Sea ice drift in the East Greenland Current

Abstract

The sea ice drift is one of the key parameters in the fresh water flux of the East Greenland Current. Satellite data are a good data source for monitoring the sea ice drift velocity. An automatic drift algorithm is employed and optimized to work with AVHRR data. This investigation covers the years 1993 and 1994. Seasonal and spatial distributions of the sea ice drift were derived. The maximum drift velocities occur during the period from October until December in the Fram Strait area. The sea ice mass fluxes in the Fram Strait area are twice as large as at 75° N. The flux has an annual maximum in the time between Oct. and Dec. with approximately 0.1 Sv.