North Atlantic currents

The North Atlantic current (red arrows) originates in the hot and salty Gulf Stream which flows out of the Mexican gulf and follows the east coast of the USA. When this current leaves the continental shelf and moves across the North Atlantic itâs often called the North Atlantic current. The North Atlantic current provides a significant amount of heat transport to northern Europe. This heat transport is greatest in winter because the current velocity is greater in that part of the year. The North Atlantic current keeps a very constant temperature and salinity throughout the year. It gradually looses heat and salinity as it flows towards the north east and gets mixed with colder and less salty water. At the south western part of the map where the current leaves the American continental shelf the surface temperature is 15-20 oC and the salinity is approximately 36. When it reaches the inlet to the Barents Sea the surface temperature is reduced to 5 oC in the winter and 10 oC in the summer, while the salinity stays at 35 throughout the year.The North Atlantic current continues into the Polar seas through the Fram Strait west of Svalbard and into the Barents Sea (pink arrows). When it reaches these areas its quickly chilled to 2-3 oC and the salinity sinks towards 34.7.The cooling of the North Atlantic current happens when it comes into contact with the colder and less salty Arctic current (blue arrows) that flows south west towards Svalbardâs east coast, south out of the Fram Strait and south out of the Davids Strait between Greenland and Canada. This current has salinity below 34 and the temperature is between -2 oC and +2 oC. In the same way as the North Atlantic current cools on the way north east the Arctic current heats up on its way towards the south west. The Arctic current does however give a significant colder climate around the coast of Greenland and along the Canadian Labrador- and Newfoundland-coasts compared to Europe coasts.Close to the coasts both on the eastern and western side of the North Atlantic there are lighter coastal currents with salinity between 25 and 34 (green arrows). In these areas both the temperature and salinity varies greatly throughout the season. They are warmer then the North Atlantic current during the summer and colder during the winter. In the same way the salinity varies greatly throughout the year because of the varying freshwater runoffs from land.

Identification info

Date (Revision): 2011-02-09

Date (Creation): 0001-01-01

Date (Publication): 0001-01-01

Purpose: ...

Status: Completed

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
Institute of Marine Research	Sjur Ringheim Lid	sjur.ringheim.lid@imr.no	Point of contact
Institute of Marine Research	Jon Albretsen	jon.albretsen@hi.no	Owner
Institute of Marine Research	datahjelp@hi.no	datahjelp@hi.no	Publisher

Maintenance and update frequency: As needed

Nasjonal inndeling i geografiske initiativ og SDI-er

Norway Digital

Nasjonal tematisk inndeling (DOK-kategori)

Kyst og fiskeri

Place

nordatlanteren
Atlanterhavet

Theme

North Atlantic current
Arctic current
current
Atlantic
North Atlantic
Gulf Stream

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1205/2008 of 3 December 2008 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards metadata, Part D 4, Classification of Spatial Data Services