164 A TEXTBOOK OF OCEANOGRAPHY 



The Irminger Current fills the whole area between Iceland 

 and Cape Farewell, with the exception of a varying- coastal 

 zone occupied by the ice-bearing East Greenland Current. 

 With an off-shore wind the latter broadens out to sea, covering 

 the Irminger Current with a thin film ; its cooling effect is 

 felt, however, to depths of from 125 to 250 metres. 



The currents in Davis Strait, to which a branch of the 

 Irminger Current belongs, are clear when one considers the 

 cold currents namely, the East Greenland Current and 

 the Labrador/ Current. 



A high-p'ressure area over the northern part of North 



6O SO 40 30 20 



FIG. 30. SURFACE CURRENTS ix THE NORTH-WEST ATLANTIC 

 (IRMINGER CURRENT). (KRUMMEL.) 



The length of the arrow is proportional to the length of the 

 current (i centimetre per second = 07 millimetre). 



America produces a gradient on the coasts of Baffin's Land 

 and Labrador, with a prevailing wind east-south-east; the 

 current is driven south by east that is, along the coast in 

 the eastern part of the Strait. 



In the western half of Davis Strait the water flows in from 

 the south. This is Atlantic water from the Irminger Current. 

 Along the east coast of Greenland, owing to barometric 

 minima over the land, the prevailing winds are northerly, 

 and consequently the drift of the water is to the south-west. 

 The water here is colder and with a lower salinity than that of 

 the Irminger Current, since it contains much floating ice and 



