The subantarctic region comprises two geographic zones and three distinct fronts. The northernmost boundary of the subantarctic region is the rather ill-defined Subtropical Front (STF), also referred to as the Subtropical Convergence. To the south of the STF is a geographic zone, the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ). South of the SAZ is the Subantarctic Front (SAF). South of the SAF is another marine zone, called the Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ). The SAZ and the PFZ together form the subantarctic region. The southernmost boundary of the PFZ (and hence, the southern border of the subantarctic region) is the Antarctic Convergence, located approximately 200 kilometers south of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF).[1]
Influence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and thermohaline circulation
The subantarctic Front, found between 48°S and 58°S in the Indian and Pacific Ocean and between 42°S and 48°S in the Atlantic Ocean, defines the northern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (or ACC).[1] The ACC is the most important ocean current in the Southern Ocean, and the only current that flows completely around the Earth. Flowing eastward through the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, the ACC links these three otherwise separate oceanic basins. Extending from the sea surface to depths of 2000–4000 meters, and with a width of as great as 2000 kilometers, the ACC transports more water than any other ocean current.[2] The ACC carries up to 150 Sverdrups (150 million cubic meters per second), equivalent to 150 times the volume of water flowing in all the world's rivers.[3] The ACC and the global thermohaline circulation strongly influence regional and global climate as well as underwater biodiversity.[4]
Another factor that contributes to the climate of the subantarctic region, though to a much lesser extent than the thermohaline circulation, is the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (ABW) by halothermal dynamics. The halothermal circulation is that portion of the global ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and evaporation.
Definition of subantarctic: political versus scientific
This is a list of glaciers in the subantarctic. This list includes one snow field (Murray Snowfield). Snow fields are not glaciers in the strict sense of the word, but they are commonly found at the accumulation zone or head of a glacier.[8] For the purposes of this list, Antarctica is defined as any latitude further south than 60° (the continental limit according to the Antarctic Treaty).[5]
Together, the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) act as a carbon sink, absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide and storing it in solution. If the SAMW temperature increases as a result of climate change, the SAMW will have less capacity to store dissolved carbon dioxide. Research using a computerized climate system model suggests that if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration were to increase to 860 ppm by the year 2100 (roughly double today's concentration), the SAMW will decrease in density and salinity. The resulting reductions in the subduction and transport capacity of SAMW and AAIW water masses could potentially decrease the absorption and storage of CO2 in the Southern Ocean.[9]
The physical landscape and biota communities of Heard Island and McDonald Islands are constantly changing due to volcanism, strong winds and waves, and climate change. Volcanic activity has been observed in this area since the mid-1980s, with fresh lava flows on the southwest flanks of Heard Island. Satellite imagery shows that McDonald Island increased in size from about 1 to 2.5 square kilometers between 1994 and 2004, as a result of volcanic activity.[10]
In addition to new land being produced by volcanism, global warming of the climate is causing the retreat of glaciers on the islands (see section below ). These combined processes produce new ice-free terrestrial and freshwaterecoregions, such as moraines and lagoons, which are now available for colonization by plants and animals.[10]
Heard Island has vast colonies of penguins and petrels, and large harems of land-based marine predators such as elephant seals and fur seals. Due to the very high numbers of seabirds and marine mammals on Heard Island, the area is considered a "biological hot spot".[10] The marine environment surrounding the islands features diverse and distinctive benthic habitats that support a range of species including corals, sponges, barnacles and echinoderms. This marine environment also serves as a nursery area for a range of fishes, including some species of commercial interest.[10]
Many subantarctic glaciers are also in retreat. Mass balance is significantly negative on many glaciers on Kergeulen Island, Heard Island, South Georgia and Bouvet Island.[21][22]
Glaciers of Heard Island
Heard Island is a heavily glacierized, subantarctic volcanic island located in the Southern Ocean, roughly 4000 kilometers southwest of Australia. 80% of the island is covered in ice, with glaciers descending from 2400 meters to sea level.[21] Due to the steep topography of Heard Island, most of its glaciers are relatively thin (averaging only about 55 meters in depth).[22] The presence of glaciers on Heard Island provides an excellent opportunity to measure the rate of glacial retreat as an indicator of climate change.[10]
Available records show no apparent change in glacier mass balance between 1874 and 1929. Between 1949 and 1954, marked changes were observed to have occurred in the ice formations above 5,000 feet (1,500 m) on the southwestern slopes of Big Ben, possibly as a result of volcanic activity. By 1963, major recession was obvious below 2,000 feet (610 m) on almost all glaciers, and minor recession was evident as high as 5,000 feet (1,500 m).[23]
