Research project Explaining, Connecting and Communicating the Nordic Seas Overturning from Space (ECO2NORSE)
The Gulf Stream’s continuation into the Nordic Seas is central in the Earth’s climate system. Therefore, we need the ability to continuously monitor the total strength of the warm, north-flowing surface water and the cold south-flowing deep water.
Due to its central importance to Earth’s climate, there is a pressing need for a simple system for continuous monitoring of the Nordic Seas overturning circulation, that tells us about the total strength of the inflowing warm Gulf Stream waters into the Nordic Seas and the Arctic, and the outflowing cold dense waters into the North Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is key in shaping our climate and is considered one of Earth’s climate tipping points. Our understanding of the AMOC, especially its key component in the Nordic Seas (“Nordic Seas MOC”), is limited and incomplete.
ECO2NORSE will use recent AMOC knowledge from satellite observations to generate a Nordic Seas MOC estimate that can provide a fresh understanding of its dynamics, variability, connectivity, and change during the satellite era. ECO2NORSE is expected to generate and communicate critical knowledge, both of immense scientific and societal relevance, on how this circulation may be altered under future warming and what risks our oceans and climate may face.
Project members
Project managers
Léon Chafik
Researcher
Members
Johan Nilsson
Professor of Meteorology
