Hydrography and circulation over the southern part of the Kolbeinsey Ridge

Abstract

A study on the hydrography and circulation over the Kolbeinsey Ridge south of the Spar Fracture Zone was carried out in 2007 and 2008. A moored profiler was deployed west of the Ridge at 68°N close to the 1000-m isobath in September 2007, and measurements were obtained until October 2008. In June 2008, vessel-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler along with conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements were made on a transect crossing the Ridge close to 68°N. The results indicate a continuous flow of Atlantic water (AW) via the North Icelandic Irminger Current northwards along the Ridge. Hence, this is an area where AW is channelled into the deep Iceland Sea. Some of the water is then recirculated westwards, whereas the remainder flows eastwards and circulates in an anticyclonic eddy that may be a semi-permanent feature of the circulation. The eddy is ∼60 km in diameter, and AW accumulates there, with submerged isolines of temperature and density. The eddy was revealed in the distribution of a coccolithophorid bloom in the area in August 2008. © 2012 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.