Faroe Bank Canal

The Faroe Bank Canal is a trench southwest of the Faroe Islands between the European Arctic Ocean and the open North Atlantic. With a depth of 850 meters on the saddle point, it is the deepest point in the Greenland-Scotland ridge , which separates the Atlantic basin from the deep-sea basins of the North Sea and Greenland Sea .

Cold deep water constantly flows through the depths of the Faroe Bank Canal, on average around 1.9 Sverdrup . Along with the Denmark Strait (3 Sverdrup), the ditch is the most important route for arctic water from the North Sea and Greenland Sea. On average, the water in the Faroe Bank Canal is colder and denser than in the Denmark Strait, so it represents the most important channel for the outflow of the coldest and densest water from the Arctic. This water stratifies in the Atlantic at 1500–3000 m depth and is known as NADW ( North Atlantic Deep Water). It therefore plays an important role in the global conveyor belt .

Remarks

1. ^ Stig Skreslet, North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Jan Mayen Island in Scientific Focus Springer, 2005, ISBN 1-4020-2956-X , p. 93.

Web links

• Short description (English) ( MS Word ; 1.6 MB)

Coordinates: 61 ° 4 ′ 19 ″  N , 7 ° 38 ′ 43 ″  W.