Freshening of the Labrador Sea Surface Waters in the 1990s: Another Great Salinity Anomaly

• Main Authors: Hakkinen, Sirpa, Koblinsky, Chester J.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Oceanography; Labrador Sea
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20020080806

Both the observed and simulated time series of the Labrador Sea surface salinities show a major freshening event since the middles. It continues the series of decoder events of the 1970s and 1980s from which the freshening in the early 1970's was named as the Great Salinity Anomaly (GSA). These events are especially distinguishable in the late summer (August and September) time series. The observed data suggests that the 1990's freshening may equal the GSA in magnitude. This recent event is associated with a large reduction in the overturning rate between the early and latter part of the 1990s. Both the observations and model results indicate that the surface salinity conditions appear to be returning towards normal daring 1999 and 2000 in the coastal area, but offshore, the model predicts the freshening to linger on after peaking 1997.