Overshooting convection drives winter mixed layer under Antarctic sea ice

Overshooting convection drives winter mixed layer under Antarctic sea ice | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Overshooting convection drives winter mixed layer under Antarctic sea ice Bishakhdatta Gayen, Ankit Bhadouriya, Alberto Naveira Garabato, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5932119/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Antarctic sea ice regulates atmosphere-ocean heat and gas exchanges by insulating the upper-ocean mixed layer. Simultaneously, winter sea ice formation intensifies ocean mixing and deepens the mixed layer, influencing further ice growth. Understanding this interaction is crucial for accurate Antarctic sea ice and climate predictions, yet winter observations remain scarce due to harsh conditions. Here, we use high-resolution state-of-the-art large eddy simulations to unravel the upper-ocean dynamics linking vertical heat flux to sea ice growth. Our results show that sea ice formation drives energetic meter-scale saline convective plumes that penetrate the pycnocline, overshoot their neutral depth, and rebound upward, entraining warm subsurface water, thereby moderating ice formation. A scaling theory is developed to estimate plume-induced turbulent heat flux and applied to an ice-ocean reanalysis dataset, revealing its large-scale impacts. Overshooting convection significantly limits Antarctic sea ice expansion and explains regional thickness variations, underscoring its importance for future climate projections. Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Cryospheric science Physical sciences/Physics/Fluid dynamics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Movie1.mkv Supplementary Movie 1 Movie2.mkv Supplementary Movie 2 Bhadouriyaetal2025NatCommSupplemetary.pdf Supplementray Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5932119","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":409446525,"identity":"17bd27d0-9304-4596-8442-787b8f3953fc","order_by":0,"name":"Bishakhdatta 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