Oceanography
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OCEANOGRAPHY SOCIETY
VOL.29, NO.4, DECEMBER 2016
Special Issue on
Ocean-Ice Interaction
Oceanography | December 2016
118
SPECIAL ISSUE ON OCEAN-ICE INTERACTION
19
FROM THE GUEST EDITORS. Introduction to the Special Issue on
Ocean-Ice Interaction
By J.K. Willis, E. Rignot, R.S. Nerem, and E. Lindstrom
22
Greenland Melt and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
By E. Frajka-Williams, J.L. Bamber, and K. Våge
34
Connecting the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Ocean: A Case Study of
Helheim Glacier and Sermilik Fjord
By F. Straneo, G.S. Hamilton, L.A. Stearns, and D.A. Sutherland
46
An Intensive Observation of Calving at Helheim Glacier, East Greenland
By D.M. Holland, D. Voytenko, K. Christianson, T.H. Dixon, M.J. Mei, B.R. Parizek,
I. Vaňková, R.T. Walker, J.I. Walter, K. Nicholls, and D. Holland
62
Improving Bed Topography Mapping of Greenland Glaciers Using NASA’s
Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) Data
By M. Morlighem, E. Rignot, and J.K. Willis
72
Oceans Melting Greenland: Early Results from NASA’s Ocean-Ice Mission
in Greenland
By I. Fenty, J.K. Willis, A. Khazendar, S. Dinardo, R. Forsberg, I. Fukumori,
D. Holland, M. Jakobsson, D. Moller, J. Morison, A. Münchow, E. Rignot,
M. Schodlok, A.F. Thompson, K. Tinto, M. Rutherford, and N. Trenholm
84
The Ice Shelf of Petermann Gletscher, North Greenland, and Its Connection
to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans
By A. Münchow, L. Padman, P. Washam, and K.W. Nicholls
96
Temporal Changes in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current: Implications for
the Antarctic Continental Shelves
By S.T. Gille, D.C. McKee, and D.G. Martinson
106 Decadal Ocean Forcing and Antarctic Ice Sheet Response: Lessons from
the Amundsen Sea
By A. Jenkins, P. Dutrieux, S. Jacobs, E.J. Steig, G.H. Gudmundsson, J. Smith,
and K.J. Heywood
118
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: The Role of the Amundsen Sea
Continental Shelf in Exchanges Between Ocean and Ice Shelves
By K.J. Heywood, L.C. Biddle, L. Boehme, P. Dutrieux, M. Fedak, A. Jenkins,
R.W. Jones, J. Kaiser, H. Mallett, A.C. Naveira Garabato, I.A. Renfrew,
D.P. Stevens, and B.G.M. Webber
130 Ocean-Ice Shelf Interaction in East Antarctica
By A. Silvano, S.R. Rintoul, and L. Herraiz-Borreguero
contents
VO L . 2 9, N O. 4 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6
34
62
Oceanography | December 2016
Oceanography | Vol.29, No.4
ON THE COVER
M/V Neptune conducting a survey in front of Northern
K.J.V. Steenstrup Glacier in Southeast Greenland. This
image was taken using a drone in September 2016 as
part of NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland mission.
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SPECIAL ISSUE SPONSOR
Production of this issue of Oceanography was
supported by NASA.
SPECIAL ISSUE GUEST EDITORS
• ERIC LINDSTROM, NASA
• R. STEVEN NEREM, University of Colorado
Boulder
• ERIC RIGNOT, University of California, Irvine,
and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California
Institute of Technology
• JOSH WILLIS, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
California Institute of Technology
Oceanography | Vol.29, No.4
144 Modeling Ice Shelf/Ocean Interaction in Antarctica: A Review
By M.S. Dinniman, X.S. Asay-Davis, B.K. Galton-Fenzi, P.R. Holland, A. Jenkins,
and R. Timmermann
154 Contributions of Greenland and Antarctica to Global and Regional
Sea Level Change
By E.W. Leuliette and R.S. Nerem
REGULAR ISSUE FEATURES
160 Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi
Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands)
By B.T. Phillips, M. Dunbabin, B. Henning, C. Howell, A. DeCiccio, A. Flinders,
K.A. Kelley, J.J. Scott, S. Albert, S. Carey, R. Tsadok, and A. Grinham
170 The Fine Art of Exploration
By E. Widder
178 The 1966 Flooding of Venice: What Time Taught Us for the Future
By F. Trincardi, A. Barbanti, M. Bastianini, A. Benetazzo, L. Cavaleri,
J. Chiggiato, A. Papa, A. Pomaro, M. Sclavo, L. Tosi, and G. Umgiesser
187 Transcritical Flow and Generation of Internal Solitary Waves off the Amazon
River: Synthetic Aperture Radar Observations and Interpretation
By C.A.D. Lentini, J.M. Magalhães, J.C.B. da Silva, and J.A. Lorenzzetti
196 HyMeX-SOP2: The Field Campaign Dedicated to Dense Water Formation in
the Northwestern Mediterranean
