Glacial meltwater input to the ocean around the Antarctic Peninsula: forcings and consequences

Abstract

The Antarctic region has experienced recent climate and environmental variations due to climate change, such as ice sheets and ice shelves loss, and changes in the production, extension, and thickness of sea-ice. These processes mainly affect the freshwater supply to the Southern Ocean and its water masses formation and export, being crucial to changes in the global climate. Here, we review the infl uence of the glacial freshwater input on the Antarctic Peninsula adjacent ocean. We highlight each climate process' relevance on freshwater contribution to the sea and present a current overview of how these processes are being addressed and studied. The increase of freshwater input into the ocean carries several implications on climate, regionally and globally. Due to glacier melting, the intrusion of colder and lighter water into the ocean increases the stratifi cation of the water column, infl uencing the sea-ice increase and reducing oceanatmosphere exchanges, affecting the global water cycle. This study shows the role of each hydrological cycle processes and their contributions to the regional oceanography and potentially to climate.

Sixty years of glacial retreat behind Palmer Station, Antarctica

“…Glacial meltwater contributes freshwater to the ocean, physically impacting water column characteristics (e.g. turbidity, stratification) and biogeochemistry, which can influence phytoplankton community composition and bloom magnitude (Lima et al 2022, Jones et al 2023. Such changes at the base of the food web can then cascade to higher-level…”