Abstract
Using the data of ~58 000 ship observations of Antarctic icebergs in 1947–2014, the map of average summertime concentration of icebergs (namely, of their number within a circle with the radius of 15 nautical miles) in the Southern Ocean was constructed. The main features of the iceberg distribution are revealed, and their possible reasons are investigated. It is shown that in the open ocean sea currents play a key role in the iceberg distribution. Wind effects are pronounced when ocean currents are weak or absent. According to the authors’ estimates, wind plays a decisive role only in the formation of one wide quasimeridional tongue of high iceberg concentration in the Weddell Sea. It is difficult to assess the impact of Antarctic glaciers’ productivity on the iceberg distribution, because currents, wind, and breaking and jamming of icebergs in shallow water areas cause their rapid redistribution. The clear physical explanation of the main features of iceberg concentration distribution on the constructed map indicates that it provides a rather real pattern.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Icebergs of the World Ocean, Ed. by I. K. Popov and V. A. Voevodin (Gidrometeoizdat, Saint Petersburg, 1996) [in Russian].
N. N. Antipov and A. V. Klepikov, “Large-scale Pattern of Ross Gyre Water Circulation,” Trudy AANII, No. 447 (2007) [in Russian].
N. N. Antipov and A. V. Klepikov, “Cyclonic Gyres in the Marginal Seas of East Antarctica,” in The Arctic and Antarctica, No. 2 (Nauka, Moscow, 2003) [in Russian].
V. Kh. Buinitskii, Sea Ice and Icebergs in the Antarctica (LGU, Leningrad, 1973) [in Russian].
A. I. Korotkov and V. E. Fedyakov, “Advection and Morphology of Ice in the Weddell Gyre,” in Results of Antarctic Studies (Gidrometeoizdat, Saint Petersburg, 1995) [in Russian].
A. I. Korotkov, V. E. Fedyakov, and V. E. Korablev, “Detailed Pattern of Iceberg Distribution in the Southern Ocean,” Problemy Arktiki i Antarktiki, No. 3 (2014) [in Russian].
M. N. Koshlyakov, I. M. Belkin, V. M. Radikevich, and Yu. A. Romanov, “Icebergs at 67° S in the Pacific Sector of the Antarctic in February-March 1992,” Okeanologiya, No. 6, 34 (1993) [Oceanology, No. 6, 34 (1993)].
A. P. Lisitsin, Ice Sedimentation in the World Ocean (Nauka, Moscow, 1994) [in Russian].
V. S. Nazarov, “Antarctic Water Ice,” Okeanologiya, No. 6 (1962) [in Russian].
A. A. Romanov, Ice Conditions for Navigation in the Southern Ocean, WMO. Marine Meteorology and Related Problems, No. 35 (Saint Petersburg, 1996) [in Russian].
Yu. A. Romanov, “Brief History of Observations of Antarctic Icebergs, Main Objectives of Iceberg Investigation, and Iceberg Observation Data Acquisition Centers,” in Touching the Ocean: 100 Years of V. G. Kort, Ed. by E. G. Morozov and V. G. Neiman (Moscow-Izhevsk, 2013) [in Russian].
Yu. A. Romanov and A. I. Korotkov, “Seasonal Variations in Iceberg Abundance in Eastern Antarctica (50°-70° S, 0°-120° E),” Dokl. Akad. Nauk, No. 2, 379 (2001) [Dokl. Earth Sci., No. 5, 379 (2001)].
Yu. A. Romanov and N. A. Romanova, “Icebergs in the Australian Sector of the Antarctic Region,” Dokl. Akad. Nauk, No. 4, 402 (2005) [Dokl. Earth Sci., No. 4, 402 (2005)].
Yu. A. Romanov and N. A. Romanova, “Concentration of Icebergs in the Atlantic Sector of the Antarctic Region and Its Seasonal Changes,” Dokl. Akad. Nauk, No. 6, 392 (2003) [Dokl. Earth Sci., No. 8, 393 (2003)].
R. Yu. Tarakanov, Pattern of Large-scale Circulation of Antarctic Waters, Abstract of Thesis of Doctoal Dissertation in Mathematical Physics (IO RAN, Moscow, 2015) [in Russian].
B. I. Shil'nikov, “Icebergs,” in Atlas of Antarctica, Vol. 2 (1969) [in Russian].
K. R. Arrigo and G. L. van Dijken, “Impact of Iceberg C-19 on Ross Sea Primary Production,” Geophys. Res. Lett., 30 (2003).
J. Ballantyne, A Multidecadal Study of the Number of Antarctic Icebergs Using Scatterometer Data, Brigham Young University Online Report (2002), http://www.mers.byu.edu/long/paper/conf/IGARSS/.
J. Ballantyne and D. G. Long, “A Multidecadal Study of the Number of Antarctic Icebergs Using Scatterometer Data,” in Proceedings of the International GeoScience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Toronto, Canada, 24-28 June 2002.
N. L. Bindoff, M. A. Rosenberg, and M. J. Warner, “On the CircuSation and WaSer Masses over the AntarcSic Continental Slope and Rise between 80° and 150° E,” Deep-Sea Res., Part II, 47 (2000).
C. J. Burrow, “Icebergs in the Southern Ocean,” New Zealand Geograph., 32 (1976).
G. Dencausse, M. Arhan, and S. Speich, “Routes of Agulhas Ring in the Southeaster Cape Basin,” Deep-Sea Res., Part I, 57 (1989).