By C. Estournel, P. Testor, I. Taupier-Letage, M.-N. Bouin, L. Coppola,
P. Durand, P. Conan, A. Bosse, P.-E. Brilouet, L. Beguery, S. Belamari,
K. Béranger, J. Beuvier, D. Bourras, G. Canut, A. Doerenbecher,
X. Durrieu de Madron, F. D’Ortenzio, P. Drobinski, V. Ducrocq, N. Fourrié,
H. Giordani, L. Houpert, L. Labatut, C.L. Brossier, M. Nuret, L. Prieur, O. Roussot,
L. Seyfried, and S. Somot
170
178
196
Oceanography | December 2016
Editor
Ellen S. Kappel
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Contributing Writer
Cheryl Lyn Dybas
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Oceanography
HT TP S: // TO S .O R G /O C E A N O G R A P H Y
Oceanography (ISSN 1042-8275) is published by The Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931,
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THE
OCEANOGRAPHY
SOCIETY
P.O. Box 1931
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The Oceanography Society was founded in 1988
to disseminate knowledge of oceanography and
its application through research and education, to
promote communication among oceanographers,
and to provide a constituency for consensus-
building across all the disciplines of the field.
OFFICERS
Susan Lozier, President
Alan Mix, President-Elect
Mark Abbott, Past-President
Susan Cook, Secretary
Susan Banahan, Treasurer
COUNCILLORS
William Balch
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Dennis McGillicuddy
Lee Karp-Boss
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John Largier
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Oceanography | December 2016
Oceanography | Vol.29, No.4
CALL FOR
MANUSCRIPTS
DEPARTMENTS
05
QUARTERDECK. In Memory of Tom Garrison
By E.S. Kappel
07
FROM THE PRESIDENT. The New World of Oceanography
By M.S. Lozier
10
COMMENTARY. Marine Microalgae: Climate, Energy, and Food Security
from the Sea
By C.H. Greene, M.E. Huntley, I. Archibald, L.N. Gerber, D.L. Sills, J. Granados,
J.W. Tester, C.M. Beal, M.J. Walsh, R.R. Bidigare, S.L. Brown, W.P. Cochlan,
Z.I. Johnson, X.G. Lei, S.C. Machesky, D.G. Redalje, R.E. Richardson, V. Kiron,
and V. Corless
16
RIPPLE MARKS. Protecting the World’s High Seas Heritage from the White
Shark Café to the Sargasso Sea
By C.L. Dybas
207 THE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM. Course Design Principles for Enhancing
Student Learning
By L. Arthurs
209 CAREER PROFILES. Eduardo Loos, Project Manager, ASL Environmental
Sciences • Cecile S. Rousseaux, Research Scientist, Goddard Earth Sciences
Technology and Research (GESTAR), Universities Space Research Association
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
10
16
Breaking Waves
Breaking Waves provides an outlet for short papers describ-
ing novel approaches to multidisciplinary problems in ocean-
ography. These provocative papers will present findings that are
synthetic by design, and have the potential to move the field of
oceanography forward or in new directions.
Papers should be written in a style that is both concise and
accessible to a broad readership. While these papers should be
thought-provoking for the professional oceanographer, they
should also be written in a manner that is engaging for the edu-
cated nonprofessional. As in other sections of Oceanography,
we encourage the use of color photographs and figures to help
illustrate a paper’s main points and add to its aesthetic appeal.
Consistent with our effort to publish papers on rapidly advanc-
ing topics in oceanography, all submissions to the Breaking Waves
section will be given a special fast-track in the peer-review and
publishing processes. Our goal will be to publish papers no more
than two issues (i.e., six months) after their submission.
The Associate Editor overseeing Breaking Waves manuscripts
is Charles H. Greene (chg2@cornell.edu), Department of Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University. Authors should
submit a brief e-mail message to the Associate Editor outlining
their ideas for papers prior to actual manuscript preparation. This
step will ensure that authors receive appropriate feedback prior
to investing their time and energy in preparing manuscripts that
may be unsuitable for publication in this forum. Correspondence
with the Associate Editor and submission of manuscripts must
be done electronically. File formats for text, figures, and photo-
graphs must be consistent with existing style guidelines
for Oceanography (https://tos.org/oceanography/guidelines).
