Greenland Current

Every year ten thousands of small and large pieces of irregular shape of ice drop from the front of the glaciers and are pushed by the West Greenland Current slowly to northern latitudes, far away from ship routes.

The only chances of life were in the shifting and uncertain forces of nature—a cold winter to keep the ice-field intact, a stormless season to save their floe from breaking up under pressures, and the usual Greenland current to set them to the south.

Also visible are the topographic features related to the Transpolar Drift, which routinely moves sea-ice across the Arctic from the Russian side of the basin; and the East Greenland Current that carries much of the ice that gets exported towards the Atlantic.

Passing Cape Farewell, he sailed north-west with the Greenland current, which brought him to the icebound shores near Hudson's Bay.