Nordic Seas

Figure 1: Map of the Nordic Seas

The Nordic Seas are located north of Iceland and south of Svalbard. They have also been defined as the region located north of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge and south of the Fram Strait-Spitsbergen-Norway intersection.[1] Known to connect the North Pacific and the North Atlantic waters, this region is also known as having some of the densest waters, creating the densest region found in the North Atlantic Deep Water.[2] The deepest waters of the Arctic Ocean are connected to the worlds other oceans through Nordic Seas and Fram Strait. There are three seas within the Nordic Sea: Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Iceland Sea.[1] The Nordic Seas only make up about 0.75% of the world's oceans.[2] This region is known as having diverse features in such a small topographic area, such as the mid oceanic ridge systems. Some locations have shallow shelves, while others have deep slopes and basins. This region, because of the atmosphere-ocean transfer of energy and gases, has varying seasonal climate. During the winter, sea ice is formed in the western and northern regions of the Nordic Seas, whereas during the summer months, the majority of the region remains free of ice.

Several water masses are found interacting in the Nordic Sea. These water masses are present due to subduction, deep convective mixing, surface/frontal mixing, and entrainment of water from low and high latitudes. Interaction from multiple water sources can lead to varying conditions. New primary production is higher in this region, usually exceeding regenerated primary production. New production is higher in regions where water interacts with Atlantic Water, which has nutrient-rich waters. When looking at carbon flux from the atmosphere to the ocean, this region is considered one of the highest in the world's oceans. This region is also known as being one of the few bodies of water that take up large quantities of carbon dioxide yearly, ranging from 20 to 85 g C m−2y−1,[2] which is considered high in comparison the carbon dioxide flux in the world's oceans.

The Nordic Seas include the Greenland Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Iceland Sea. The Greenland and the Norwegian Sea are separately distinguished by Mohn's Ridge.[3] The Greenland and Iceland Sea are separated by the Jan Mayen fracture zone, and the Norwegian and Iceland Seas have the Aegir Ridge between them.[1] The Nordic Seas have varying and diverse features as a result of each sea having separate water mass structures and circulation patterns. The Greenland Sea produces dense waters because of its high salinity and cooler temperatures from winter cooling. Higher salinity is present as a result of the Greenland Sea's close proximity to the salinity inflow that occurs from the Atlantic Ocean. Another dense water source comes from the Arctic waters that also flow into the Greenland Sea. These water source mixtures are important because they play a role in the overflows that occur in the North Atlantic. The water that overflows from the Greenland ridge becomes the North Atlantic Deep Water[4] dense water, even though this body of water does not make up the deep waters of the Nordic Sea.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Talley, Lynne; Pickard, George; Emery, William; Swift, James (2011). Descriptive Physical Oceanography. London, UK: Elsevier Inc. pp. 401–410. ISBN 978-0-7506-4552-2.
  2. ^ a b c Drange, H; Dokken, T; Furevik, T; Gerdes, R; Berger, W (2005). The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective (PDF). Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union. pp. 1–10.
  3. ^ Dauteuil, O.; Brun, J.-P. (1996-08-01). "Deformation partitioning in a slow spreading ridge undergoing oblique extension: Mohns Ridge, Norwegian Sea". Tectonics. 15 (4): 870–884. doi:10.1029/95TC03682. ISSN 1944-9194.
  4. ^ Chen, C. "Ocean Water Masses- Intermediate, Deep, and Bottom Waters" (PDF). School for Marine Sciences and Technology UMass-Dartmouth. Retrieved April 2, 2017.