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Six historical sections across the West Greenland Current are examined. Three sections have been regularly occupied since the late 1950s, while the three southern ones have been taken since 1984. Significant variability is observed for the freshwater core of the coastal current on the shelf, with salinity varying by over 3 units between years. There is also significant variability in the shape and offshore position of the main shelf break front, leading to large variability in Eulerian velocities. Significant presence of Irminger Water is seen during the 1960s and the 2000s, being found right across the sections in recent years. Maximum mean transport relative to the 34.8 isohaline of 5.5 ± 3.9 Sv , relative to 700 db, for 1984–2005, is observed at the Cape Desolation section. Transports decrease to the north, with the majority of the exchange with the interior of the Labrador Sea occurring between Cape Desolation and Fylla Bank. Inter-decadal transport variability is observed at Fylla Bank while a decline in transports since peaks in the early 1990s is seen at Cape Farewell and Cape Desolation. Freshwater transport is largest at Cape Desolation, with a mean Summer transport of 60.2 ± 20.5 mSv . Freshwater transport increases slightly between Cape Farewell and Cape Desolation and we suggest it is related to local discharge by glaciers into Juliannehaab Bight, as well as the melting of sea-ice. We also find that years of high Greenland ice cap melt are consistently associated with years of high freshwater transport at Cape Desolation, suggesting a portion of the freshwater transport of the West Greenland Current may be associated with melt from the Greenland ice sheet. Finally, significantly enhanced freshwater transports (33 mSv at Cape Desolation compared to the long term mean) are seen in 2008, probably a signature of the record Arctic Ocean ice melt and export in 2007.

Plankton samples and oceanographic data were obtained during transect studies across fishing banks over the Southwest Greenland shelf in June 1999, May, and July 2000. The study gives a detailed description of micro- and mesozooplankton distributions and community structures during spring bloom and post bloom periods. Plankton distributions were related to the physical environment described by a hydrodynamic ocean circulation model. More than 30 species and a larger number of taxonomic categories were identified in the zooplankton samples. Large copepodites of Calanus finmarchicus , Calanus glacialis , and Calanus hyperboreus generally dominated the micro- and mesozooplankton biomass, with Pseudocalanus spp., Metridia longa , and Oithona spp. comprising most of the remaining biomass. By number, bivalves larvae and relatively large copepod nauplii (>200 μm) dominated the zooplankton community (>50 μm) in May, whereas smaller copepod nauplii ( Thalassiosira spp. and Chaetoceros spp., generally dominated the biomass of the plankton community of the upper 100 m followed by heterotrophic flagellates, copepods, other invertebrates, and ciliates. Conversely in June (and July) during post bloom, large copepods were dominating. Hydrodynamic model simulations of ocean currents and trajectories of potential plankton transports showed differences in potential advection of plankton across shelf banks. The circulation around the banks seems to create retention areas entrapping plankton for periods. Model simulations predict that upwelling occurs west of the shelf banks and to a lesser extent in the deep channels separating the banks. This upwelling, caused by wind and tidal motions, probably increases productivity and carbon cycling over the shelf areas.

The ocean circulation on the West Greenland shelf are modelled using a 3D finite element circulation model forced by wind data from the Danish Meteorological Institute-High-Resolution Limited Area Model operational atmospheric model for the Greenland area and tides at the open boundary. Residual anticyclonic eddies are generated around the shelf banks north of 64 ∘ N and areas of permanent upwelling are located west of the shelf banks. The potential distances of shrimp larvae transport from larval release to settling at the bottom were studied, using a particle-tracking model. Particles released (hatched shrimp larvae) south of 62 ∘ N had a probability of about 2% of being lost to the Canadian Shelf, whereas for particles released north of 64 ∘ N almost none were lost from the West Greenland Shelf. The particles tended to have long retention times at the shelf banks caused by the residual anticyclonic eddies. The retention times increased slightly for particles tracked at depths from 80 to 30 m with minor implications for potential transport distances of larval shrimp and plankton.