The British research and supply vessel RRS JAMES CLARK ROSS in the Antarctic ice shelf. Photo: S. Schmidtko, GEOMAR

Eddies below the Ice

International research team observed previously unknown mixing processes in the Antarctic Ocean

10 November 2014 / Kiel. Using robotic ocean gliders, researchers from the US and the UK, with the participation of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, have discovered unknown eddies and mixing processes off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula. These processes have an impact on the heat budget of the Antarctic - a discovery that will help the scientific community determine how rapidly the ice is melting. The scientists published their discovery in the internationally renowned journal Nature Geoscience.

For the full English press release see: http://www.caltech.edu/content/robotic-ocean-gliders-aid-study-melting-polar-ice

Reference:
Thompson, A. F., K. J. Heywood, S. Schmidtko, A. L. Stewart (2014): Eddy transport as a key component of the Antarctic overturning circulation. Nature Geoscience, Advance Online Publication, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2289

For high-resolution images got to the GEOMAR image database.

Contact at GEOMAR:
Jan Steffen (Communication and Media), Tel.: +49 (0) 431 600-2811, jsteffen(at)geomar.de

The British research and supply vessel RRS JAMES CLARK ROSS in the Antarctic ice shelf. Photo: S. Schmidtko, GEOMAR

Launch of an oceanographic glider from the RRS JAMES CLARK ROSS. Photo: S. Schmidtko, GEOMAR

The data were measured with the help of gliders around the Powell Basin on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Image Reproduced from the GEBCO world map 2014 www.gebco.net,

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