J. A. Dowdeswell and J. L. Bamber, “Keel Depths of Modern Antarctic Icebergs and Implication for Sea-floor Scouring in the Geological Records,” Mar. Geol., No. 1-4, 243 (2007).
R. E. Ettle, “The Drift of Icebergs under Wind AcSion,” Arctic, 27 (1974).
R. M. Gladstone and G. Bigg, “Satellite Tracking of Icebergs in the Weddell Sea, Antarctic,” Science, 14 (2002).
J. Gutt and A. Starmang, “Quantification ofIceberg Impact and Benthic Recolonisation Patterns in the Weddell Sea (Antarctica),” Polar Biol., 24 (2001).
K. Matsumoto, “An Iceberg Drift and Decay Model to Compute the Ice-rafted Debris and Iceberg MeltwaSer Flux: Application to the Interglacial North Atlantic,” Paleoceanography, No. 6, 11 (1996).
M. S. MaCartney and K. A. Donohue, “A Deep Cyclonic Gyre in the AusSralian-Antarctic BaSin,” Progr. Oceanogr., 75 (2007).
O. Orheim, “Physical Characteristics and Life Expectancy of Tabular Antarctic Icebergs,” Ann. Glaciol., 1 (1980).
A. N. Orsi, W. D. Nowlin Jr., and T. Whitworth, “On the Circulation and Stratification of the Weddell Gyre,” Deep-Sea Res., Part I, 40 (1993).
A. N. Orsi and U. Ryan, Locations of the Various Fronts in the Southern Ocean, Catalogue of Australian Antarctic and Subantarctic Metadata (Aust. Antarct. Data Center, Kingston, Tasmania, 2001), http://aadcaps.maps. aad.gov.aaadc/metadata/metadatadirect.cfm?mdAMD/AU/southern_ocean_fronts.
M. N. Raphael, G. J. Marshall, J. Turner, et al., “The Amundsen Sea Low,” Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 97 (2016).
S. Reeves, K. Stuart, and B. Lamber, The Antarctic Iceberg Tracking Database - 2009, http://www.scp.dyu.edu/ data/ic eb erg/datab as e.
E. Rignot, S. Jackobs, J. Mouginot, and B. Scheuchl, “Ice Shelf Melting around Antarctica,” Science, 341 (2013).
Yu. A. Romanov, N. A. Romanova, and P. Romanov, “Distribution of Icebergs in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean SecSors of the Antarctic Region and Its Possible Links with ENSO,” Geophys. Res. Lett., 35 (2008).
Yu. A. Romanov, N. A. Romanova, and P. Romanov, “Shape and Size of Antarctic Icebergs Derived from Ship Observation Data,” Antarctic Sci., No. 1, 24 (2012).
M. P. Schodlok, H. H. Helmer, G. Rohardt, et al., “Weddell Sea Iceberg Drift: Five Years of Observations,” J. Geophys. Res., 111 (2006).
J. N. Schwarz and M. P. Schodlok, “Impact of Drifting Icebergs on Surface Phytoplankton Biomass in the Southern Ocean: Ocean Colors Remote Sensing and in Situ Iceberg Tracking,” Deep Sea Res., Part I, No. 10, 56 (2009).
T. Silva, G. Bigg, and K. Nicholls, “The Contribution of Giant Icebergs to the Southern Ocean Freshwater Flux,” J. Geophys. Res., 111 (2006).
K. L. Smith, “Free-drifting Icebergs in the Southern Ocean: An Overview,” Deep Sea Res., Part II, 58 (2011).
K. L. Smith, B. H. Robinson, J. J. Helly, et al., “Hot Spot of Chemical and Biological Enrichment in the Weddell Sea,” Science, 317 (2007).
B. Spandonide, Iceberg Water Transportation from Antarctic to Australia, PhDThesis (Univ. Tasmania, 2012).
K. Stuart and D. Long, “Tracking Large Tabular Icebergs Using the Ku-band Microwave Scatterometer,” Deep Sea Res., No. 11-12, 58 (2011).
J. Tournadre, N. Bouhier, F. Girard-Ardhuin, and F. Remy, “Antarctic Iceberg Distribution 1992-2014,” J. Geophys. Res., 121 (2016).
P. Wadhams, “Winter Observations on Iceberg Frequencies and Sizes in the South Atlantic Ocean,” J. Geophys. Res., No. 4, 93 (1988).
W. F. Weeks and W. J. Campbell, “Icebergs as a Fresh-water Source: An Appraisal,” J. Glaciol., No. 63, 12 (1973).
C. Wesche and W. Dierking, “Near-costal Circum-Antarctic Iceberg Size Distributions Determined from Synthetic Aperture Radar Images,” Remote Sens. Environ., 156 (2015).
C. Wesche, D. Jansen, and W. Dierking, “Calving Fronts of Antarctica: Mapping and Classification,” Remote Sens., 5 (2013).
N. W. Young, D. Turner, G. Hyland, and R. N. Williams, “Near-costal Iceberg Distributions in East Antarctica,” Ann. Glaciol., 27 (1998).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © Yu.A. Romanov, N.A. Romanova, 2018, published in Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya, 2018, No. 3, pp. 61–74.
About this article
Cite this article
Romanov, Y.A., Romanova, N.A. Icebergs in the Southern Ocean and Factors Defining Their Distribution. Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol. 43, 178–187 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373918030068
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373918030068