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Discovery of an unrecognized pathway carrying overflow waters toward the Faroe Bank Channel

Author

Listed:
  • Léon Chafik

    (Stockholm University)

  • Hjálmar Hátún

    (Faroe Marine Research Institute)

  • Joakim Kjellsson

    (GEOMAR Helmholtz Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
    Christian-Albrechts-Universität)

  • Karin Margretha H. Larsen

    (Faroe Marine Research Institute)

  • Thomas Rossby

    (University of Rhode Island)

  • Barbara Berx

    (Scottish Association for Marine Science)

Abstract

The dense overflow waters of the Nordic Seas are an integral link and important diagnostic for the stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The pathways feeding the overflow remain, however, poorly resolved. Here we use multiple observational platforms and an eddy-resolving ocean model to identify an unrecognized deep flow toward the Faroe Bank Channel. We demonstrate that anticyclonic wind forcing in the Nordic Seas via its regulation of the basin circulation plays a key role in activating an unrecognized overflow path from the Norwegian slope – at which times the overflow is anomalously strong. We further establish that, regardless of upstream pathways, the overflows are mostly carried by a deep jet banked against the eastern slope of the Faroe-Shetland Channel, contrary to previous thinking. This deep flow is thus the primary conduit of overflow water feeding the lower branch of the AMOC via the Faroe Bank Channel.

Suggested Citation

  • Léon Chafik & Hjálmar Hátún & Joakim Kjellsson & Karin Margretha H. Larsen & Thomas Rossby & Barbara Berx, 2020. "Discovery of an unrecognized pathway carrying overflow waters toward the Faroe Bank Channel," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17426-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17426-8
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