Norwegian Current

The Norwegian Current (also known as the Norwegian Coastal Current) is a water current that flows north-easterly along the Atlantic coast of Norway at depths of between 50 and 100 meters through the Barents Sea Opening into the Barents Sea. It contrasts with the North Atlantic Current because it is colder and contains less salt, having most of its tributary water coming from the brackish Baltic Sea as well as the Norwegian fjords and rivers. It is, however, considerably warmer and saltier than the Arctic Sea. Winter temperatures in the Norwegian current are typically between 2 and 5 °C whereas the temperature of the Atlantic water exceeds 6 °C.

Norwegian coastal waters are dominated by two main water masses, the Norwegian Coastal Current and the North Atlantic Drift Water (Atlantic Water). As the Norwegian Coastal Current moves northward, North Atlantic Drift Water is mixed in, raising the salinity (see Salinity below).

The current is both wind-driven, “piling up” of water along the Norwegian coast by southwesterly winds (creating elevation and thus pressure differences), and also driven by its salinity distribution which in turn creates density gradients .