Project Rationale
The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a highly dynamic region that has undergone significant changes in atmospheric temperature, sea ice and glacial ice over the past 40 years. Much of this variability is driven from the ocean, where large volumes of warm Circumpolar Deep Water intrude onto the shelves and are modified by mixing processes prior to reaching marine-terminating glaciers and ice shelves at the coast. Quantifying and understanding the mechanisms behind these processes is key to understanding the heat budget of the WAP and its sensitivity to future atmospheric and ocean forcing. Using a range of datasets, this project will seek to answer:
- What is the temporal variability in turbulent mixing and heat fluxes on the West Antarctic Peninsula?
- What are the key controls on this variability, including the role of winds, tides, sea ice and topography? And
- How is this variability linked to broader scale atmospheric and ocean circulation, including Southern Annual Mode/El Nino Southern Oscillation etc.?
Methodology
The project will use three key datasets:
1. Ocean hydrographic glider data collected in 2019-20 from Marguerite Bay, around the BAS base at Rothera, including temperature, salinity, microstructure and bio-optical parameters;
2. Twenty years of two-weekly temperature, salinity and pressure data from the Rothera time series;
3. Two years of data from a mooring deployed at the mouth of Ryder Bay (close to Rothera), including temperature, salinity, finescale velocity, and turbulent dissipation rate from a structure function Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP).
The project will use the above datasets in conjunction with both local and global atmospheric datasets to elucidate the key controls on mixing and the implications for the heat budget of the peninsula.
Training
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at British Antarctic Survey. Specific training will
include:
1. The opportunity (COVID permitting) to participate in polar research cruises in the Southern Ocean, giving experience in the collection and processing of a variety of different physical oceanographic data.
2. Training in the piloting of and processing of ocean glider data.
3. Training in the processing and interpretation of microstructure data, and in time series analysis techniques.
Funding Notes
Please see https://inspire-dtp.ac.uk/how-apply for details.
To be considered for this project you MUST submit a formal online application form - full details on how to apply can be found here https://inspire-dtp.ac.uk/how-apply
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