Fram Strait

Fram Strait is the deep passage between Greenland and Svalbard, about 2600 meters at its sill, the only deep-water connection between the Arctic Ocean and the rest of the world ocean. Warm, saline Atlantic water enters the Arctic northward in the West Spitsbergen Current on the eastern side, while cold, fresh Polar Water and the bulk of Arctic sea-ice export leave southward in the East Greenland Current on the western side. The strait controls the Arctic heat and freshwater budget and the southward sea-ice flux, making it a key chokepoint for Atlantic-Arctic exchange.