TheLabrador Current is a coldcurrent in theNorth Atlantic Ocean which flows from theArctic Ocean south along the coast ofLabrador and passes aroundNewfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada nearNova Scotia. Near Nova Scotia, this cold water current meets the warm northward movingGulf Stream. The combination of these two currents produces heavyfogs and has also created one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.
In spring and early summer, the Labrador Current transportsicebergs from theglaciers ofGreenland southwards into the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes. The waters of the current have a cooling effect on the CanadianAtlantic provinces, and on the United States' upper northeast coast fromMaine south toMassachusetts. South ofCape Cod, Massachusetts, the Gulf Stream becomes the dominant ocean current.
The Labrador Current has a tendency to sometimes go farther south and/or east than normal. This can produce hazardous shipping conditions, because it can carryicebergs into an area of the Atlantic where they are not usually found. The current has been known to transport icebergs as far south asBermuda and as far east as theAzores. After thesinking of theTitanic in 1912, theInternational Ice Patrol was set up to track icebergs, including those found in areas of the ocean where they are rarely located.[1]
The Labrador Current has an average annual velocity of 20 cm/s and is formed from very cold water that is around 1.5˚C from the Arctic through Baffin Island, Canada, and WesternGreenland. These waters come together in theLabrador Sea. The Labrador Sea is affected by seasonality and will experience greater freshwater imports during the late spring and early summer with riverine runoff and glacial melt.[2]
The ocean circulation in the subpolar regions in the North Atlantic have seasonal variations due to the cold, freshwater Labrador Current and the warm, saltyNorth Atlantic Current, as well as with changing surface winds, heat flux, and ice melting and formation.[3] There are two parts that make up the Labrador Current. The first part is baroclinic, meaning that the density depends on temperature and pressure, and is buoyancy-driven due to the amount of freshwater that is imported from the North. The second part of the Labrador Current is deeper and is barotropic, meaning the density is only dependent on pressure, and reaches a depth of about 2500 meters.[4]
Baffin Bay and theHudson Strait are the largest freshwater contributors to the Labrador Current.[5] The Hudson Strait is a narrow channel that is about 400 km long and is the opening to the Hudson Bay System, which is connected to the Labrador Sea, and contributes 50% of the freshwater transport of the Labrador Current. Hudson Bay is covered in ice in the winter and is ice-free in the summer. Hudson Bay has 42 rivers, contributing to the river runoff. The Labrador Current is made up of the Hudson Strait outflow, or the southeast flow, that meets with theDavis Strait and theWest Greenland Current.[6] This current then flows south, down through Newfoundland andFlemish Cap and along the continental shelf break. Part of this current moves westward along the continental slope near Nova Scotia, eventually reaching north of theGulf Stream, this is called theSlope Water Current. The southward flow joins in the subpolar circulation, forming the narrow, western subpolar gyre in the North Atlantic. The current interacts with the Gulf Stream and theNorth Atlantic Current forming the western boundary current that makes up this gyre.[7]
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