Iceberg observations and estimation of submarine ridges in the western Weddell Sea

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Abstract
A number of small patches of relatively high temperatures and low rcflectances were observed in the western and south-western Weddell Sea between October 1991 and February 1994 by aid of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images. From ERS-I Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data acquired during the same period these patches could be identified as high backscatter areas in the lee of small icebergs. Most of the icebergs were grounded for the entire period of observation. North of the icebergs a number of extended bands (> 100km) of high backscatter and low reflectance were detected in most of the images. These bands demonstrate the etTect of the icebergs as fixed barriers on the drifting ice cover creating a perturbation in the lee of the barriers. The combination of SAR data, AVHRR data and the Argos tracked buoys shows a very homogenous behaviour of the ice cover on the continental shelf with strong tidal component and low large scale shear activities. From the analysis of the shadows created by the tabular icebergs a rough estimation of the heights of the icebergs and the corresponding draughts could be made, which were then used for an estimation of the submarine topography responsible for the grounding of the icebergs. These indirect measurements are the first ones made on the continental shelf off the Antarctic Peninsula. They indicate a submarine ridge of about 150 to 300m water depth nearly perpendicular to the coastline at about 70° 45° S between 56° 30° Wand 58° 30' W.

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