Climatological patterns of East Antarctic sea ice seasonality, 1979/80–2009/10.

<p>A) Mean days of sea ice advance, with contours for April, June and August marked. Place names used in the text are also marked: L-HB is Lützow-Holm Bay, CD Cape Darnley, PEL Princess Elizabeth Land, WIS West Ice Shelf, SIS Shackleton Ice Shelf, DaIT Dalton Iceberg Tongue, DIT Dibble Iceberg Tongue, DD Dumont d'Urville, MGT Mertz Glacier Tongue, and BI Balleny Islands). B) Mean days of sea ice retreat, with contours for November to January marked, and an inset of the study region. C) Mean ice season duration, with contours for 100, 200 and 300 days marked. D) Ocean bathymetry (contours at 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 m), with a cartoon superimposed of the large-scale ocean circulation patterns in the sector determined from hydrographic measurements (after <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0064756#pone.0064756-Nicol1" target="_blank">[28]</a>). The dashed lines indicate the location of the SB-ACC, and the dash-dotted line that of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front, VAP Valdivia Abyssal Plain, and PET Princess Elizabeth Trough. Numbers along the x axes are degrees longitude east.