Retreat of glacier fronts across Heard Island is evident when comparing aerial photographs taken in December 1947 with those taken on a return visit in early 1980.[21][24] Retreat of Heard Island glaciers is most dramatic on the eastern section of the island, where the termini of former tidewater glaciers are now located inland.[21] Glaciers on the northern and western coasts have narrowed significantly, while the area of glaciers and ice caps on Laurens Peninsula have shrunk by 30% – 65%.[21][22]
During the time period between 1947 and 1988, the total area of Heard Island's glaciers decreased by 11%, from 288 km2 (roughly 79% of the total area of Heard Island) to only 257 km2.[22] A visit to the island in the spring of 2000 found that the Stephenson, Brown and Baudissin glaciers, among others, had retreated even further.[22][24] The terminus of Brown Glacier has retreated approximately 1.1 kilometres since 1950.[10] The total ice-covered area of Brown Glacier is estimated to have decreased by roughly 29% between 1947 and 2004.[24] This degree of loss of glacier mass is consistent with the measured increase in temperature of +0.9 °C over that time span.[24]
The coastal ice cliffs of Brown Glacier and Stephenson Glacier, which in 1954 were over 50 feet (15 m) high, had disappeared by 1963 when the glaciers terminated as much as 100 yards (91 m) inland.[23] Baudissin Glacier on the north coast has lost at least 100 vertical feet (30 vertical m), and Vahsel Glacier on the west coast has lost at least 200 vertical feet (61 vertical m).[23]Winston Glacier, which retreated approximately one mile (1.6 km) between 1947 and 1963, appears to be a very sensitive indicator of glacier change on the island. The young moraines flanking Winston Lagoon show that Winston Glacier has lost at least 300 vertical feet (91 vertical m) of ice within a recent time period.[23]
The glaciers of Laurens Peninsula, whose maximum elevation is only 500 m above sea level, are smaller and shorter than most of the other Heard Island glaciers, and therefore much more sensitive to temperature effects. Accordingly, their total area has decreased by over 30 percent. Jacka Glacier on the east coast of Laurens Peninsula has also demonstrated marked recession since 1955.[23] In the early 1950s, Jacka Glacier had receded only slightly from its position in the late 1920s, but by 1997 it had receded about 700 m back from the coastline.[21][22][25][26]
Possible causes of glacier recession on Heard Island include:
Volcanic activity
Southward movement of the Antarctic Convergence: such a movement conceivably might cause glacier retreat through a rise in sea and air temperatures
Climatic change
The Australian Antarctic Division conducted an expedition to Heard Island during the austral summer of 2003–04. A small team of scientists spent two months on the island, conducting studies on avian and terrestrial biology and glaciology. Glaciologists conducted further research on the Brown Glacier, in an effort to determine whether glacial retreat is rapid or punctuated. Using a portable echo sounder, the team took measurements of the volume of the glacier. Monitoring of climatic conditions continued, with an emphasis on the impact of Foehn winds on glacier mass balance.[27] Based on the findings of that expedition, the rate of loss of glacier ice on Heard Island appears to be accelerating. Between 2000 and 2003, repeat GPSsurface surveys revealed that the rate of loss of ice in both the ablation zone and the accumulation zone of Brown Glacier was more than double average rate measured from 1947 to 2003. The increase in the rate of ice loss suggests that the glaciers of Heard Island are reacting to ongoing climate change, rather than approaching dynamic equilibrium.[24] The retreat of Heard Island's glaciers is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.[21]
^Klinck, J; Nowlin, W. D. Jr. (2001). "Antarctic Circumpolar Current". In Steele, John H. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ocean Science (1st ed.). New York: Academic Press. pp. 151–159. doi:10.1006/rwos.2001.0370. ISBN9780122274305.
^Joanna Gyory; Arthur J. Mariano; Edward H. Ryan. "The Gulf Stream". The Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS). Archived from the original on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
^Jon J. Major & Christopher G. Newhall (1989). "Snow and ice perturbation during historical volcanic eruptions and the formation of lahars and floods". Bulletin of Volcanology. 52 (1): 1–27. Bibcode:1989BVol...52....1M. doi:10.1007/BF00641384. S2CID129043590.
^Masiokas, Mariano H.; Rivera, Andrés; Espizua, Lydia E.; Villalba, Ricardo; Delgado, Silvia; Aravena, Juan Carlos (15 October 2009). "Glacier fluctuations in extratropical South America during the past 1000 years". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 281 (3–4): 242–268. Bibcode:2009PPP...281..242M. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.08.006. hdl:10533/130935.
^"Glaciers of New Zealand". Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
^ abcdeG.M. Budd; P.J. Stephenson (1970). "Recent glacier retreat on Heard Island"(PDF). International Association for Scientific Hydrology. 86: 449–458. Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
^Quilty, P.G. & Wheller, G. (2000). "Heard Island and the McDonald Islands: A window into the Kerguelen Plateau (Heard Island Papers)". Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasm. 133 (2): 1–12.
^Budd, G.M. (2000). "Changes in Heard Island glaciers, king penguins and fur seals since 1947 (Heard Island Papers)". Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasm. 133 (2): 47–60.
U. Radok & D. Watts (1975). "A synoptic background to glacier variations of Heard Island"(PDF). Snow and Ice (Proceedings of the Moscow Symposium, August 1971) (104 ed.). Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK: International Association of Hydrological Sciences. pp. 42–56. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
Truffer, M; Thost, D; Ruddell, A (2001). "The Brown Glacier, Heard Island: its morphology, dynamics, mass balance and climate setting". Antarctic CRC Research Report No. 24. Hobart, Tasmania: Cooperative Research Centre for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment, University of Tasmania. pp. 1–27.