Scientific Council Meeting – June 2020 : Hydrographic conditions off West Greenland in 2019

An overview of the atmospheric and hydrographic conditions off West Greenland in autumn 2019 is presented. In winter 2018/2019, the NAO index was positive (2.09) for the sixth consecutive winter. The annual mean air temperature at Nuuk Weather Station in West Greenland was 0.4°C in 2019, which was 1.8°C above the long-term mean (1981-2010). The core properties of the water masses of the West Greenland Current (WGC) are monitored at two standard NAFO/ICES sections across the western shelf and continental slope of Greenland near Cape Desolation and Fyllas Bank. However, the Fyllas Bank Section had to be abandoned due to severe weather conditions in autumn 2019. The properties of the Irminger Sea Water (ISW) are monitored in the 75-200 m layer at Cape Desolation Station 3 (CD3). In 2019, the water temperature and the salinity in the 75-200 m layer at CD3 was 5.98°C and 34.92, which was 0.26°C above and 0.01 below the long-term mean, respectively. The properties of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the Deep Boundary Current west of Greenland are monitored at 2000 m depth at Cape Desolation Station 3. In 2019, the temperature and salinity of the NADW were 3.11°C and 34.92 and were 0.22°C and 0.01 above the long-term mean, respectively.