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Antarctic coastal polynyas in the global climate system

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 6, pages 126–139 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Coastal polynyas describe regions of persistent open water within the sea-ice pack. In this Review, we outline the critical importance of Antarctic coastal polynyas in the Earth system (including for the atmosphere, sea-ice, ocean and biosphere) and outline their past, present and future changes. Strong offshore winds are the primary force opening coastal polynyas, varying on synoptic timescales to influence polynya existence and size. The exposed ocean surface ventilates heat to the atmosphere, allowing sea surface cooling and frazil ice formation. Frazil ice increases the salinity of surface waters, ultimately sinking as dense shelf water that drives the southern limb of the global ocean overturning circulation. Light and nutrient availability in coastal polynyas also encourages high primary productivity, making them critical aspects of the Antarctic marine food web. Coastal polynya strength and location varies through time, most notably at glacial–interglacial timescales owing to changes in continental shelf available for polynya formation. Predicting the future evolution of Antarctic coastal polynyas is challenged by inadequate model resolution and poorly constrained processes and behaviours, but there are indications that activity will decline with warming. A coordinated and expanded campaign of in situ measurements, as well as new satellite-based observations that use intelligent algorithms, would improve coupled atmosphere–sea-ice–ocean models and, thereby, enhance knowledge of Antarctic coastal polynyas.

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Fig. 1: Observed and projected changes in Antarctic sea-ice.
Fig. 2: Polynya atmosphere, sea-ice and ocean processes.
Fig. 3: Impact of frazil ice formation on the local water column.
Fig. 4: A coupled model of polynya opening.
Fig. 5: Antarctic ocean circulation in the global system.
Fig. 6: Presence and absence of polynyas under different climate states.

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Acknowledgements

N.R.G., E.D.K., A.G., A.M., A.B.-D., M.K., S.J., D.P.L. and A.A.-B. gratefully acknowledge financial support from the New Zealand Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (grant no. ANTA1801; ‘Antarctic Science Platform’). D.N. acknowledges funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Germany’s Excellence Strategy (EXC 2037; CLICCS - Climate, Climatic Change, and Society; project no. 390683824).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Nicholas R. Golledge, Elizabeth D. Keller, Alexandra Gossart, Stefan Jendersie & Alanna Alevropoulos-Borrill

  2. Environmental Processes and Modelling, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

    Elizabeth D. Keller, Mario Krapp & Daniel P. Lowry

  3. School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Alena Malyarenko

  4. National Institute of Water and Atmosphere, Wellington, New Zealand

    Angela Bahamondes-Dominguez

  5. Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), La Serena, Chile

    Angela Bahamondes-Dominguez

  6. Institute of Oceanography, Center for Earth System Sustainability, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Dirk Notz

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conception, writing and editing of the article. N.R.G. and A.A.-B. wrote the introductory section. A.G. wrote the ‘Atmosphere’ section. S.J. wrote the ‘Sea ice’ section. A.M. wrote the ‘Ocean’ section. E.D.K. and A.B-D. wrote the ‘Biogeochemistry and the carbon cycle’ section. M.K., D.P.L. and N.R.G. wrote the ‘Changes in polynya activity’ section. N.R.G. wrote the ‘Summary and future perspectives’ section following discussions with all authors. D.N. wrote Box 1. D.N., D.P.L. and N.R.G. drafted Fig. 1. N.R.G. drafted the schematics for Figs. 2 and 6 with input from section authors. S.J. plotted the ocean profile data in Fig. 3, and A.M. plotted the model outputs in Fig. 4.

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Golledge, N.R., Keller, E.D., Gossart, A. et al. Antarctic coastal polynyas in the global climate system. Nat Rev Earth Environ 6, 126–139 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00634-x

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