Combining in situ measurements and altimetry to estimate volume, heat and salt transport variability through the Faroe–Shetland Channel

Berx, Barbara; Hansen, Bogi; Østerhus, Svein; Larsen, Karin Margretha Húsgarð; Sherwin, Toby; Jochumsen, Kerstin

doi:10.5194/os-9-639-2013

Cited by 98 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…For the Faroe-Shetland Channel, this will also tend to give better agreement, but Rossby and Flagg (2012) also include flow in the opposite direction (their Fig. 2) over the Scottish shelf, not included in the Berx et al (2013) study. Thus, the overall effect of this for the Faroe-Shetland Channel will be small.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The studies by Berx et al (2013) and Hansen et al (2015) were based on long-term ADCP moorings and regular CTD cruises combined with satellite altimetry. The study by Rossby and Flagg (2012) was based on a ferry-mounted ADCP combined with historical hydrographic data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They illustrate the established (e.g. Berx et al, 2013) warm, saline Atlantic inflow from the west that flows over the Scottish slope and continues northeastwards into the Norwegian Sea.…”

Section: Large-scale Atlantic Water Circulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To check that, we have consulted the high-resolution ocean model published by Rasmussen et Rossby and Flagg (2012) and by Childers et al (2014) include a closed circulation on the Faroe Shelf (0.6 Sv) and flow on the Scottish Shelf, which are not included in the estimates by Berx et al (2013) and Hansen et al (2015). Rasmussen et al, 2014).…”

Section: The Flow Across the Southern Tip Of The Faroe Shelfmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Atlantic water flow through the Faroese Channels

Hansen¹,

Poulsen²,

Larsen³

et al. 2017

Ocean Sci.

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Abstract. Through the Faroese Channels -the collective name for a system of channels linking the Faroe-Shetland Channel, Wyville Thomson Basin, and Faroe Bank Channel -there is a deep flow of cold waters from Arctic regions that exit the system as overflow through the Faroe Bank Channel and across the Wyville Thomson Ridge. The upper layers, in contrast, are dominated by warm, saline water masses from the southwest, termed Atlantic water. In spite of intensive research over more than a century, there are still open questions on the passage of these waters through the system with conflicting views in recent literature. Of special note is the suggestion that there is a flow of Atlantic water from the Faroe-Shetland Channel through the Faroe Bank Channel, which circles the Faroes over the slope region in a clockwise direction. Here, we combine the observational evidence from ship-borne hydrography, moored current measurements, surface drifter tracks, and satellite altimetry to address these questions and propose a general scheme for the Atlantic water flow through this channel system. We find no evidence for a continuous flow of Atlantic water from the Faroe-Shetland Channel to the Faroe Bank Channel over the Faroese slope. Rather, the southwestward-flowing water over the Faroese slope of the Faroe-Shetland Channel is totally recirculated within the combined area of the Faroe-Shetland Channel and Wyville Thomson Basin, except possibly for a small release in the form of eddies. This does not exclude a possible westward flow over the southern tip of the Faroe Shelf, but even including that, we estimate that the average volume transport of a "Circum-Faroe Current" does not exceed 0.5 Sv (1 Sv = 10 6 m 3 s −1 ). Also, there seems to be a persistent flow of Atlantic water from the western part of the Faroe Bank Channel into the Faroe-Shetland Channel that joins the Slope Current over the Scottish slope. These conclusions will affect potential impacts from offshore activities in the region and they imply that recently published observational estimates of the transport of warm water towards the Arctic obtained by different methods are incompatible.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They illustrate the established (e.g. Berx et al, 2013) warm, saline Atlantic inflow from the west that flows over the Scottish slope and continues northeastwards into the Norwegian Sea.…”

Section: Large-scale Atlantic Water Circulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Flow Across the Southern Tip Of The Faroe Shelfmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Atlantic water flow through the Faroese Channels

Hansen¹,

Poulsen²,

Larsen³

et al. 2017

Ocean Sci.

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“…While the nature of the Atlantic inflow has been extensively studied and reviewed, most recently in a comprehensive study by Berx et al [2013], there are far fewer studies that examine the deep circulation in the FSC. The currently accepted picture of the mean currents in the deep FSC assumes a unidirectional path of the overflow waters to the southwest [e.g., Dooley and Meincke, 1981;Sherwin et al, 2006].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The deep circulation of the Faroe‐Shetland Channel: Opposing flows and topographic eddies

Broadbridge

Toumi

2015

JGR Oceans

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New insights into the deep circulation of the Faroe‐Shetland channel are gained from a high‐resolution regional ocean model. The simulation shows a more complex structure of the deep flow field than previously thought: a flow reversal of the deep and intermediate waters to the northeast on the Faroese flank of the channel and persistent topographic eddies that force the deep currents into a gyre‐like structure. This flow reversal opposes the previously accepted understanding of a purely southwestward deep flow but is in agreement with velocity measurements. The southwestward transport of the overflow waters is found to be facilitated almost exclusively by a strong and narrow current on the Shetland side of the channel. Float release experiments show that up to 38% of the overflow water takes longer than a purely southwestward flow regime suggests and up to 13% takes twice as long. From the release of tracers, a substantial amount of lateral mixing is evident within the channel, predominantly facilitated by the topographic eddies.

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Direct velocity observations of volume flux between Iceland and the Shetland Islands

2014

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Atlantic Waters flowing northward into the Nordic Seas are important for their role as an early indicator of changes to deepwater formation. As such, this requires a fundamental understanding of the pathways and volume fluxes through the primary passageways from the Atlantic into the Nordic Seas. A mean annual volume transport of 6.1 6 0.3 Sv was observed flowing in above the r t 5 27.8 isopycnal (a proxy for the lower limit of Atlantic Water depth), through the Faroe Shetland Channel (FSC) and over the Iceland Faroes Ridge (IFR) from March 2008 to June 2012, using repeat velocity sections obtained from a vessel mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). A new vessel route has expanded the spatial coverage of FSC observations and reveals a difference in average inflow transport, which most likely results from an interannual variation in the total transport through the FSC, which in turn is tied to a weakening of the southerly flow over the western slope of the channel. This interannual variability has increased the mean transport through the FSC from 0.9 Sv observed over the first 2 years of this program by Rossby and Flagg (2012) to a 4.5 year mean of 1.7 6 0.2 Sv, which emphasizes the importance of knowing the flow along the Faroese shelf. Interannual fluctuations in transport observed over the IFR are related to the width of the inflow over the Faroese half of the ridge.

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Combining in situ measurements and altimetry to estimate volume, heat and salt transport variability through the Faroe–Shetland Channel

Cited by 98 publications

References 31 publications

Atlantic water flow through the Faroese Channels

Atlantic water flow through the Faroese Channels

The deep circulation of the Faroe‐Shetland Channel: Opposing flows and topographic eddies

Direct velocity observations of volume flux between Iceland and the Shetland Islands

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