Liv Cornelissen: The influence of the Drygalski Ice Tongue on water mass transformation in Terra Nova Bay

<p dir="ltr">Terra Nova Bay is a coastal polynya in the western Ross Sea, bounded to the south by the Drygalski Ice Tongue, which blocks sea ice transport into the bay. Strong katabatic winds from the Nansen Ice Shelf clear the bay of ice, enabling wintertime formation of High Salinity Shelf Water as sea ice forms. Other water masses, including Ice Shelf Water and Antarctic Surface Water, are either formed locally or advected from elsewhere in the Ross Sea. This study examines the seasonal and interannual variability of these water masses around the Drygalski Ice Tongue, using a decade-long hydrographic mooring time series collected from 2014 to 2024 at multiple depths. Seasonal cycles in sea ice and water mass formation are analysed to understand their variability and the processes driving the transformation of shelf waters in this key region of Antarctic Bottom Water formation.</p>