The Iceland-Faroe Slope Jet: a conduit for dense water toward the Faroe Bank Channel overflow

Dense water from the Nordic Seas passes through the Faroe Bank Channel and supplies the
lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a critical component of
the climate system. Yet, the upstream pathways of this water are not fully known. Here we
present evidence of a previously unrecognised deep current following the slope from Iceland
toward the Faroe Bank Channel using high-resolution, synoptic shipboard observations and
long-term measurements north of the Faroe Islands. The bulk of the volume transport of the
current, named the Iceland-Faroe Slope Jet (IFSJ), is relatively uniform in hydrographic
properties, very similar to the North Icelandic Jet flowing westward along the slope north of
Iceland toward Denmark Strait. This suggests a common source for the two major overflows
across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. The IFSJ can account for approximately half of the total
overflow transport through the Faroe Bank Channel, thus constituting a significant component
of the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas.