When Ninja and I was in the Weddell Sea two years ago, the CTD showed that the “Warm Deep Water” (WDW) above the upper part of the continental slope was 0.1C warmer than previously observed. We typically study the WDW because it threatens to melt the ice shelves, but the warm signal on the slope were not detected in the shelf moorings so the impact of the warming is likely not affecting the ice shelves directly. It will, however, likely imprint on the properties of the bottom water formed in the region. This water mass (Weddell Sea Bottom Water) forms as cold and dense Ice Shelf Water from the Filchner Trough descends the continental slope, and it consists of up to 60% WDW! The warm WDW would produce warmer (and hence lighter) bottom water, and the signal would be comparable to the (decadal) warming trend observed in the deep waters of the Weddell Sea.
You can read the full paper here!