[M-IS15] Global Antarctic Science: connecting the chain of changing huge ice sheets and global environments

[MIS15-P02] Antarctic ice sheet-ocean interactions in the era of global warming: FY2024 activities

*Daisuke Hirano^1,2, Kohei Mizobata³, Kazuya Kusahara⁴, Kazuya Ono⁵, Shigeru Aoki⁵ (1.National Institute of Polar Research, 2.The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, 3.Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4.Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 5.Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University)

Keywords:Southern Ocean, ice sheet melting, ice sheet-ocean interaction, East Antarctica, climate change

The global warming signal is becoming more pronounced not only in the mid-and low-latitudes but also in the Antarctic region. In particular, the accelerated melting and mass loss of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will have a significant impact on human society through rising sea levels, etc. Therefore, understanding and grasping the actual situation is an extremely important issue from both scientific and social perspectives.

The planned research project, “Antarctic ice sheet-ocean interactions in the era of global warming,” conducted as part of the JSPS-funded “Global Antarctic Science” project (https://glaces.lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp/en/),” aims to elucidate the interaction mechanisms between the ice sheet and the ocean, which play a key role in Antarctic ice sheet fluctuations. First, we will focus on the Totten Glacier area in East Antarctica, a region of increasing instability, integrating in-situ and satellite observations with numerical modelling to investigate the ocean-driven ice shelf melting process in the East Antarctic region. Additionally, numerical modelling will be used to reproduce the fluctuations in ice shelf melting over the past few decades and predict changes several decades into the near future. Through the combined approach of observation and numerical modelling, we aim to clarify the actual state of the ocean-sea ice-ice sheet interaction responsible for the rapid mass loss of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in the era of global warming and assess their large-scale impacts on the global ocean and climate systems, originating from changes in the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Southern Ocean.

This presentation will provide an overview of the major research and observation activities of this project in the 2024 fiscal year.