Fig. 10: Warm route from offshore to Totten Glacier.
From: On-shelf circulation of warm water toward the Totten Ice Shelf in East Antarctica
Schematic showing warm water pathways from the open ocean to the Totten Ice Shelf (TIS) cavity. The reservoir of ocean heat over the continental slope is increased where cyclonic eddies carry warm water south on their eastern side. The deep shelf break allows warm modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW) to access the shelf. Warm mCDW pools on the bottom of the Sabrina Depression, which spans most of the Totten embayment. A cyclonic circulation around the rim of the depression carries warm mCDW to the inner shelf, where some of the warm water is diverted through deep troughs to reach the front of the TIS. The warm mCDW enters the ice shelf cavity by bottom-intensified flows in the deep troughs, especially in Central Totten Trough (C-TT), where the largest ocean heat transport occurs (shown by the broad arrow toward the cavity). Glacial meltwater outflow is concentrated on the western side of the ice front.
