The Norwegian Atlantic Current carries warm and salty Atlantic water northwards along the Norwegian continental shelf break outside the Norwegian Coastal Current (Figure 2.1.1). When entering the Barents Sea it splits into two main branches. The first branch flows northeast along the Hopen Trench. The second branch flows eastward parallel to the coastal current towards Novaya Zemlya archipelago; t...

Observed current in the Fugløya-Bear Island region is predominantly barotropic, and reveals large fluctuations in both current speed and lateral structure (Ingvaldsen et al., 2002; 2004). In general, the current is wide and slow during summer and fast, with possibly several cores, during winter. The volume transport resembles the velocity field and varies with season due to close coupling with reg...