[1] In this paper we report measurements from the first year-round mooring underneath sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, which we combine with full-depth ocean profiles to identify the incremental appearance of potentially supercooled ice shelf water (ISW). We investigate the effects of ISW on sea ice using observations of sea ice growth and crystal structure together with under-ice photography. We show that the appearance of ISW at the surface leads to a disruption in the columnar texture of the sea ice, but that persistent growth enhancement occurs only once the entire water column has cooled to the surface freezing point. In doing so, we demonstrate the possibility of inferring the presence of ISW beneath sea ice through crystallographic analysis of cores. These findings will be useful for both modeling and observing the extent of ISW-enhanced ice growth. In addition, we found that the local growth of first-year landfast sea ice only accounted for half of the observed increase in salinity over the water column, which indicates that polynyas are responsible for approximately half of the salt flux into McMurdo Sound.

Antarctic sea ice that has been affected by supercooled Ice Shelf Water (ISW) has a unique crystallographic structure and is called platelet ice. In this paper we synthesize platelet ice observations to construct a continent‐wide map of the winter presence of ISW at the ocean surface. The observations demonstrate that, in some regions of coastal Antarctica, supercooled ISW drives a negative oceanic heat flux of −30 Wm−2 that persists for several months during winter, significantly affecting sea ice thickness. In other regions, particularly where the thinning of ice shelves is believed to be greatest, platelet ice is not observed. Our new data set includes the longest ice‐ocean record for Antarctica, which dates back to 1902 near the McMurdo Ice Shelf. These historical data indicate that, over the past 100 years, any change in the volume of very cold surface outflow from this ice shelf is less than the uncertainties in the measurements.

We use new observations in Western McMurdo Sound, combined with longitudinal hydrographic transects of the sound, to identify a northward-flowing Ice Shelf Water (ISW) plume exiting the cavity of the McMurdo-Ross Ice Shelf. We estimate the plume's net northward transport at 0.4 6 0.1 Sv, carving out a corridor approximately 35 km wide aligned with the Victoria Land Coast. Basal topography of the McMurdo Ice Shelf is such that the plume is delivered to the surface without mixing with overlying warmer water, and is therefore able to remain below the surface freezing temperature at the point of observation beneath first-year ice. Thus, the upper ocean was supercooled, by up to 50 mK at the surface, due to pressure relief from recent rapid ascent of the steep basal slope. The 70 m thick supercooled layer supports the growth and maintenance of a thick, semirigid, and porous matrix of platelet ice, which is trapped by buoyancy at the ice-ocean interface. Continued growth of individual platelets in supercooled water creates significant brine rejection at the top of the water column which resulted in convection over the upper 200 m thick, homogeneous layer. By examining the diffusive nature of the intermediate water between layers of ISW and High Salinity Shelf Water, we conclude that the ISW plume must have originated beneath the Ross Ice Shelf and demonstrate that it is likely to expand eastward across McMurdo Sound with the progression of winter.

Airflow distortion by research vessels has been shown to significantly affect micro-meteorological measurements. This study uses an efficient time-dependent Large Eddy Simulation numerical technique to investigate the effect of the research vessel Tangaroa on both the mean and turbulent characteristics of airflow. Detailed comparison is given between the numerical results and an extensive experimental dataset. The study is performed for the whole range of relative wind directions and for instruments located in regions of high and low flow distortion. The experimental data show that both the normalised wind speed and normalised standard deviation are only weakly dependent on wind speed, ship speed, ship motion and sea state, but strongly dependent on relative wind direction. Very good agreement is obtained between the experimental and numerical data for the mean flow, standard deviation and turbulence spectra, even in areas of strong turbulence.

A one-dimensional, frazil-laden plume model predicts the properties of Ice Shelf Water (ISW) as it evolves beneath sea ice beyond the ice shelf edge. An idealized background ocean circulation, which moves parallel to the plume, imitates forcings other than the plume's own buoyancy. The size distribution and concentration of the plume's suspended frazil ice crystals are affected by the background circulation velocity, the root-mean square tidal velocity, the drag coefficient, and the efficiency of secondary nucleation. Consequently, these variables are the key physical controls on the survival of supercooled water with distance from the ice shelf, which is predicted using several realistic parameter choices. Starting at 65 m thick, the in situ supercooled layer thins to 11 6 5 and 4 6 3 m at distances of 50 and 100 km, respectively. We apply the extended model in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, along the expected path of the coldest water. Three late-winter oceanographic stations along this path, in conjunction with historical data, provide initial conditions and evaluation of the simulations. Near the ice shelf in the western Sound, the water column consisted entirely of ISW, and the subice platelet layer thickness exceeded 5 m with platelet crystals dominating the sea ice structure suggesting that ISW persisted throughout winter. Presuming a constant ISW flux, the model predicts that the plume increases thermodynamic growth of sea ice by approximately 0.1 m yr 21 ($5% of the average growth rate) even as far as 100 km beyond the ice shelf edge.

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Field observations of the interactions between a stratified flow and a canopy suspended from the free surface above a solid boundary are described and analysed. Data were recorded in and around the canopy formed by a large long-line mussel farm. The canopy causes a partial blockage of the water flow, reducing velocities in the upper water column. Deceleration of the approaching flow results in a deepening of isopycnals upstream of the canopy. Energy considerations show that the potential for an approaching stratified flow to be diverted beneath a porous canopy is indicated by a densimetric Froude number. Strong stratification or low-velocities inhibit vertical diversion beneath the canopy, instead favouring a horizontal diversion around the sides. The effect on vertical mixing is also considered with a shear layer generated beneath the canopy and turbulence generated from drag within the canopy. In the observations, stratification is shown to be of sufficient strength to limit the effectiveness of the first mixing process, while the turbulence within the canopy is likely to enhance vertical exchange. Velocity and temperature microstructure measurements are used to investigate the effect of the canopy on turbulent dissipation and show that dissipation is enhanced within the canopy.

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