Sea ice conditions along the east coast are characterized by being more dynamic than in other parts of the Greenland Waters. Primarily, this is due to the constant ice movement, which is induced by the East Greenland Current.
The ice in the ice-band east of Greenland is called "Storisen".
Every second, on average 150.000 m3 of sea ice is transported through the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard. Typically, the ice going through the Fram Strait has taken five to six years to be formed in the Polar Sea, and is thus often several metres thick. While drifting southward along the coast, the ice breaks up into smaller floes. The size of the floes therefore decreases from north to south. In wintertime new ice is rapidly created in between the floes. Thus, “Storisen” is composed of both thin new ice and meter-thick multiyear ice.
As in all other parts of the Greenland Waters, icebergs are found along the east coast year round.
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