Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic
The flow of Atlantic water across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (Atlantic inflow) is critical for conditions in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean by importing heat and salt. Here, we present a decade-long series of measurements from the Iceland-Faroe inflow branch (IF-inflow), which carries almost hal...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4373925074f1471ab2bf0c6e1df6ec3a 2023-05-15T14:54:19+02:00 Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic B. Hansen H. Hátún R. Kristiansen S. M. Olsen S. Østerhus 2010-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-1013-2010 https://doaj.org/article/4373925074f1471ab2bf0c6e1df6ec3a EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.ocean-sci.net/6/1013/2010/os-6-1013-2010.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-6-1013-2010 1812-0784 1812-0792 https://doaj.org/article/4373925074f1471ab2bf0c6e1df6ec3a Ocean Science, Vol 6, Iss 4, Pp 1013-1026 (2010) Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-1013-2010 2022-12-31T01:27:52Z The flow of Atlantic water across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (Atlantic inflow) is critical for conditions in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean by importing heat and salt. Here, we present a decade-long series of measurements from the Iceland-Faroe inflow branch (IF-inflow), which carries almost half the total Atlantic inflow. The observations show no significant trend in volume transport of Atlantic water, but temperature and salinity increased during the observational period. On shorter time scales, the observations show considerable variations but no statistically significant seasonal variation is observed and even weekly averaged transport values were consistently uni-directional from the Atlantic into the Nordic Seas. Combining transport time-series with sea level height from satellite altimetry and wind stress reveals that the force driving the IF-inflow across the topographic barrier of the Ridge is mainly generated by a pressure gradient that is due to a continuously maintained low sea level in the Southern Nordic Seas. This implies that the relative stability of the IF-inflow derives from the processes that lower the sea level by generating outflow from the Nordic Seas, especially the thermohaline processes that generate overflow. The IF-inflow is an important component of the system coupling the Arctic region to the North Atlantic through the thermohaline circulation, which has been predicted to weaken in the 21st century. Our observations show no indication of weakening. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge Iceland Nordic Seas North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Ocean Science 6 4 1013 1026 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 B. Hansen H. Hátún R. Kristiansen S. M. Olsen S. Østerhus Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic |
topic_facet |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
The flow of Atlantic water across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (Atlantic inflow) is critical for conditions in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean by importing heat and salt. Here, we present a decade-long series of measurements from the Iceland-Faroe inflow branch (IF-inflow), which carries almost half the total Atlantic inflow. The observations show no significant trend in volume transport of Atlantic water, but temperature and salinity increased during the observational period. On shorter time scales, the observations show considerable variations but no statistically significant seasonal variation is observed and even weekly averaged transport values were consistently uni-directional from the Atlantic into the Nordic Seas. Combining transport time-series with sea level height from satellite altimetry and wind stress reveals that the force driving the IF-inflow across the topographic barrier of the Ridge is mainly generated by a pressure gradient that is due to a continuously maintained low sea level in the Southern Nordic Seas. This implies that the relative stability of the IF-inflow derives from the processes that lower the sea level by generating outflow from the Nordic Seas, especially the thermohaline processes that generate overflow. The IF-inflow is an important component of the system coupling the Arctic region to the North Atlantic through the thermohaline circulation, which has been predicted to weaken in the 21st century. Our observations show no indication of weakening. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
B. Hansen H. Hátún R. Kristiansen S. M. Olsen S. Østerhus |
author_facet |
B. Hansen H. Hátún R. Kristiansen S. M. Olsen S. Østerhus |
author_sort |
B. Hansen |
title |
Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic |
title_short |
Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic |
title_full |
Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stability and forcing of the Iceland-Faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the Arctic |
title_sort |
stability and forcing of the iceland-faroe inflow of water, heat, and salt to the arctic |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-1013-2010 https://doaj.org/article/4373925074f1471ab2bf0c6e1df6ec3a |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge Iceland Nordic Seas North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge Iceland Nordic Seas North Atlantic |
op_source |
Ocean Science, Vol 6, Iss 4, Pp 1013-1026 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://www.ocean-sci.net/6/1013/2010/os-6-1013-2010.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-6-1013-2010 1812-0784 1812-0792 https://doaj.org/article/4373925074f1471ab2bf0c6e1df6ec3a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-1013-2010 |
container_title |
Ocean Science |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1013 |
op_container_end_page |
1026 |
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1766326026334371840 |