The project aims at working out a mathematical model able to provide,
at the regional scale of the Weddell Sea, an accurate representation
of the hydrodynamics and the air/ocean interface usually covered by
the ice pack. Detailed attention is paid to the zones surrounding the
Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the Maud Rise which are renowned, ... the
former, for significantly contributing to the production of deep water
and, the latter, for undergoing upwellings of relatively warmer water.
It comprises two main sections which are the numerical modelling and
the use of satellite imagery and in situ data. The first deals with a
detailed representation of the ice pack including its rheology coupled
to a oceanic model calculating the temperature and salinity
fields. The second one is centred on the direct validation of the
In a second step, it consists in implementing the model so as to study
the convective phenomena characteristic of the Southern Ocean and
their implications on the production of deep water in relation to the
regulation of the global climate.