VORTEX & THE BASIN
by Torgrim Flaten
In the Norwegian sea outside Lofoten, there is an exceptionally old ocean storm-the Lofoten vortex.
The Norwegian Atlantic Current flows past the Lofoten vortex in the Lofoten basin - here it is slowed down, and some of it merges into the Lofoten vortex- a uniquely persistent vortex.
Coherent mesoscale eddies in the ocean typically have lifetimes of days to months, but the Lofoten vortex has been around since scientists started to monitor weather by satellites 50 years ago.
The bathymetry shows that a bowl formation– the Lofoten basin– under the Lofoten Vortex is stopping the vortex from moving.
The interference from the Lofoten vortex results in a better distribution of nutrients along the edge of the Lofoten basin. Nutrients from the Norwegian atlantic slope current and the Norwegian coast current.
This mixture of different kinds of nutritious water and high temperature is probably the most important reason for the rich life along the edge of the Lofoten basin.
