Nordic Seas

They have also been defined as the region located north of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge and south of the Fram Strait-Spitsbergen-Norway intersection.

[2] This region is known as having diverse features in such a small topographic area, such as the mid oceanic ridge systems.

The Greenland Sea produces dense waters because of its high salinity and cooler temperatures from winter cooling.

These water source mixtures are important because they play a role in the overflows that occur in the North Atlantic.

The western boundary of the Nordic Seas is the southward-flowing East Greenland Current.

This current is considered one of the main ways for Arctic sea ice to be exported.

[1] The Jan Mayen Current plays an important role in the dense water formation that occurs in the Greenland Sea.

The subsurface waters leave the Nordic Seas through the south from overflows between Greenland and Scotland.

The Nordic Seas are found between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, both having variable surface water conditions.

The difference in temperature and salinity between the two water masses plays a role in the climate of Scandinavia.

[1] The warmth provided by this current plays a role in giving Scandinavia the warmer temperatures.

[7] This water mass is formed by deep convection that occurs intermittently in the Greenland gyre.

[1] This water mass has a higher salinity due to brine rejection in the Arctic Seas.

[8] Because of the warmer temperatures from the North Atlantic Current, this water mass is ice-free during the year.