Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water
The Denmark Strait overflow water is the largest dense water plume from the Nordic seas to feed the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Its primary source is commonly thought to be the East Greenland Current. However, the recent discovery of the North Icelandic Jet—a deep-...
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:29772 2023-05-15T16:00:36+02:00 Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Spall, Michael A. Valdimarsson, Héðinn Jónsson, Steingrímur Torres, Daniel J. Østerhus, Svein Eldevik, Tor 2011 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29772/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29772/1/Vaage2011.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1234 en eng Nature Publishing Group https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29772/1/Vaage2011.pdf Våge, K., Pickart, R. S., Spall, M. A., Valdimarsson, H., Jónsson, S., Torres, D. J., Østerhus, S. and Eldevik, T. (2011) Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water. Nature Geoscience, 4 (10). pp. 723-727. DOI 10.1038/NGEO1234 <https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1234>. doi:10.1038/NGEO1234 Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1234 2023-04-07T15:20:54Z The Denmark Strait overflow water is the largest dense water plume from the Nordic seas to feed the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Its primary source is commonly thought to be the East Greenland Current. However, the recent discovery of the North Icelandic Jet—a deep-reaching current that flows along the continental slope of Iceland—has called this view into question. Here we present high-resolution measurements of hydrography and velocity north of Iceland, taken during two shipboard surveys in October 2008 and August 2009. We find that the North Icelandic Jet advects overflow water into the Denmark Strait and constitutes a pathway that is distinct from the East Greenland Current. We estimate that the jet supplies about half of the total overflow transport, and infer that it is the primary source of the densest overflow water. Simulations with an ocean general circulation model suggest that the import of warm, salty water from the North Icelandic Irminger Current and water-mass transformation in the interior Iceland Sea are critical to the formation of the jet. We surmise that the timescale for the renewal of the deepest water in the meridional overturning cell, and its sensitivity to changes in climate, could be different than presently envisaged. Article in Journal/Newspaper Denmark Strait East Greenland east greenland current Greenland Iceland Nordic Seas North Icelandic Irminger Current OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Greenland Nature Geoscience 4 10 723 727 |
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Open Polar |
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OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
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ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
The Denmark Strait overflow water is the largest dense water plume from the Nordic seas to feed the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Its primary source is commonly thought to be the East Greenland Current. However, the recent discovery of the North Icelandic Jet—a deep-reaching current that flows along the continental slope of Iceland—has called this view into question. Here we present high-resolution measurements of hydrography and velocity north of Iceland, taken during two shipboard surveys in October 2008 and August 2009. We find that the North Icelandic Jet advects overflow water into the Denmark Strait and constitutes a pathway that is distinct from the East Greenland Current. We estimate that the jet supplies about half of the total overflow transport, and infer that it is the primary source of the densest overflow water. Simulations with an ocean general circulation model suggest that the import of warm, salty water from the North Icelandic Irminger Current and water-mass transformation in the interior Iceland Sea are critical to the formation of the jet. We surmise that the timescale for the renewal of the deepest water in the meridional overturning cell, and its sensitivity to changes in climate, could be different than presently envisaged. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Spall, Michael A. Valdimarsson, Héðinn Jónsson, Steingrímur Torres, Daniel J. Østerhus, Svein Eldevik, Tor |
spellingShingle |
Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Spall, Michael A. Valdimarsson, Héðinn Jónsson, Steingrímur Torres, Daniel J. Østerhus, Svein Eldevik, Tor Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water |
author_facet |
Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Spall, Michael A. Valdimarsson, Héðinn Jónsson, Steingrímur Torres, Daniel J. Østerhus, Svein Eldevik, Tor |
author_sort |
Våge, Kjetil |
title |
Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water |
title_short |
Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water |
title_full |
Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water |
title_fullStr |
Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water |
title_full_unstemmed |
Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water |
title_sort |
significant role of the north icelandic jet in the formation of denmark strait overflow water |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29772/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29772/1/Vaage2011.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1234 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Denmark Strait East Greenland east greenland current Greenland Iceland Nordic Seas North Icelandic Irminger Current |
genre_facet |
Denmark Strait East Greenland east greenland current Greenland Iceland Nordic Seas North Icelandic Irminger Current |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29772/1/Vaage2011.pdf Våge, K., Pickart, R. S., Spall, M. A., Valdimarsson, H., Jónsson, S., Torres, D. J., Østerhus, S. and Eldevik, T. (2011) Significant role of the North Icelandic Jet in the formation of Denmark Strait overflow water. Nature Geoscience, 4 (10). pp. 723-727. DOI 10.1038/NGEO1234 <https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1234>. doi:10.1038/NGEO1234 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1234 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
10 |
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723 |
op_container_end_page |
727 |
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1766396598672162816 |