Abstract
Abstract. The structures of the hydrographic fronts separating the Atlantic-origin waters from ambient waters in the northern Nordic Seas are discussed. Flows of the western and eastern branches of the West Spitsbergen Current create the Atlantic domain borders and maintain these fronts. This work is based on previous research and on investigations carried out in the project DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). Most of the observational data were collected during the R/V Oceania cruises. The main focus of the paper is the western border of the Atlantic domain – the Arctic Front, alongfrontal and transfrontal transports, and the front instability and variability. The alongfrontal baroclinic jet streams were described as a significant source of the Atlantic Water and heat in the Nordic Seas. The baroclinic instability and advection of baroclinic eddies which occurs due to this instability were found to be the main transfrontal transport processes. Most of the Atlantic Water transported by the western branch recirculates west and southward. The eastern branch of the West Spitsbergen Current provides most of the Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean. Both processes are very important for the Arctic and global thermohaline circulation.
Highlights
Most of the Atlantic Water (AW) that enters the Nordic Seas flows over the Faroe–Iceland Ridge and between the Faroe and Shetland Islands (Hansen and Osterhus, 2000)
The second branch, which continues north along the continental slope, is called the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) (Aagaard and Carmack, 1989). Nowadays this flow is often called the WSC eastern branch or the core of the WSC; correspondingly, the continuation of the Faroe branch linked with the oceanic frontal system is called the WSC western branch
For clarity and work consistency, the names WSC eastern branch (WSCeast) and WSC western branch (WSCwest) will be used. These two currents and hydrological fronts related to both branches of the WSC create dynamic borders of the region occupied by the AW – the Atlantic domain (AD) of the Nordic Seas (Fig. 1)
Summary
Most of the Atlantic Water (AW) that enters the Nordic Seas (the Norwegian, Greenland, and Iceland seas) flows over the Faroe–Iceland Ridge and between the Faroe and Shetland Islands (Hansen and Osterhus, 2000). The warmer, more saline eastern branch of the AW (the Shetland branch) enters the Nordic Seas through the Faroe-Shetland Channel and continues north along the Norwegian shelf edge as the Norwegian Atlantic Slope Current (NASC) (Orvik and Skagseth, 2003). For clarity and work consistency, the names WSC eastern branch (WSCeast) and WSC western branch (WSCwest) will be used These two currents and hydrological fronts related to both branches of the WSC create dynamic borders of the region occupied by the AW – the Atlantic domain (AD) of the Nordic Seas (Fig. 1). In the case of the Atlantic domain in the Greenland Sea, processes of transfrontal exchange, especially through the western border, are very important They are the most vital part of the northern limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
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