Currents and Tides in the Fram Strait and Greenland Sea

Abstract Measurements of oceanographic characteristics, currents, and tides in the Fram Strait and the Greenland Sea are analyzed using historical measurement data. Measurements on moorings across the Fram Strait made it possible to estimate the speeds of the East Greenland and West Spitsbergen currents. It is shown that the speeds of these currents are low (within 10 cm/s) and the amplitudes of the speed of tidal currents are two or more times greater. Tidal currents are intensifying on the shelf of Greenland and Svalbard. Direct measurements are compared with the University of Oregon barotropic tide model.