Brief communication: The anomalous winter 2019 sea-ice conditions in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Greg H. Leonard, Kate E. Turner, Maren Elisabeth Richter, Maddy S. Whittaker, Inga J. Smith
Abstract
Abstract. McMurdo Sound sea ice can generally be partitioned into two regimes: (1) a stable fast-ice cover, forming south of approximately 77.6∘ S around March–April and then breaking out the following January–February, and (2) a more dynamic region north of 77.6∘ S that the McMurdo Sound and Ross Sea polynyas regularly impact. In 2019, a stable fast-ice cover formed unusually late due to repeated break-out events. We analyse the 2019 sea-ice conditions and relate them to a modified storm index (MSI), a proxy for southerly wind events. We find there is a strong correlation between the timing of break-out events and several unusually large MSI events.
Topics & Concepts
Sound (geography)GeologySea iceOceanographyArctic ice packAntarctic sea iceProxy (statistics)StormWinter stormClimatologyDrift iceComputer scienceMachine learningArctic and Antarctic ice dynamicsCryospheric studies and observationsClimate change and permafrost