Shipboard hydrographic measurements from the Fate of freshwater and heat from the West Greenland Current project (2021)

The motivation for this study is that increased amounts of freshwater, stemming from the Arctic Ocean and from Greenland meltwater, are entering Baffin Bay via the West Greenland Current with the potential to alter circulation patterns and water mass transformation. In addition, an increased amount of heat is being transported northward by the West Greenland Current, with the potential to accelerate the melting of west Greenland’s glaciers. To address this, a hydrographic/velocity survey was carried out covering the boundary current systems on both sides of the bay as well as the basin interior. The main objectives are to determine the fate of the freshwater carried into Baffin Bay by the West Greenland Current, and to establish the pathways by which heat from the current gets diverted to the glaciers in the Uummannaq region of West Greenland. This data submission contains shipboard hydrographic measurements collected during this cruise from September 13, 2021 to October 14, 2021 (Cruise DOI: 10.7284/909350).