WAOM4: High-Resolution Circum-Antarctic Ocean-Ice Shelf Model

The Whole-Antarctic Ocean Model (WAOM4) is a high-resolution (4-km) ocean-ice shelf simulation based on the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS). It was used to investigate the physical drivers of Antarctic ice shelf basal melting for the present-day year 2007. The model was contributed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ocean heat transport to Antarctic ice shelves based on the described thermodynamic ice shelf interactions.
• Investigating seasonal melting mechanisms around Antarctica based on the ocean heat budget framework mentioned.
• Modeling ice sheet instability and its contribution to sea level rise based on the buttressing role of ice shelves described.

Strengths

• High spatial resolution of 4 kilometers for circum-Antarctic coverage.
• Model incorporates thermodynamic ice shelf interactions following a cited 2012 methodology.
• Simulation is anchored to a specific present-day year (2007) for analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or methodological bias inherent to the specific model configuration.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Numerical simulation using the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS).

Time Range

Present-day simulation for year 2007.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-22 03:05:10.423547; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Circum-Antarctic region.