The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

West Spitsbergen Current

a branch of the warm Gulf Stream current along the western shores of Spitsbergen, a continuation of the Norwegian Current. The mean annual temperature of the water is 1°–3°C, and the velocity of the current reaches 5.5 km/day. Water salinity is about 34.5%. When the current submerges north of Spitsbergen, it gives rise to a stream of warm intermediate waters in the Arctic Ocean.

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References in periodicals archive

The main route for northward migration of boreal and temperate species is the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC).

First records of Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) from the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, with possible explanations for the extension of its distribution

Washington, August 16 (ANI): Scientists have found that the warming of the northward-flowing West Spitsbergen current in the Arctic over the last thirty years has contributed to global warming by triggering the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from methane hydrate stored in the sediment beneath the seabed.

Heating of Arctic current contributes to global warming

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