Oceanography | Vol.29, No.4
Oceanography | December 2016
QUARTERDECK
Tom Garrison, beloved professor of marine science at Orange Coast College, author of the widely
used introductory textbook Essentials of Oceanography, and important to us, an Oceanography
magazine education columnist for a decade, passed away in February after a battle with lymphoma.
Through his 20 columns, all of which are available at https://tos.org/classroom, Tom generously
shared with us his love of teaching, especially for his big introductory oceanography class for
nonmajors. He wrote about topics such as how to plan your course curriculum, how to deal with
“distracted” students, how to grab students’ attention, and even why words are important (a col-
umn any editor would love)—all delivered with humor and grace. Tom admonished those who
lamented students’ inattention and lack of focus in lectures by saying “Get a grip!” and offered
these inspiring words:
For a generation of students who don’t know the causes of the seasons, who think all dolphins are
cuddly and intelligent, who may believe Earth is about 10,000 years old, and who sometimes view
organic evolution with grave suspicion, we may offer a last chance to invite critical thought.
Tom was already an Oceanography education columnist when I came on board as editor, but
it’s evident why he was invited to regularly contribute to the magazine. In his clear, engaging
prose, he made us think about the larger role teachers of college-level introductory oceanography
courses must play in getting students to question what they read on their favorite Internet sites or
glean from radio and TV. In his March 2006 column “Boiling for Science,” Tom wrote:
Our world is based in critical thought, and we need to demonstrate these ideas in our lab courses
from Day One. Students are usually confident there is a Right Answer to every question. When
presented with a high-profile public spat (as between “intelligent design” and organic evolution, or
whether vitamin C cures colds, or whether global warming is happening), students tend to pick the
answer represented by the person or group they like most and doggedly stick with it. They almost
never question The Truth about anything of concern.
Most of the rest of that column takes readers step by step through his honors oceanography lab
exercise that leads students on the road to discovery that there is “no Absolute Truth in Science,”
first by having them make their own breakthrough about calibration. The column is a fun read,
and provides food for thought, even if you don’t use this particular lab in your own classroom.
There is so much more teaching wisdom that Tom shared with readers of Oceanography than
could fit here. Despite an early column or two referring to “slides” and “overheads,” Tom’s educa-
tion columns are timeless, and I encourage you to go back and read them. It is fitting to conclude
this tribute to Tom with a quote from the last paragraph of his very first Oceanography column,
published in 2003 (https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2003.56):
In a future column I’ll list a few specific ideas that may be of interest to the beginning general instruc-
tor. For now, remember that lifelong learning is the truest joy, a pleasure that does not diminish
with age, a source of wisdom and calm. Our students can learn much about patience, hope, and
optimism from the ocean. We can learn much about the world—and about ourselves—by looking for
the oceanic connections among things. There is much good in the world. Go and add to it.
Ellen S. Kappel, Editor
In Memory of Tom Garrison
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multitude of opportunities to make
new contacts, share knowledge and
conduct business under one roof
n Access emerging market and
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Plenary programme looks to the
future; expansion opportunities
and geographic regions to explore
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and their applications
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Oceanography | December 2016
FROM THE PRESIDENT
One of my favorite stories to relay to my undergrad-
uate classes is about Adelard of Bath, who was an
English naturalist in the early twelfth century during
the reign of Henry the First. Among the 76 questions in
Adelard’s Treatise on Nature are:
• Why are the waters of the sea salty?
• How do the oceans not increase from the flux of the
rivers?
• Whence comes the ebb and flow of the tides?
Many centuries passed before we had answers to these
questions, though some of Adelard’s questions remain up
for speculation, including this one: Do beasts have souls?
Today, we might substitute “politicians” for “beasts” and
find the answer equally elusive. But that is a whole other
story. Instead, I mention Adelard because I was reminded
of him often when I served as a member of the US National
Research Council Decadal Survey for Ocean Sciences
Committee. During our committee deliberations, we too
were trying to identify unanswered questions, in our case
about the ocean. In the process of that identification, it
was readily apparent to me just how much we had learned
about the ocean since I started my graduate studies at the
University of Washington over 30 years ago. Unlike the
centuries it took for many of Adelard’s questions to be
answered, research questions today seem to have a half-
life of just a couple of decades, if not just a few years.
As I near the end of my term as TOS president, I have
been reflecting on how quickly our profession, not just
the questions we pursue, has changed since I was a grad-
uate student. At that time, information on research prog-
ress arrived monthly via subscriptions to journals from
professional societies and background information was
gleaned from a hike to the library. Graduate students,
by and large, entered and left graduate school with the
expectation of an academic career. And those graduate
students, and certainly the faculty, were fairly homoge-
neous in their ethnic, gender, and racial makeup.
