Modeling Deep & Bottom Water Formation Along the Continental Margin of the Western Weddell Sea Based on Ice Station Weddell Data

This project is a modeling study of the deep and bottom water formation process along the continental margin of the Western Weddell Sea. It will be based on an existing three-dimensional primitive equation model (the so-called Semi-spectral Primitive Equation Model, or SPEM) proven successful in coastal circulation studies. Direct observations made during the occupation of Ice Station Weddell in 1992 will be used to initialize, force, and diagnose the model results. Modifications to the model will allow the inclusion of changes in sea water density due to freezing and melting of ice (surface buoyancy fluxes), sea ice dynamics, and ocean /ice-shelf interactions. Expected results from the study are the simulation of existing water mass characteristics, their spatial and temporal evolution, and the regional circulation of the Weddell Sea. It will also be possible to evaluate the model itself with respect to the sensitivity of simulated results with respect to model parameters and parameterization schemes, intensity of external forcing, and variations in initial conditions. The results will test existing theories of deep and bottom water formation for the southwestern Weddell Sea.