The Iceland Faroe GLider Ocean Observations (IFGLOO) project aims to improve the understanding of the variability of oceanic water masses around Iceland by carrying out the first high temporal and spatial resolution long-term ocean survey of the South Iceland-Faroe Ridge section. The global ocean climate is greatly affected by the changes of those water masses. Historically, oceanography has been a research field prohibitively expensive, as large research ships have been required. However, it is now enabled by SeaGliders, autonomous vehicles with the newest proven technologies designed to collect long-term high temporal and spatial resolution hydrographic data.
In the ocean around Iceland takes place some of the most important transformations of water masses that drive the Global Ocean Circulation. The formation of dense water in the Nordic Seas sinks into the deep and overflows through the Denmark Strait and the Iceland-Faroe Ridge. The variability of these water masses and their transformations contribute to the global meridional circulation, MOC, which is extremely important for the global climate variability. Over the past 50 years, the Arctic climate has changed significantly, involving the ocean, land, atmosphere and cryosphere. These changes have given birth to the Arctic amplification, which is a complex phenomena resulting from excessive atmospheric heating and simultaneous ocean freshening feedback mechanisms. The consequences of these changes are already affecting the ecosystems and human activities. For instance, changes in temperature and salinity modify the stratification of the upper ocean, which controls the mixing depth, commonly known as mixed layer depth (MLD). The physical processes taking place within this layer are correlated with biogeochemical processes like phytoplankton blooms and carbon sequestration. From the latest IPCC report, it has been observed with high confidence that the depth of this layer is changing (IPCC, 2018, 2019a).
This project seeks to answer the following research questions
1. Is there any evidence of overflows across de Iceland-Faroe Ridge, if so, what is their total transport contribution and their variability?
2. . What is the spatial and temporal variability of the mixed layer depth and how does it correlate with the phytoplankton blooms?
role: Research Team
IP: Ángel Ruiz Angulo (Háskola Íslands)
Funding Agency: Office of Naval Research
Dates: 2023-2025
In the ocean around Iceland takes place some of the most important transformations of water masses that drive the Global Ocean Circulation. The formation of dense water in the Nordic Seas sinks into the deep and overflows through the Denmark Strait and the Iceland-Faroe Ridge. The variability of these water masses and their transformations contribute to the global meridional circulation, MOC, which is extremely important for the global climate variability. Over the past 50 years, the Arctic climate has changed significantly, involving the ocean, land, atmosphere and cryosphere. These changes have given birth to the Arctic amplification, which is a complex phenomena resulting from excessive atmospheric heating and simultaneous ocean freshening feedback mechanisms. The consequences of these changes are already affecting the ecosystems and human activities. For instance, changes in temperature and salinity modify the stratification of the upper ocean, which controls the mixing depth, commonly known as mixed layer depth (MLD). The physical processes taking place within this layer are correlated with biogeochemical processes like phytoplankton blooms and carbon sequestration. From the latest IPCC report, it has been observed with high confidence that the depth of this layer is changing (IPCC, 2018, 2019a).
This project seeks to answer the following research questions
1. Is there any evidence of overflows across de Iceland-Faroe Ridge, if so, what is their total transport contribution and their variability?
2. . What is the spatial and temporal variability of the mixed layer depth and how does it correlate with the phytoplankton blooms?
role: Research Team
IP: Ángel Ruiz Angulo (Háskola Íslands)
Funding Agency: Office of Naval Research
Dates: 2023-2025