A Hole the Size of Switzerland Opened in Antarctica's Sea Ice, Revealing a Powerful Force Hidden for Decades
Indian Defence Review••science
Key Points:
- During the Antarctic winters of 2016 and 2017, a massive polynya—an open water hole roughly the size of Switzerland—formed in the Weddell Sea, defying extreme cold and persisting for weeks, an event not seen since the 1970s.
- A new study in Science Advances explains that the polynya was caused by Ekman-driven salt transport, where eastward winds pushed saltier water around Maud Rise, disrupting ocean layering and causing warmer deep water to upwell and melt the sea ice from below.
- This process created a feedback loop of ocean convection, sustained by heat release from open water to the cold atmosphere, with detailed ocean modeling showing how wind, salinity, and circulation combined
