The influence of baroclinic submesoscale eddies on basal melting beneath the Ross Ice Shelf remains poorly understood. We analyzed a 4. 5-year mooring record from the central cavity and identified seven eddy-like events from density, velocity, and thermohaline anomalies, with horizontal scales (~11 km) characteristic of submesoscale motions capable of enhancing vertical heat transport. However, most events had little effect on basal melt: a mid-depth layer of cold water intrusions ('interleaving') acted as a thermohaline barrier, trapping warm, salty anomalies near 600 dbar and preventing their transfer to the ice base. Melt rates therefore remained near zero. In contrast, one exceptional eddy maintained a coherent vertical structure that overcame the interleaving, allowing warm, salty water to reach the ice base and coinciding with melt rates near the maximum observed (0. 048 \, m\, a^-1). These results reveal a state-dependent eddy–interleaving mechanism with implications for Ross Ice Shelf stability under climate change.
Xiahou et al. (Sun,) studied this question.