The westward turning branch of the West Spitsbergen Current

Abstract

A salinity‐temperature survey of Fram Strait in September 1985 extending to north of 81°N demonstrated the western branch of the West Spitsbergen Current flowing northwest and then west, mainly south of 81°N. There also was a southwestward recirculation from the eastern branch of the West Spitsbergen Current. Baroclinic flow of warm water northward through 81°N was negligible or zero. Some doubt is cast on past flow diagrams based on core analysis which show the western branch of the West Spitsbergen Current coursing northward to 83°N. One of a probable line of mesoscale eddies is described in some detail.