West Spitsbergen Current

The EGC is characterized by being very cold and low in salinity, but above all else it is a major exporter of Arctic sea ice.

After the WSC splits off from the Norwegian Atlantic Current it begins to enter very cold atmospheric conditions.

[3] As the current continues to move northward and reaches the continental shelf of western Svalbard it begins to encounter sea-ice.

The sea-ice melts due to the warmth of the WSC, and thus a surface layer of very freshwater begins to exist.

However, in the Yermak Branch the WSC is not able to penetrate deep inside the Arctic Ocean because the zone it enters has very strong tidal mixing.

[2][4] For the Svalbard Branch, the Atlantic Water core of the WSC continues to sink as it meets more and more freshwater on its eastern route.

In general, however, the warmest core temperature of the Atlantic Water in the WSC is around 2.75 °C near Svalbard to 2.25 °C near Franz Josef Land to 1.0 °C north of the new Siberian Islands.

[8] Water mass transport in the WSC at around 78.83° North varies strongly on an annual time scale.

Current research on the WSC focuses in on two areas: heat content and methane gas release.

Thus, this current topic is of high interest because an increase of heat flux out of the AW core will result in more Arctic Sea Ice melting.

[8] The second major topic being looked at is how this warming will affect methane gas release in the ocean seabed along the continental margins in West Spitsbergen.