ABSTRACT 



Oceanographic data were collected during a cruise of USS EDISTO 

 (AGB 2) to the northern Greenland Sea and adjacent Arctic Ocean during 

 the summer of 1964. The resulting data indicate that many of the 

 prevailing ideas concerning the oceanography of the region are correct, 

 but some modifications and additions are suggested. 



The center of the East Greenland Current appeared to be farther 

 east than is indicated on some earlier charts, and the meanders and 

 gyres also differed from those shown in some earlier current schemes. 



Minimum bottom water temperatures in the survey region appear 

 to be warmer than they were at the beginning of the century, and 

 some current ideas on the formation and movement of Arctic Bottom 

 Water do not seem to be well substantiated. 



High dissolved oxygen saturations were found at great depths and 

 can be explained by the proximity of areas of bottom water formation, 

 by the oxidation of a large portion of organic material before the 

 deeper waters left the surface, and by the absence of a significant 

 amount of sinking organic material. 



Micronutrient concentrations were low indicating that water from 

 the North Atlantic was the primary component of the waters in the k 

 survey region. Photosynthetic processes appeared to be lowering near- 

 surface micronutrient concentrations and, in some instances, raising 

 oxygen concentrations. In cases where production may have been limited 

 by micronutrient deficiencies, nitrate appears to have been the limiting 

 nutrient. No pronounced oxygen minimum or micronutrient maxima were 

 encountered within a definite depth range in the survey area. Micronutrient 

 relationships in the different water masses differed and can be explained 

 to some extent by current theories on the formation and movement of 



