West Spitsbergen Current


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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 It might be outdated or ideologically biased.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.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The main route for northward migration of boreal and temperate species is the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC).
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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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