North Atlantic Current in the south and 20 Sv as it crosses the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It reaches speeds of 2 knots near the North American coast. Directed by topography, the NAC meanders heavily, but in contrast to the meanders of the Gulf Stream, the NAC meanders remain stable without breaking off into eddies. The colder parts of the Gulf Stream turn northward near the "tail" of the Grand Banks at 50°W where the Azores Current branches off to flow south of the Azores. From there the NAC flows northeastward, east of the Flemish Cap (47°N, 45°W). Approaching the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it then turns
North Atlantic Tracks tracks were known as 'Track Sierra Mike' (SM) and 'Track Sierra Oscar' (SO) for westbound flights and 'Track Sierra November' (SN) for eastbounds. An additional route, 'Track Sierra Papa' (SP), was used for seasonal British Airways flights from London Heathrow to/from Barbados. North Atlantic Tracks North Atlantic Tracks, officially titled the North Atlantic Organised Track System (NAT-OTS), is a structured set of transatlantic flight routes that stretch from the northeast of North America to western Europe across the Atlantic Ocean. They ensure aircraft are separated over the ocean, where there is little radar coverage. These heavily traveled routes are used