The Faroe Shelf Water (FSW) is the water masses on the shallow part of the Faroe Shelf, surrounding the Faroe Islands on the ridge system between Greenland and Scotland. FSW differs from the surrounding Atlantic water due to partial isolation from the surrounding watermasses, and is characterized as slightly fresher due to the excess of precipitation and run off from the rivers over the evaporation, well mixed due to relatively strong tidal currents, which leads to colder surface temperatures compared to the surroundings, and a genereal clockwise residual current around the islands driven by the tides.

In this project the FVCOM model is implemented for the Faroe Shelf and the area beyond to edge of the European continent north of Scotland to the south and otherwise out into the deep surrounding oceans. The model is driven by specifying the tides on the open boundary and river outlets from land. The model results is validated towards selected current profile observations on the shelf and in main straits, as well as data from sea level gauges around the islands, and earlier description of the water masses and fronts separating them on the shelf.