North atlantic deep water

From Glossary of Meteorology
Revision as of 14:46, 20 February 2012 by imported>Perlwikibot
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)



North Atlantic Deep Water

(Abbreviated NADW.) A water mass found in the Atlantic at depths between 1000 and 4000 m that can be traced from there into most other ocean basins.

It is formed in the North Atlantic from some 5 Sv (5 × 106 m3s-1) of Atlantic Bottom Water entering through Denmark Strait and across the Scotland–Faeroe–Iceland Ridge. This water flows toward the Labrador Sea, entraining another 5 Sv from the eastern North Atlantic on its way. Another 5 Sv is added in the Labrador Sea by winter convection, giving a total of 15 Sv of NADW formation. The NADW formation process is the engine of the ocean conveyor belt, which makes NADW one of the most important water masses for today's climate.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.