Abstract

Antarctic ice shelf cavities are set to become a standard component in ocean models, with an increasing number of models considering thermodynamics at the ice-shelf/ocean interface. The first part of this talk presents a model intercomparison and evaluation of present-day ocean/sea-ice/ice-shelf interactions as simulated by two models: MetROMS (ROMS: Regional Ocean Modelling System coupled to CICE : Community Ice CodE) and FESOM (Finite Element Sea-ice/Ice-shelf Ocean Model), where the latter is run at two different levels of horizontal resolution. Simulated ice shelf basal melting and sub-ice shelf circulation are analysed, as well as sea ice properties and Southern Ocean water mass characteristics as they influence the sub-ice shelf processes. The second part of this talk presents future projections of ice shelf melting in FESOM during the 21st century. The model is forced with bias-corrected atmospheric output from CMIP5 simulations, using two different future climate scenarios and two choices of CMIP5 models. The processes driving increased ice shelf melting in different sectors of Antarctica, as well as simulated changes in sea ice cover, water mass properties, and ACC transport, are explored.