The Iceland-Faroe Slope Jet: a conduit for dense water toward the Faroe Bank Channel overflow
Semper, S.; Pickart, R.S.; Våge, K.; Larsen, K.M.H.; Hátún, H.; Hansen, B. (2020). The Iceland-Faroe Slope Jet: a conduit for dense water toward the Faroe Bank Channel overflow. Nature Comm. 11(1): 5390
In: Nature Communications. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2041-1723; e-ISSN 2041-1723, more
|   |
| Authors | | Top |
- Semper, S.
- Pickart, R.S.
- Våge, K.
|
- Larsen, K.M.H.
- Hátún, H.
- Hansen, B.
|
|
| Abstract |
Dense water from the Nordic Seas passes through the Faroe Bank Channel and supplies the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a critical component of the climate system. Yet, the upstream pathways of this water are not fully known. Here we present evidence of a previously unrecognised deep current following the slope from Iceland toward the Faroe Bank Channel using high-resolution, synoptic shipboard observations and long-term measurements north of the Faroe Islands. The bulk of the volume transport of the current, named the Iceland-Faroe Slope Jet (IFSJ), is relatively uniform in hydrographic properties, very similar to the North Icelandic Jet flowing westward along the slope north of Iceland toward Denmark Strait. This suggests a common source for the two major overflows across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. The IFSJ can account for approximately half of the total overflow transport through the Faroe Bank Channel, thus constituting a significant component of the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas. |
|
