The marginal sea ice zone (MIZ) is a complex interface between the open ocean and the pack ice, where ocean-ice-atmosphere interactions are extremely complex. With a width of about 100 km, similar to the grid size of many climate models, the MIZ is not resolved in CMIP5 climate scenarios. In recent years, coupled climate models have been developed with ocean components at higher resolution, such as the high resolution version of the Met Office Global Coupled Model GC3 based on the GO6 configuration of the ORCA12 1/12° ocean model. We compare the MIZ representation in a coupled simulation with a simulation using the same ocean component forced by observed atmospheric data. Biases in the MIZ position and width are of the same order of magnitude in the coupled and forced model. The sea ice edge is strongly influenced by the ocean circulation and is often found at the wrong location, even when an observed atmospheric state is used to force the model. Despite a possible mismatch between atmosphere and ice/ocean in the forced model, due to the absence of feedback between sea ice and atmospheric temperature, surface heat fluxes in the MIZ are similar in amplitude in the coupled and forced simulations.  Our analysis focuses on the Greenland Sea because it is region of deep water formation, a major control of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and thus very important for climate scenarios. The strong interannual variability of sea ice in the Greenland Sea is examplified by the Odden tongue, a protrusion of sea ice extending northeastward away from the Greenland continental slope. The coupled model exhibits such interannual variability, with a sea ice concentration larger than observed on average. The relationship between atmosphere, ice concentration and mixed layer depth is analyzed to assess the performance of both coupled and forced 1/12° models to represent deep water formation in the Nordic seas.