Labrador Current

1
Labrador Current

• Tyler Adams

2
Geographically

• Fed from the north by the Baffin Current
• Follows the Labrador coast to the Grand Banks
• Splits at Hamilton Bank
• Intercepted by Gulf Stream
• Feeds Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy

3
Physical Attributes

• Average currents are 0.3-0.5 m/s
• Cold water current
• Very low salinity
• Largely barotropic
• Transport nearly twice as much as calculations
  would indicate

4
Seasonal Variability
Mar - Apr - May
Sept - Oct - Nov
5
Biodiversity

• Cold Arctic waters are nutrient rich
• Abundance of life near the end of the Labrador
  current
• Depends on both it and the Gulf Stream
• Once was home to the a strong cod industry

6
Deep Labrador Current

• Secondary current below 2,500 meters
• Strongest flow between March and May
• Significant warming