Effects of melting and freezing in the Greenland sea

[1] Ice thickness and drift measurements complemented with modeling results are examined. In the East-Greenland ice drift stream (EGIS), the ice is thicker at 79°N than at 75°N in winter but similar in summer due to melting, advection, and seasonal changes of the wind pattern in Fram Strait. Ice fluxes at 79°N and 75°N vary coherently. Summer EGIS melting rates exceed 0.5 m/mo. In winter, oceanic currents govern melting/freezing processes. In the western EGIS, exposed to the cold East-Greenland Current, ice grows. In the eastern EGIS, influenced by warm Atlantic water, ice melts. East of EGIS, in Nordbukta (75–77°N), winter freezing occurs. A topographically controlled cyclonic gyre maintains a divergent Nordbukta ice drift, causing more leads, ocean cooling and ice formation, favoring deep convection. However, stratification in the Greenland Sea Gyre is poorly correlated with Nordbukta ice production, but shows coherent variations with the NAO index.