Today, in the digital age, almost anyone with a smart
phone in almost any part of the world could, in a matter
of time that I do not care to estimate, find most if not all of
the information that I teach my students over the course
of a semester. Most any article written by most anyone
on most any subject in oceanography can be found with
a few keystrokes. The digital age has democratized access
to information; information is ubiquitous, free, and avail-
able to everyone. Today, as I have written before in this
column, graduate students have been largely disabused
of the presumption that an academic career awaits them
upon graduation. Nationwide, only about 10% of PhDs
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) fields now move on into academic positions. We
do not have firm numbers for ocean sciences, but a recent
estimate is that only 43% of ocean science PhDs cur-
rently go into academia, which is likely an overestimate
for those entering the professoriate since that estimate
counts PhDs entering postdoctoral positions.
And today, though we have made little progress in
recruiting underrepresented minorities into our profes-
sion, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of
women in graduate school and in early and mid-career
stages in ocean science professions. Today, the presence
of women at meetings, on committees, in the classroom,
in the lab, and at sea registers hardly any surprise.
My reflection of these changes turned to an assess-
ment of how well The Oceanography Society, as a pro-
fessional society, is responding to these changes. Here’s
my TOS report card:
When there is so much information available, syn-
thesis and context become all the more valuable.
In this regard, Oceanography magazine does an excel-
lent job. Quarter after quarter, this magazine, under the
superb leadership of Ellen Kappel, provides a set of articles
expertly wrapped around a topical theme. Yet the mag-
azine is more than the sum of these parts, since it offers
commentary on the threads that connect these articles. I
am not the only one impressed with the value and qual-
ity of Oceanography: Oceanography’s 2015 impact factor of
3.883 places it third among oceanography journals, on the
heels of two review journals that are published annually.
The New World of
Oceanography
Oceanography | Vol.29, No.4
M. Susan Lozier, TOS President
In an effort to provide further synthesis and focus,
the TOS Council is considering reintroducing
meetings that characterized the society in its first decade,
namely, small format meetings with well-defined top-
ics. These meetings would focus, for example, on one
or two of the questions identified in the Sea Change
report. The idea here would be to synthesize the current
understanding of a particular research question and to
place future research in the context of related questions
and funding opportunities.
Though relatively slow to fully understand the
changing landscape for PhD graduates in ocean
sciences, TOS is now committed to addressing this
change on two fronts. First, TOS plans to pilot a mento-
ring program for graduate students interested in explor-
ing careers other than academia. This mentoring pro-
gram, set to begin in early 2017, will pair students across
the country with two senior oceanographers, each with a
different career. Though it is a small start, this program,
once expanded, could provide a valuable network for
graduate students to learn about the host of careers avail-
able to oceanographers.
That network will only be possible if TOS works on
expanding its nonacademic membership. This expansion
is the second front in our effort to serve our graduate stu-
dent members and, simultaneously, enrich our society
with innovative ideas from new members. Though this
effort is just in its embryonic stage, the TOS Council has
begun to formulate plans to recruit TOS members from
the corporate, nonprofit, and government agency sectors.
Though I do not know of any direct TOS efforts
to diversify our community, Oceanography mag-
azine has certainly highlighted women in oceanogra-
phy, most notably with its first Women in Oceanography
issue in March 2005, still the most requested volume of
Oceanography, and its follow-up a decade later as a sup-
plement to the December 2014 issue. Still, we have seri-
ous work to do in expanding our professional ranks to
include underrepresented minorities. At a recent meet-
ing with the presidents and executive directors of the
American Geophysical Union and the Association for the
Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, it was under-
stood that we would all be best served by combining
resources and ideas to develop a plan for diversification.
On this front, it is fair to say that we are just at the starting
line. To move forward, all ideas are welcome.
So, my overall view is that though there is work to do,
TOS is responding to changes in our profession. If I had
to describe TOS’s shift over the past few years, it would
be a shift away from thinking of ourselves as a profes-
sional society toward thinking of ourselves as a pro-
fessional community. Indeed, a community’s role is to
build networks, collectively support students, provide
equal opportunity and access to all talented individuals,
and be a trusted source of information. TOS is building
that community.
On the latter point, I can think of no individual who
does a better job of building the TOS community than
Jenny Ramarui, the TOS Executive Director. I finish my
term as TOS President with gratitude for Jenny’s guid-
ance during these past two years, but also with a deep
appreciation for her commitment to our TOS commu-
nity. TOS moves through presidents every two years, but
Jenny keeps a firm hand on the helm, guiding this com-
munity of oceanographers. We all owe her our thanks.
It has been an honor serving as TOS president. I am
delighted to hand the reins next month to Alan Mix,
Professor and Director of the Stable Isotope Laboratory
in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
at Oregon State University. I look forward to continuing
to work with him and all of you on the betterment of
this TOS community.