Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2005, Page 148

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NEWS AND PROGRESS 2004
in the Atlantic inflow. Similar oscillations
were also observed throughout the water
column under the Faroe Current and as
deep as 1700 m. These oscillations are
explained as southward propagating Topo-
graphic Rossby waves impinging onto the
Faroe Slope. A simple two-layer analytical
model explains the salient features of the
current intensification and the vertical pyc-
nocline deflection as the wave propagates
onto the slope. The waves may influence
the bifurcation of the Faroe Current at the
northeastern corner of the Faroe Plateau.
This bifurcation is decisive for how
much of the Atlantic water, enters the
slope current west of Norway and how
much continues in the outer branch of the
Norwegian Atlantic Current. It may also
influence, how much ends as the recircu-
lated Faroe Current in the Norwegian Sea
and how much continues all the way to
the Arctic regions. Significant correlations
were found between current measurements
to the north and to the east of the Faroe
Shelf. Altimeter data, combined with hy-
drographic data in the FSC, are used to
estimate the seasonality of the Faroe Cur-
rent transport southwards into the FSC.
No seasonality was seen in the Southern
Faroe Current prior to 1995, but during
the subsequent years a clear seasonal cycle
with a maximum in February-April and an
amplitude of ~0.6 Sv was found. More
data is needed in order to understand the
fate of the Faroe Current in the Nordic
Seas.
The analyzed current time series are
short in a climatic context and the MI-
COM model was invoked to get a longer
time perspective. A 53 years hind-cast
simulation with the regional model ver-
sion was conducted to explore the nature
of the pole-ward flowing Atlantic water in
the Iceland-Scotland region. It was found
that the simulated seasonal and long-term
temperature variations in the Continental
Shelf Current closely resemble observa-
tions from the North Atlantic Ocean, the
Faroe Shetland Channel, and from the
Norwegian Sea. The simulated tempera-
ture on the Faroe Plateau was compared
to a long-term time-series of daily coastal
temperature. In addition to correctly simu-
lated seasonal and long-term temperature
variations, a realistic seasonal modulation
with a varying amplitude and phase was
also found. The potential for using the
simulations as a support when interpret-
ing long-term hydrographic records and as
a guide for future monitoring, has been
examined.