Just for fun... Antartic Ice, South america land link up!

[Richie V]

Something I have wondered for a long time now, how far north would sea ice develop if the tip of south america was joined to the Antartic continent by lets say a width of 200 miles? When you look on cryosphere today the ice is right up to the tip of the nearest point to South america from antartica. Surely a solid land link up would seriously alter the southern ocean flow round the continent possibly driving cooler waters up the coast of south america?

[songster]

Sea ice linking up to South America would have no effect at all on the ocean currents, since sea ice is (in context) a wafer thin skim on the surface. Similarly, you can't keep a cat still by balancing a Pringle on its back.

Edit: If you meant a land link, then that would likely have the effect of melting the Antarctic ice cap. Isolation of the continent by the Circumpolar current after the Drake Passage opened up is believed to be one of the major drivers behind Antarctica becoming glaciated. If you block the circumpolar current, the continent's no longer isolated, you get much more heat influx, and the ice will melt down.

Edited July 31, 2013 by songster

[Styx]

Sea ice linking up to South America would have no effect at all on the ocean currents, since sea ice is (in context) a wafer thin skim on the surface. Similarly, you can't keep a cat still by balancing a Pringle on its back.

 

 

sometime to someone I am going to pass that analogy on, if I may?!   

[songster]

Feel free :-)

[masheeuk]

I am not sure that the vicious nature of the southern oceans would allow that ever to happen. It might get cold enough but i think it would just constantly be smashed to pieces.

[Jax]

Well this has got me looking at ocean flow charts now.

 

Think it depends on the amount of water that flows through as to how much change it would bring about, but I do think without some serious thinking and stuff that it would make things warmer not cooler, hard to be sure.

[Gray-Wolf]

The circumpolars ( winds and current) would not allow such a development to occur? As it is we see the peninsula pushing out beyonf the impacts of the winds/current and what do we see occuring? Yup! the fastest temp rises on the planet.

 

When the circumpolars again ease off as the ozone hole heals all that 'warming is poised to inundate coastal Antarctica with rapid resulting impacts.