Oceanography and sea ice in the Southern Ocean

Sea ice in the Southern Ocean substantially modifies atmosphere–ice–ocean fluxes of energy, freshwater, carbon, nutrients, and other important properties. It redistributes these quantities in space and time, modifies water masses of local and global relevance, and provides unique environmental conditions for marine life. In this chapter, we describe the history, current state, and future perspectives of our understanding of the coupled ice–ocean system, highlighting the need for an integrated observing system through international cooperation to address observational challenges and to close fundamental data and knowledge gaps. We discuss the unique geographic setting of the region and the importance of sea ice in driving the ocean's stratification and ventilation, and we outline how sea ice sets seawater properties and propels the overturning circulation. We emphasize that sea ice–ocean feedbacks operate on multiple timescales and hence play an important role in driving long-term climate variability and change.

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