Standard Hydrographic Monitoring Program

Many days of field work is awarded by a beautiful sun set in the horizon

 

The West Greenland Current carries water northward along the West Greenland continental slope and consists of three components: a cold, fresh and near inshore surface component referred to as West Greenland Coastal Water (WGCW), a saltier, warmer and deeper offshore component referred to as Subpolar Mode Water (SPMW) and freshwater runoff from Greenland. The West Greenland Current is part of the cyclonic Subpolar Gyre and thus subject to hydrographic variations at different time-scales associated with the variability of the gyre, along with local and regional atmospheric conditions. The monitoring program was initiated in 1950 and hydrographic conditions are monitored annually at ten hydrographic sections in June/July across the continental shelf off West Greenland.