Denmark Strait overflow

Common card · No. 257256

The Denmark Strait overflow (Danish: Grønlandspumpen; Norwegian: Grønlandspumpa, meaning "the Greenland pump") is an undersea overflow located in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland. The overflow transports around 3.2 million m3 (110 million ft3) of water per second, greatly eclipsing the discharge of the Amazon River into the Atlantic Ocean and the flow rate of the former Guaíra Falls. The descending column of water is approximately 200 m (660 ft) wide and 200 m (660 ft) thick and descends over a length of around 1,000 km (620 mi). The overflow is formed by the density difference of the water masses either side of the Denmark Strait; the southward-flowing water originating from the Nordic Seas is colder and consequently more dense than the Irminger Sea to the south of the strait. At the Greenland–Iceland Rise – an elevated ridge forming the overflow's apex – the colder water cascades along the seafloor to a depth of around 3,000 m (10,000 ft). Due to the Coriolis effect,...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Aplaice, CC BY-SA 4.0