Greenland Sea

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Categories: Marine geography stubs | Seas of Norway | Landforms of Greenland | Seas of the Arctic Ocean

The Greenland Sea in the Norwegian Sea.

The Greenland Sea is an area of the Arctic Ocean, considered the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, spanning Greenland, Svalbard, Jan Mayen Island, Iceland and the Denmark Strait, encompassing some 465,000 square miles (1,205,000 square km).

This arm of the Arctic Ocean is the Ocean's main outlet to the Atlantic. Because of drifting Arctic ice, the northern part is rarely open to navigation.

Average depth of the Greenland Sea is close to 1,450 m (4,750 ft). The deepest recorded point has been found in the northeasternmost part at 5600 m (Molloy Deep).

Image:Greenland Sea at night (js).jpg

The Greenland Sea on a summer's night

The Greenland Sea is densely inhabited by the organisms that form the base of the oceanic food chain. Large invertebrates, fish (such as cod, herring, redfish, halibut, and plaice), birds and mammals (including seals, whales, and dolphins) all feed on the smaller invertebrates and small organisms.