Temporal and spatial scales of Labrador Sea water formation

• Main Author: Clarke, R. A.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1984
• Subjects: 48; Labrador Sea; North Atlantic Deep Water; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19850017720

Labrador Sea Water is an intermediate water found at the same density and depth range in the North Atlantic as the Mediterranean water. It is formed by convection from the sea surface to depths greather than 2 km in winter in the Western Labrador Sea. The processes leading to deep convection begin with the formation of a 200 km scale cyclonic circulation about denser than average upper layer water in the Western Labrador Sea. This circulation pattern is hypothesized to be driven by an ocean/atmosphere heat exchange that has its maximum in this region. By early March, if deep convection is taking place, one sees that this body of denser upper waters penetrates to the top of the deep temperature/salinity maximum marking the core of the North Atlantic Deep Water. We note that the horizontal scale of this body is still 100-200 km normal to the coastline.