MIXING IN THE IRMINGER SEA AND IN THE ICELAND BASIN

On the basis of a hydrographic section from the Faeroe Islands toward Greenland along 62 degrees N and the deployment of about 20 satellite-tracked buoys, it is shown that the Irminger Current branches at the Reykjanes Ridge. Its total transport amounts to 17-18 Sv. The eastern branch of the Irminger Current (8 Sv) turns east and enters the Norwegian Sea both through the Faeroe-Shetland Channel (3 Sv) and by passing northeast of the Faeroe Islands. Maximum speeds of 70 cm s(-1) are reached at the outer edge of the East and West Greenland Current. Very intensive mixing is observed between the four water masses that flow into the Irminger Basin. Stirring by eddies plays a dominant role for strong interleaving, subsequent salt fingering, and double-diffusive layering. Conditions for these processes are optimal nearly everywhere in the Irminger Sea.