Average annual structure and transport of waters eastward of Greenland by the system of western boundary currents

Abstract

The results of calculating the values of average annual transport of waters eastward of Greenland in 2007–2015 by the system of western boundary currents are discussed. It is shown that the values of the average annual transport of waters estimated by different methods for measuring the velocity of currents and the different calculation methods differ by 20%. The role of friction in the bottom jets of the northwestern deep water, which were discovered for the first time during long-term observations, is discussed. The considerable contribution of the shelf water cascading across the continental slope to the formation of the structure and transport of the East Greenland Current is established. The significant influence of vertical mixing on the physicochemical properties of the bottom layer waters is shown. The biological arguments of the contribution made by the Irminger current and the subsurface waters to the formation of the northwestern deep water are presented.