Transport and Evolution of the East Reykjanes Ridge Current

The East Reykjanes Ridge Current (ERRC) is a highly variable, mostly barotropic southwestward flow in the Iceland Basin with a mean transport of nearly 12 Sv. This flow effectively acts as a western boundary current on the eastern flank of the Reykjanes Ridge that recirculates a portion of the North Atlantic Current as well as Icelandic Slope Water formed along the Iceland-Faroe Ridge. Previous estimates of the ERRC have been made from a limited number of hydrographic and ADCP sections, but continuous estimates of its transport have not been available until the advent of the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP). Through OSNAP, continuous measurements of the ERRC have been maintained using ADCPs, current meters and dynamic height moorings at six mooring sites near 58°N since 2014. Together with satellite altimetry and Argo profile and drift data, the mean transport, synoptic variability, water mass properties and upstream and downstream pathways of the ERRC are examined. Analysis of the ERRC will assist in monitoring recent changes in the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.