Remote Forcing for Circulation Pattern Favorable to Surface Melt over the Ross Ice Shelf

Abstract

Abstract The Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) experiences surface melt events in summer, which could accelerate ice loss and destabilize the ice sheet in a warming world. This study links the interannual variability of RIS surface melt to the northerly wind anomaly over the Ross Sea sector, which is established in association with the quasi-geostrophic barotropic Rossby wave trains from the tropical Pacific and subtropical Australia toward West Antarctica. Atmospheric general circulation model experiments suggest that these Rossby wave trains are regulated by El Niño-related sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical central-eastern Pacific and atmospheric heating anomalies over western Australia. El Niño provides an important forcing of the atmospheric circulation anomalies over the Ross Sea via inducing a Rossby wave train, and most surface melt events over the RIS happen during El Niño years. In addition, the anomalous atmospheric heating over western Australia, which is independent of El Niño, is another important forcing that triggers a Rossby wave train extending from subtropical Australia to Ross Sea. The northerly flow towards the Ross Sea induces strong poleward moisture and heat transport, which further contributes to surface melt over the RIS.