Tidal Mixing on the Antarctic Continental Slope Enhances Ocean Heat Transport With Implications for Sea Ice
Abstract
Ocean microstructure measurements collected during three austral summers (2023-2025) along the Antarctic continental slope off Dronning Maud Land show enhanced subsurface mixing. Mean turbulent dissipation between 100 and 800 m depth is an order of magnitude higher than in the open ocean, with an extreme event reaching 3 × 10 -6 W/kg at mid-depth. Elevated dissipation coincides with peaks in vertical velocity shear during periods of strong tidal acceleration associated with spring-tide flow reversals. Enhanced continental slope mixing drives a mean upward heat flux of 3 W/m2 into the base of cold surface waters, in agreement with independent estimates from an internal tide model. Combined with reanalysis data, the model suggests tidal mixing along the Antarctic continental slope could produce a circumpolar mean vertical heat flux of 9 W/m2 . This upward heat transport may warm the upper ocean and limit sea ice formation around Antarctica.
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BibTeX
@article{hus2026tidal,
title = {{Tidal Mixing on the Antarctic Continental Slope Enhances Ocean Heat Transport With Implications for Sea Ice}},
author = {Johanne Jahnsen Hus and Amelie Meyer and Tore Hattermann and Beatriz Peña‐molino and Casimir de Lavergne},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1029/2026gl122819},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05856901v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Tidal Mixing on the Antarctic Continental Slope Enhances Ocean Heat Transport With Implications for Sea Ice
AU - Johanne Jahnsen Hus
AU - Amelie Meyer
AU - Tore Hattermann
AU - Beatriz Peña‐molino
AU - Casimir de Lavergne
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/09
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
DO - 10.1029/2026gl122819
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05856901v1
AB - Ocean microstructure measurements collected during three austral summers (2023-2025) along the Antarctic continental slope off Dronning Maud Land show enhanced subsurface mixing. Mean turbulent dissipation between 100 and 800 m depth is an order of magnitude higher than in the open ocean, with an extreme event reaching 3 × 10 -6 W/kg at mid-depth. Elevated dissipation coincides with peaks in vertical velocity shear during periods of strong tidal acceleration associated with spring-tide flow reversals. Enhanced continental slope mixing drives a mean upward heat flux of 3 W/m2 into the base of cold surface waters, in agreement with independent estimates from an internal tide model. Combined with reanalysis data, the model suggests tidal mixing along the Antarctic continental slope could produce a circumpolar mean vertical heat flux of 9 W/m2 . This upward heat transport may warm the upper ocean and limit sea ice formation around Antarctica.
SN - 0094-8276
SN - 1944-8007
ER -