Norwegian Sea
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Norwegian Sea,
part of the Atlantic Ocean, NW of Norway, between the Greenland Sea and the North Sea. It is separated from the Atlantic by a submarine ridge linking Iceland and the Faeroe Islands, and from the Arctic by the Jan Mayer Ridge. The warm Norwegian Current gives the sea generally ice-free conditions.Norwegian Sea
an outlying arm of the Arctic Ocean, located between the Scandinavian Peninsula on one side and the Faeroe Islands and Iceland and the Shetland, Jan Mayen, and Bear islands on the other. Area, 1,383,000 sq km; maximum depth, 3,734 m.
The Norwegian Sea is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by an underwater ridge, which forms the Faeroe and Shetland islands; the distance above the ridge to the surface does not exceed 600 m. There are shoals (for example, the Lofoten Banks) near the coast of Norway.
The warm Norwegian Current passes through the Norwegian Sea and renders it ice-free. In most parts of the sea the temperature of the water is 2°–7°C in February and 8°-12°C in August. The salinity is 34–35. 2‰. The Norwegian Sea has semidiurnal tides, measuring up to 3.3 m. It is rich in fish (cod and herring). The main ports are Trondheim, Tromsø, and Narvik (Norway).