneziani, Milena, Stössel, Achim, & Weijer, Wilbert. Preconditioning and Formation of Maud Rise Polynyas in a High-Resolution Earth System Model. United States. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0392.1.
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Kurtakoti, Prajvala, Veneziani, Milena, Stössel, Achim, and Weijer, Wilbert. Sat . "Preconditioning and Formation of Maud Rise Polynyas in a High-Resolution Earth System Model". United States. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0392.1.
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@article{osti_1482161,
title = {Preconditioning and Formation of Maud Rise Polynyas in a High-Resolution Earth System Model},
author = {Kurtakoti, Prajvala and Veneziani, Milena and Stössel, Achim and Weijer, Wilbert},
abstractNote = {Open-ocean polynyas (OOPs) in the Southern Ocean are ice-free areas within the winter ice pack that are associated with deep convection, potentially contributing to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water. To enhance the credibility of Earth system models (ESMs), their ability to simulate OOPs realistically is thus crucial. Here we investigate OOPs that emerge intermittently in a high-resolution (HR) preindustrial simulation with the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, version 0.1 (E3SMv0), an offspring of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). While low-resolution (LR) simulations with E3SMv0 show no signs of OOP formation, the preindustrial E3SMv0-HR simulation produces both large Weddell Sea polynyas (WSPs) as well as small Maud Rise polynyas (MRPs). The latter are associated with a prominent seamount in the eastern Weddell Sea, and their preconditioning and formation is the focus of this study. The steep flanks of the rugged topography in this region are in E3SMv0-HR sufficiently well resolved for the impinging flow to produce pronounced Taylor caps that precondition the region for convection. Aided by an accumulation of heat in the Weddell Deep Water layer, the ultimate trigger of convection that leads to MRPs is the advection of anomalously high upper-ocean-layer salinity. The crucial difference to WSP-producing LR ESM simulations is that in E3SMv0-HR, WSPs are realistically preceded by MRPs, which in turn are a result of the flow around bathymetry being represented with unprecedented detail.},
doi = {10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0392.1},
journal = {Journal of Climate},
number = 23,
volume = 31,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {12}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
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DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0392.1
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Cited by: 8 works
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Figures / Tables:

FIG. 1. FIG. 1. : (a) Satellite data (Maslanik and Stroeve 1999) and (b) simulated sea ice concentration during themonth of October (observation year 2017 and model year 33, respectively) over the Southern Ocean. The shaded dark blue region is the MRP. The location of the seamount peak is at 65°S, 2.5°E.
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Works referencing / citing this record:

The Weddell Gyre, Southern Ocean: Present Knowledge and Future Challenges
journal, July 2019

  • Vernet, M.; Geibert, W.; Hoppema, M.
  • Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 57, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2018rg000604

Antarctic offshore polynyas linked to Southern Hemisphere climate anomalies
journal, June 2019

Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM1.2) for the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP)
journal, January 2019

  • Gutjahr, Oliver; Putrasahan, Dian; Lohmann, Katja
  • Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 12, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.5194/gmd-12-3241-2019

The Weddell Gyre, Southern Ocean: Present Knowledge and Future Challenges
journal, July 2019

  • Vernet, M.; Geibert, W.; Hoppema, M.
  • Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 57, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2018rg000604

Antarctic offshore polynyas linked to Southern Hemisphere climate anomalies
journal, June 2019

Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM1.2) for the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP)
journal, January 2019

  • Gutjahr, Oliver; Putrasahan, Dian; Lohmann, Katja
  • Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 12, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.5194/gmd-12-3241-2019

Recent Reoccurrence of Large Open‐Ocean Polynya on the Maud Rise Seamount
journal, April 2019

  • Jena, B.; Ravichandran, M.; Turner, J.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1029/2018gl081482

E3SMv0‐HiLAT: A Modified Climate System Model Targeted for the Study of High‐Latitude Processes
journal, August 2019

  • Hecht, Matthew; Veneziani, Milena; Weijer, Wilbert
  • Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 11, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1029/2018ms001524

Polar Cyclones at the Origin of the Reoccurrence of the Maud Rise Polynya in Austral Winter 2017
journal, May 2019

  • Francis, Diana; Eayrs, Clare; Cuesta, Juan
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1029/2019jd030618

UKESM1: Description and Evaluation of the U.K. Earth System Model
journal, December 2019

  • Sellar, Alistair A.; Jones, Colin G.; Mulcahy, Jane P.
  • Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
  • DOI: 10.1029/2019ms001739

The DOE E3SM Coupled Model Version 1: Description and Results at High Resolution
journal, December 2019

  • Caldwell, Peter M.; Mametjanov, Azamat; Tang, Qi
  • Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 11, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1029/2019ms001870

Open-ocean polynyas and deep convection in the Southern Ocean
journal, May 2019

Warm Deep Water Variability During the Last Millennium in the CESM–LME: Pre-Industrial Scenario versus Late 20th Century Changes
journal, August 2019

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