Thoughts On the Study of Shore Lead Convection and Shelf Fronts
James Morison
Polar Science Center, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory
1013 NE 40th St. Seattle, WA 98105
Tel: 206-543-1394
Fax: 206-543-3521
morison@apl. washington.edu
A common feature of the coastal regions of frozen seas is an opening in the ice near the shore. This may be a shore lead parallel to the coast formed at the separtion of shorefast ice and moving pack ice. It may take the form of a coastal polynya held open by wind driven advection of new ice away from the coast. Because these regions are held open for extended periods, they can produce a great deal of new ice and saline convection. The presence of a localized convection source produces significant horizontal variability. The resulting fronts can strongly affect the circulation in the shelf region and affect shelf-basin exchange. A small example of these effects will be shown. Methods of observing shelf convection with autonomous vehicles and other instruments will be discussed.
