A Newfound Cog in the Ocean Conveyor

WHOI's research vessel Knorr covered 3,812 nautical miles in waters around Iceland on an expedition that confirmed the existence of a new-found ocean current, the North Icelandic Jet. (Photo by Rachel Fletcher)

WHOI physical oceanographer Bob Pickart (left) was the expedition's chief scientist. Kjetil Våge (right) was a co-principal investigator. Våge, who was Pickart's former graduate student at WHOI, is now a scientist at the University of Bergen in Norway. (Photo by Rachel Fletcher)

An instrument called a CTD (which stands for Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) is manuevered into position for deployment in the sea. It measures seawater temperatures and salinity and collects water samples. (Photo by Rachel Fletcher)

The expedition also deployed mooring lines carrying instruments to make measurements. Kjetil Våge helps manuever the 4,000-pound weight that anchored the mooring line. (Photo by Rachel Fletcher)

Icebergs were common in the Nordic Seas waters where the research vessel Knorr worked. (Photo by Rachel Fletcher)

During the expedition, the research vessel Knorr sailed up a fjord to drop off some of the Icelandic researchers at the small town of Siglufjördur, population under 1,300. (Photo by Rachel Fletcher)