The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model
The Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) as a poleward eastern boundary current is to be considered as the northern limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the North Atlantic (MOC). It transports warm and saline Atlantic water (AW) northward toward the Arctic Ocean, before cooling and mixing...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union
2004
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1956/434 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 |
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ftunivbergen:oai:bora.uib.no:1956/434 2023-05-15T15:11:34+02:00 The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model Orvik, Kjell Arild 2004-06-29T08:08:15Z 21853 bytes 2117454 bytes 183 bytes text/plain application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1956/434 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 eng eng American Geophysical Union urn:issn:0094-8276 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/434 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 Peer reviewed Journal article 2004 ftunivbergen https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 2023-03-14T17:41:44Z The Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) as a poleward eastern boundary current is to be considered as the northern limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the North Atlantic (MOC). It transports warm and saline Atlantic water (AW) northward toward the Arctic Ocean, before cooling and mixing with cold and low saline water masses return it to the North Atlantic to contribute in the MOC. In this study we focus on the AW in the Lofoten Basin (LB) of the Norwegian Sea (NS), where it occupies a wider and deeper domain than farther south and north. It comprises the major heat-reservoir in the NS with contact with the atmosphere, and as such is an important area for cooling and buoyancy loss. We show that the deepening of the AW is mainly caused by the reduced northward flow in the LB, manifested in the deep counter-current encountered by the Polar frontal jet. We demonstrate this effect by using an active reduced gravity model with a topographicallysteered deeper flow. To achieve maintenance of volume transport, the model shows that observed differences must be balanced by an oppositely-directed deeper flow in the LB. The ocean appears to achieve maintenance of volume transport of AW due to buoyancy loss and varying deeper currents, by adjusting the vertical extension of AW, resulting in a substantial deepening in the LB. Based on the good fit between the model and observations, the suggested mechanism appears to be credible and feasible. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Lofoten North Atlantic Norwegian Sea University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) Arctic Arctic Ocean Lofoten Lofoten Basin ENVELOPE(4.000,4.000,70.000,70.000) Norwegian Sea Geophysical Research Letters 31 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbergen |
language |
English |
description |
The Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) as a poleward eastern boundary current is to be considered as the northern limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the North Atlantic (MOC). It transports warm and saline Atlantic water (AW) northward toward the Arctic Ocean, before cooling and mixing with cold and low saline water masses return it to the North Atlantic to contribute in the MOC. In this study we focus on the AW in the Lofoten Basin (LB) of the Norwegian Sea (NS), where it occupies a wider and deeper domain than farther south and north. It comprises the major heat-reservoir in the NS with contact with the atmosphere, and as such is an important area for cooling and buoyancy loss. We show that the deepening of the AW is mainly caused by the reduced northward flow in the LB, manifested in the deep counter-current encountered by the Polar frontal jet. We demonstrate this effect by using an active reduced gravity model with a topographicallysteered deeper flow. To achieve maintenance of volume transport, the model shows that observed differences must be balanced by an oppositely-directed deeper flow in the LB. The ocean appears to achieve maintenance of volume transport of AW due to buoyancy loss and varying deeper currents, by adjusting the vertical extension of AW, resulting in a substantial deepening in the LB. Based on the good fit between the model and observations, the suggested mechanism appears to be credible and feasible. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Orvik, Kjell Arild |
spellingShingle |
Orvik, Kjell Arild The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
author_facet |
Orvik, Kjell Arild |
author_sort |
Orvik, Kjell Arild |
title |
The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
title_short |
The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
title_full |
The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
title_fullStr |
The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
title_full_unstemmed |
The deepening of the Atlantic water in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
title_sort |
deepening of the atlantic water in the lofoten basin of the norwegian sea, demonstrated by using an active reduced gravity model |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1956/434 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(4.000,4.000,70.000,70.000) |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Lofoten Lofoten Basin Norwegian Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Lofoten Lofoten Basin Norwegian Sea |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Lofoten North Atlantic Norwegian Sea |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Lofoten North Atlantic Norwegian Sea |
op_relation |
urn:issn:0094-8276 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/434 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2003gl018687 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766342409893969920 |