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| Weddell Sea Polynya | |
|---|---|
| Name | Weddell Sea Polynya |
| Location | Southern Ocean, Weddell Sea |
| Area | variable |
| First observed | 1974–1976 (major event) |
| Type | oceanic polynya |
Weddell Sea Polynya.
The Weddell Sea Polynya is a recurrent, large open-water area within the sea ice of the Weddell Sea that has implications for polar oceanography, cryosphere dynamics, and climate processes; it sits in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica and interacts with features named in Antarctic Treaty negotiations, United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee, Rothera Research Station, Mawson Station, and research programs such as Natural Environment Research Council and National Science Foundation. Observations link the feature to regional forcing from atmospheric systems including the Antarctic Oscillation, influences related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and longer-term trends debated by groups like Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and programs coordinated by Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
Satellite-era detection of the polynya began with sensors aboard platforms operated by agencies such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Geological Survey, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Early shipboard and aircraft reconnaissance involved vessels like RV Polarstern, RV James Clark Ross, RV Hero, and aircraft operated by British Antarctic Survey and Australian Antarctic Division. Major historical episodes recorded in the 1970s were documented in publications from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. The apparent reappearance in the 2010s was assessed by research teams affiliated with University of Washington, Columbia University, University of British Columbia, University of Bremen, University of Edinburgh, and University of Tasmania.
Mechanisms invoked by modelers and observational scientists include ocean convection driven by dense water formation similar to processes studied at Greenland Sea Deep Convection sites, wind-driven divergence associated with cyclones tracked by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and modifications by sea ice export observed in studies from Scott Polar Research Institute and Alfred Wegener Institute. Studies using coupled climate models from Met Office Hadley Centre, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory have tested sensitivity to parameters used in Community Earth System Model, Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate, and EC-Earth. Sea ice rheology and salt flux processes were explored in frameworks developed at University of Oslo, McGill University, and University of Copenhagen; dense shelf water formation links invoked bathymetry near features cataloged by GEBCO and circulation patterns tied to Weddell Gyre studies.
Physically, the polynya induces enhanced heat fluxes to the atmosphere measured in campaigns by International Arctic Research Center, Polarstern iceshelf projects, and instrument deployments supported by Office of Polar Programs. It modifies water mass transformation relevant to Antarctic Bottom Water formation and interacts with currents characterized in datasets at Global Drifter Program and Argo (oceanography). Biologically, the open-water area creates localized primary productivity blooms observed by teams from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and sampled during voyages by RV Laurence M. Gould; impacts on krill and higher predators were reported by researchers affiliated with SCAR Scientific Research Programmes, Sea Around Us Project, and institutes like British Antarctic Survey and Universidad de Magallanes.
The polynya affects air–sea exchanges of heat and freshwater that feed into climate trajectories evaluated by IPCC Assessment Report teams and incorporated into scenarios used by World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. By ventilating the deep ocean and influencing Meridional Overturning Circulation, the polynya can alter storage of heat and carbon examined by researchers at International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, Global Carbon Project, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Feedbacks involve interactions with atmospheric circulation features such as the Southern Annular Mode, stratosphere–troposphere coupling studied at National Centre for Atmospheric Science, and potential teleconnections with North Atlantic Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation discussed in cross-disciplinary work by NOAA and CSIRO.
Monitoring leverages satellite remote sensing from instruments aboard missions like MODIS, AVHRR, Synthetic Aperture Radar, and microwave radiometers managed by EUMETSAT, NASA EOSDIS, and JAXA. In situ observations employ moorings, CTD casts, and autonomous platforms including Argo (oceanography), Seaglider, SOCCOM floats, and ice-tethered profilers developed by teams at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Numerical studies use high-resolution regional and global models run on facilities at NERSC, Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory and analyzed with tools from Pangeo and ESGF. Interdisciplinary programs coordinating observations include Southern Ocean Observing System, Integrated Marine Observing System, and multinational campaigns funded by European Union Horizon 2020 and national agencies.
Key case studies include the 1974–1976 polynya documented in reports from U.S. Antarctic Program, German Research Foundation, and UK Natural Environment Research Council; the 2016–2017 re-emergence analyzed by groups at Columbia University Earth Institute, University of Bremen Institute of Oceanography, and British Antarctic Survey; and model intercomparison projects such as those organized under CMIP6 and regional efforts led by Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling and SOOS. Field campaigns tied to the event involved collaborations among NSF Office of Polar Programs, FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and national Antarctic programs like Australian Antarctic Division and Instituto Antártico Chileno.