The
Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders
Greenland to the west, the
Svalbard archipelago to the east,
Fram Strait and the
Arctic Ocean to the north, and the
Norwegian Sea and
Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the
Arctic Ocean, sometimes as part of the
Atlantic Ocean. However, definitions of the Arctic Ocean and its seas tend to be imprecise or arbitrary. In general usage the term "Arctic Ocean" would exclude the Greenland Sea. In
oceanographic studies the Greenland Sea is considered part of the Nordic Seas, along with the
Norwegian Sea. The Nordic Seas are the main connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and, as such, could be of great significance in a possible
shutdown of thermohaline circulation. In oceanography the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas are often referred to collectively as the "Arctic Mediterranean Sea", a
marginal sea of the Atlantic.