The Iceland-Faroe Slope Jet: a conduit for dense water toward the Faroe Bank Channel overflow

Stefanie Semper (), Robert S. Pickart, Kjetil Våge, Karin Margretha H. Larsen, Hjálmar Hátún and Bogi Hansen
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Stefanie Semper: University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
Robert S. Pickart: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Kjetil Våge: University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
Karin Margretha H. Larsen: Faroe Marine Research Institute
Hjálmar Hátún: Faroe Marine Research Institute
Bogi Hansen: Faroe Marine Research Institute

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19049-5

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