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Response of the Greenland‐Scotland overflow to changing deep water supply from the Arctic Mediterranean
Author(s) -
Wilkenskjeld Stiig,
Quadfasel Detlef
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2005gl024140
Subject(s) - ridge , mediterranean climate , geology , oceanography , deep water , geostrophic wind , current (fluid) , climatology , north atlantic deep water , channel (broadcasting) , arctic , geography , paleontology , archaeology , engineering , electrical engineering
A simple two‐layer channel model with a topographic barrier is used to study the response of the overflows across the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge to changes in the available volume of deep and intermediate waters in the Nordic Seas. Hydraulic control determines the deep exchange through the different gaps in the ridge while a geostrophic balance in the north provides the respective upstream conditions. In the model the overflow through Denmark Strait is more sensitive to changes in the deep water supply than that of the Faeroe‐Bank Channel, but no sudden breakdown of the exchanges across the ridge is seen when the supply decreases. Transport variations in the East‐Greenland Current have only minor influence on the total overflow.