Fram Strait

E21645

Fram Strait is the deep, wide passage between Greenland and Svalbard that serves as the main gateway for water and sea ice exchange between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic.

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Observed surface forms (3)


Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf oceanic gateway
sea strait
borders Northeast Greenland National Park
surface form: Northeast Greenland

Svalbard
surface form: Svalbard archipelago
climateRelevance key region for Arctic amplification studies
sensitive indicator of sea ice decline
connectsBodyOfWater Arctic Ocean
Greenland Sea
Atlantic Ocean
surface form: North Atlantic Ocean
countryOnEasternSide Norway
countryOnWesternSide Greenland
geologicalSetting between Greenland continental margin and Svalbard margin
hasFeature continental shelf on Greenland side
continental slope
deep ocean basin
hasOceanCurrent East Greenland Current
West Spitsbergen Current
hasResearchInfrastructure autonomous underwater vehicles
oceanographic mooring arrays
satellite remote sensing coverage
isMainGatewayFor sea ice export from Arctic Ocean
water exchange between Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic
isMajorRouteFor Arctic outflow to North Atlantic
Atlantic inflow to Arctic Ocean
isOnlyDeepConnectionBetween Arctic Ocean
Nordic Seas
locatedIn Arctic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
surface form: North Atlantic Ocean
maximumDepth about 5500–5600 m
about 5600 m
namedAfter Fram
surface form: Fram (polar exploration ship)

ship Fram used by Fridtjof Nansen
oceanographicImportance controls freshwater export from Arctic Ocean
controls heat exchange between Arctic and North Atlantic
influences Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
partOf Greenland Sea
salinityCharacteristic strong salinity gradients between inflow and outflow
separates Greenland
Svalbard
temperatureCharacteristic cold polar outflow on western side
warm Atlantic inflow on eastern side
transports sea ice from Arctic Ocean to North Atlantic
warm Atlantic water into Arctic Ocean
typicalSeaIceCondition multi-year sea ice export region
seasonal sea ice cover variability
usedFor climate change research
long-term oceanographic monitoring
sea ice thickness observations
width about 270 nautical miles
about 450 km

Referenced by (14)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Eurasian Basin adjacentTo Fram Strait
this entity surface form: Fram Strait region
Arctic Ocean connectedBy Fram Strait
Greenland Basin connectedTo Fram Strait
Nansen Basin connectedTo Fram Strait
Arctic Ocean deepestPointLocation Fram Strait
Molloy Deep featureOf Fram Strait
this entity surface form: Fram Strait plate boundary zone
Nansen Basin hasAdjacentFeature Fram Strait
Greenland Sea hasSubregion Fram Strait
Molloy Deep locatedIn Fram Strait
West Spitsbergen Current locatedIn Fram Strait
Molloy Deep partOf Fram Strait
this entity surface form: Fram Strait abyssal plain
Greenland and Svalbard separatedBy Fram Strait