Abstract
The influence of baroclinic submesoscale eddies on basal melting beneath Ross Ice Shelf remains poorly understood. We analyzed a 4.5‐year mooring record from the central cavity and identified seven eddy‐like events from variability in density, velocity, and thermohaline structure, with horizontal scales (∼11 km) characteristic of submesoscale motions capable of enhancing vertical heat transport. However, most events had little effect on basal melt: a mid‐depth layer of cold water intrusions (“interleaving”) acted as a thermohaline barrier, trapping warm, salty anomalies near 600 dbar and preventing their transfer to the ice base. Melt rates therefore remained near zero. In contrast, one exceptional eddy maintained a coherent vertical structure that overcame the interleaving, allowing warm, salty water to reach the ice base and coinciding with melt rates near the maximum observed 0.048ma−1$\left(0.048\,\mathrm{m}\,{\mathrm{a}}^{-\mathrm{1}}\right)$ . These results reveal a state‐dependent eddy–interleaving mechanism with implications for Ross Ice Shelf stability under climate change.