Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 8 Inter-comparison of models and GOCE-based mean absolute surface geostrophic velocity from a the
HYCOM model from 1993 to 2010, b the ATL model from 1993 to 2009, c the MICOM model from 1993 to
2007 and d GOCE. The color bars are in cm/s. The three black dotted lines mark the position of the Faroe
north section, the Faroe-Shetland Channel section and the Svinøy section
For the Svinøy section, the comparison is, in general, less satisfactory. The HYCOM
model clearly underestimates the observed transport of 5.1 Sv reported by Mork and
Skagseth (
2010
) as well as the GOCE-based estimate of 6.9 Sv. This is mainly due to a
mis-location of the NwAFC in the HYCOM simulation as seen in Fig.
8
a. In contrast, the
MICOM and ATL models, having comparable mean transport estimates in the range of
8.2-8.5 Sv overestimate both the GOCE-based estimate and the transport reported by
Mork and Skagseth (
2010
). Overall, this large spread in mean transport estimates implies
significant differences in the mean northward advection of heat and salt to the Nordic Seas
and Arctic Ocean. This, in turn, affects both the evaporation-precipitation fluxes and
convective overturning in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. Further studies are needed
to investigate the accuracies of these transport estimates.
