Scientific Council Meeting - June 2021 : Hydrographic conditions off West Greenland in 2020

An overview of the atmospheric and hydrographic conditions off West Greenland in autumn 2020 is presented. In winter 2019/2020, the NAO index was positive for the seventh consecutive winter. The annual mean air temperature at Nuuk Weather Station in West Greenland was -0.8°C in 2020, which was 0.6°C above 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 Cape Desolation Section had to be abandoned due to time constraints in autumn 2020. The water properties between 0 and 50 m depth at Fyllas Bank Station 4 are used to monitor the variability of the fresh Polar Water component of the West Greenland Current. In 2020, the temperature of this water mass was 2.92°C, which was 0.28°C above its long-term mean (1983-2010). The salinity decreased in 2020 and was 0.38 below its long-term mean.