Tracing water masses with 129I in the western Nordic Seas in early spring 2002

Abstract

The distribution of 129I was utilized for labeling water masses in three sections of the western Nordic Seas. An increase of the tracer in Polar Waters of the East Greenland Current was observed between the Fram Strait and 72°N section and attributed to either unaccounted Polar Waters and/or recirculation of cold and fresh Atlantic Waters from the West Spitzbergen Current. Recent convection homogenized 129I in upper 1000 m of the Greenland Sea, and similar concentrations were observed in dense waters of the Denmark Strait. The densest outflow waters were not found in either the Greenland Sea or the East Greenland Current at 72°N. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.