Wed. May 27, 2015 6:15 PM - 7:30 PM Convention Hall (2F)

Convener:*Minoru Ikehara(Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University), Yoshifumi Nogi(National Institute of Polar Research), Kay I. Ohshima(Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University)

The Southern Ocean and Antarctic ice sheet, which are the giant reservoirs of heat, water, and materials, have a potential to play central roles in long-term Earth's climate and ecosystem changes. This system is composed of the following sub-systems; ice shelf which is a place of the interaction of ice sheet and ocean, flowing iceberg, seasonal sea ice zone, Antarctic bottom water which drives the thermohaline circulation, active biological production and Antarctic Circumpolar Current. These sub-systems are interacted with each other and have significant impact on changes in the global environmental system. This session aim to summarize recent observational and simulation studies from various fields relating to the past and present changes in the Antarctic Ice sheet and ocean circulation in the Southern Ocean which is essential element for unraveling the changes in the Erarth's climate system, and discuss future science plans for understanding of the environmental changes of the Antarctic Cryosphere.