Diapycnal mixing in the ocean interior has diverse numerical representations in extant global ocean models. These representations affect the simulated transport and storage of oceanic tracers in ways that remain little studied. Here we present the impacts of three different tidal mixing schemes in thousand-year-long simulations with the NEMO global ocean model at one-degree resolution. The first scheme includes local bottom-intensified mixing at internal tide generation sites and a constant background diffusivity. The second explicitly includes both local and remote tidal mixing, with no background diffusivity. The third scheme is identical to the second but has the added contribution of bottom-trapped (subinertial) internal tides, known to be important in polar regions. The three simulations show broadly similar circulation and stratification but important regional differences. Explicit representation of remote tidal mixing strengthens the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation by up to 1.5 x 106 m3 s-1. Inclusion of bottom-trapped internal tides reduces heat reaching Antarctica by eroding Circumpolar Deep Water at southern high latitudes, and reduces the mean age of the global deep (> 2 km) ocean by 10%. The results call for more observational constraints on polar ocean mixing, and point to multi-faceted climatic repercussions of tidal mixing representations.

Antarctic sea ice extent has been persistently low since late 2016, possibly owing to changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions. However, the relative contributions of the ocean, the atmosphere and the underlying mechanisms by which they have affected sea ice remain uncertain. To investigate possible causes for this sea-ice decrease, we establish a seasonal timeline of sea ice changes following 2016, using remote sensing observations. Anomalies in the timing of sea ice retreat and advance are examined along with their spatial and interannual relations with various indicators of seasonal sea ice and oceanic changes. They include anomalies in winter ice thickness, spring ice removal rate due to ice melt and transport, and summer sea surface temperature. We find that the ice season has shortened at unprecedented rate and magnitude, due to earlier retreat and later advance. We attribute this shortening to a winter ice thinning, in line with the ice-albedo feedback, with ice transport playing a more minor role. Reduced ice thickness has accelerated spring ice area removal as thinner sea ice requires less time to melt. The consequent earlier sea ice retreat has in turn increased ocean solar heat uptake in summer, ultimately delaying sea ice advance. We speculate that the observed winter sea ice thinning is consistent with previous evidence of subsurface warming of the Southern Ocean.