Denmark Strait

Denmark Strait is a sea passage between Greenland and Iceland connecting the Greenland Sea with the Irminger Sea. It is a major site of dense-water overflow into the North Atlantic.

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Denmark Strait overflow: The southward flow of dense Arctic-origin water through Denmark Strait into the Irminger Sea. This current crosses the strait’s sill and descends into the deep Atlantic.
Greenland: The world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Its eastern coast forms the western boundary of the strait.
Battle of the Denmark Strait: A naval battle fought on 24 May 1941 between British and German warships in the North Atlantic. The battle took place in the passage and ended with the sinking of HMS Hood.
Mooring: A fixed oceanographic instrument assembly anchored to the seafloor to measure water properties over time. Moorings record the overflow’s strength and variability across the strait.
Denmark Strait cataract: A deep-sea cascade formed as dense water spills over the Denmark Strait sill into the Irminger Sea. The strait’s steep underwater slope turns the overflow into a vast submerged waterfall.
Iceland: An island country in the North Atlantic, southeast of Greenland. Its northwestern coast forms the strait’s eastern boundary.
HMS Hood: A British battlecruiser commissioned in 1920 and sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. Its destruction in the strait made the 1941 battle a defining naval episode.
Conductivity–temperature–depth profiler: An oceanographic instrument that measures conductivity, temperature, and pressure to infer seawater properties. CTD profiles reveal the water masses and density structure passing through the passage.
Irminger Sea: A basin of the North Atlantic Ocean west of Iceland and south of Greenland. The strait’s overflow enters this basin and mixes with its waters.
Denmark Strait sill: The shallowest part of the underwater ridge separating the Greenland Sea from the Irminger Sea. Its depth limits the dense water that can pass beneath the surface.