Open AccessMeasuring currents between North Atlantic and Nordic seas
Author(s) -
Balcerak Ernie
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo230014
Subject(s) - rossby wave , oceanography , shutdown of thermohaline circulation , thermohaline circulation , ridge , north atlantic deep water , climatology , geology , ocean current , zonal and meridional , acoustic doppler current profiler , water mass , shetland , circulation (fluid dynamics) , current (fluid) , paleontology , physics , thermodynamics
The fluxes of water from the North Atlantic to the Nordic seas provide a measure of the water that flows into and out of the global ocean as part of the meridional overturning circulation. The meridional overturning circulation, which carries warm water in the Atlantic from the tropics northward and brings cold dense water back southward, is a key part of global ocean circulation and a strong influence on climate; some research has suggested that the meridional overturning circulation could slow down as the global climate warms. Using an acoustic Doppler current profiler mounted in the high seas ferry Norröna to repeatedly measure the currents in the Faroe‐Shetland Channel and over the Iceland‐Faroe Ridge, Rossby and Flagg report on 3 years of weekly measurements that provide a new, accurate measure of the exchange of water between the North Atlantic and Nordic seas. The observations will be useful in understanding the meridional overturning circulation. ( Geophysical Research Letters , doi:10.1029/2012GL051269, 2012)