Circumpolar influences on the Weddell Sea: Indication of an Antarctic circumpolar coastal wave

The Antarctic circumpolar wave is now a well-known feature that can be dete cted in atmospheric, oceanic mixed layer, and sea-ice data. In this coupled ice-ocean model driven by 40 yr of daily atmospheric forcing data, it repr esents a significant part of the interannual variability, linking the sea-i ce and water mass formation processes in the Weddell Sea with other areas i n the Antarctic water ring. In addition, these model results show a decadal -period wavelike anomaly pattern near the coast of Antarctica, propagating westward at about 2 cm s(-1). This coastally trapped, bottom-intensified ph enomenon likely has important effects on the dense water formation rate in the Weddell Sea and even the occurrence of the Weddell polynya.