Convection above the Labrador continental slope

• Published in: Journal of Physical Oceanography
• Main Authors: Cuny, J, Rhines, PB, Schott, F, Lazier, J
• Other Authors: UCL
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Meteorological Soc 2005
• Subjects: Hamilton Bank; Labrador Sea
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/39387; https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO2700.1

The Labrador Sea is one of the few regions of the World Ocean where deep convection takes place. Several moorings across the Labrador continental slope just north of Hamilton Bank show that convection does take place within the Labrador Current. Mixing above the lower Labrador slope is facilitated by the onshore along-isopycnal intrusions of low-potential-vorticity eddies that weaken the stratification, combined with baroclinic instability that sustains slanted mixing while restratifying the water column through horizontal fluxes. Above the shelf break, the Irminger seawater core is displaced onshore while the stratification weakens with the increase in isopycnal slope. The change in stratification is partially due to the onshore shift of the "classical" Labrador Current, baroclinic instability, and possibly slantwise convection.