Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3786
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3786
06 Jan 2025
 | 06 Jan 2025

Mechanisms and impacts of extreme high-salinity shelf water formation in the Ross Sea

Xiaoqiao Wang, Zhaoru Zhang, Chuan Xie, Xi Zhao, Chuning Wang, Heng Hu, and Yuanjie Chen

Abstract. High-salinity shelf water (HSSW) acts as a precursor to the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and plays a critical role in regulating the global ocean circulation system. This study employs a high-resolution coupled ocean-sea ice-ice shelf model to analyze the interannual variation in HSSW formation in the Ross Sea, which is one of the major production sites of HSSW. We are particularly focused on anomalously high HSSW production during the winter of 2007. The results indicate that in this winter, there were frequent passages of synoptic-scale cyclones that are centered near the front of the Ross Ice Shelf. The western flanks of these cyclones significantly enhanced offshore winds over the western Ross Ice Shelf polynya, a major origin site of HSSW in the Ross Sea, leading to a sharp increase in ice production within this polynya. The HSSW formation resulting from brine rejection during ice freezing reached the highest volume of 16,000 km3 in 2007. However, salinity and density of the Ross Sea during this period exhibited unexpected low values. Such inconsistency was due to a rapid increase in ice shelf melting over the Amundsen Sea and Ross Seas during 2006–2007, with annual cumulative melt rates reaching the peak in recent decades. Meanwhile, the resulting large amount of meltwater was transported westward into the Ross Sea by notably strong slope and coastal currents in 2007, leading to large fluxes of freshwater flux into the Ross Sea. The interaction between enhanced HSSW formation driven by ice production and the large influx of meltwater highlights the complex dynamics that shape hydrographic variability in the Ross Sea.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

25 Jun 2025
Mechanisms and impacts of anomalous high-salinity shelf water formation in the Ross Sea
Xiaoqiao Wang, Zhaoru Zhang, Chuan Xie, Xi Zhao, Chuning Wang, Heng Hu, and Yuanjie Chen
The Cryosphere, 19, 2229–2245, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2229-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2229-2025, 2025
Short summary
Xiaoqiao Wang, Zhaoru Zhang, Chuan Xie, Xi Zhao, Chuning Wang, Heng Hu, and Yuanjie Chen

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3786', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 Feb 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3786', Anonymous Referee #2, 20 Feb 2025
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3786', Anonymous Referee #3, 25 Feb 2025

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3786', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 Feb 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3786', Anonymous Referee #2, 20 Feb 2025
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3786', Anonymous Referee #3, 25 Feb 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Publish subject to revisions (further review by editor and referees) (23 Mar 2025) by Bin Cheng
AR by Zhaoru Zhang on behalf of the Authors (24 Mar 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (27 Mar 2025) by Bin Cheng
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (28 Mar 2025)
RR by Anonymous Referee #3 (16 Apr 2025)
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (17 Apr 2025) by Bin Cheng
AR by Zhaoru Zhang on behalf of the Authors (22 Apr 2025)  Author's response   Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

25 Jun 2025
Mechanisms and impacts of anomalous high-salinity shelf water formation in the Ross Sea
Xiaoqiao Wang, Zhaoru Zhang, Chuan Xie, Xi Zhao, Chuning Wang, Heng Hu, and Yuanjie Chen
The Cryosphere, 19, 2229–2245, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2229-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2229-2025, 2025
Short summary
Xiaoqiao Wang, Zhaoru Zhang, Chuan Xie, Xi Zhao, Chuning Wang, Heng Hu, and Yuanjie Chen
Xiaoqiao Wang, Zhaoru Zhang, Chuan Xie, Xi Zhao, Chuning Wang, Heng Hu, and Yuanjie Chen

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Latest update: 23 Jul 2025
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Short summary
Global bottom water originates from high-salinity shelf water (HSSW), formed by intense sea ice production (SIP) in the Southern Ocean. This study uses numerical outputs of the Ross Sea to examine the extreme HSSW event in 2007, when atmospheric circulations enhanced SIP, resulting in the highest HSSW volume in a decade. However, salinity was low due to increased meltwater. The findings highlight the complex interplay between SIP and ice shelf melting, with key implications for ocean processes.
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