Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) is a major deep water mass flowing from the Norwegian Sea into the North Atlantic. Traditionally depicted as a counter-clockwise deep boundary current, new Lagrangian observations and model simulations reveal a more complex reality. This study shows ISOW spreads into the interior towards the Labrador and Irminger basins after passing the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, and also identifies a previously unobserved southward pathway along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Deep-reaching eddies and meanders of the North Atlantic Current influence the pathway partitioning. These findings necessitate a revised understanding of ISOW pathways.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Apr 20, 2020
Authors
Sijia Zou, Amy Bower, Heather Furey, M. Susan Lozier, Xiaobiao Xu
Tags
Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water
North Atlantic
deep water mass
Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone
pathways
eddy
Labrador and Irminger basins
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