What causes the Labrador Current?

What causes the Labrador Current?

Originating at the Davis Strait, the Labrador Current is a combination of the West Greenland Current, the Baffin Island Current, and inflow from Hudson Bay.

How does the Labrador Current work?

In spring and early summer, the Labrador Current transports icebergs from the glaciers of Greenland southwards into the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes. The waters of the current have a cooling effect on the Canadian Atlantic provinces, and on the United States’ upper northeast coast from Maine south to Massachusetts.

Is the Labrador Current a deep current?

The deep Labrador Current is the western portion of the subpolar gyre, which has a transport of around 40 Sv. Most of the Labrador Current water leaves the boundary near the Grand Banks, part entering a narrow northward-flowing recirculation and part flowing eastward in the subpolar gyre.

Is the Labrador Current fast or slow?

Speeds for the Labrador Current are about 0.3-0.5 ms-1 along the shelf edge (Greenbergand Petrie, Reynaud et al, 1985. Current speeds of 0.3-0.5 ms-1 were found by Reynaud et al. (1995) for the Labrador Current.

Why does the Labrador Current remains frozen for 9 months?

United Kingdom and Labrador (U.K. N. America) are in the same latitude but remains unfrozen due to warm Gulf Stream and Labrador is frozen for nine months due to cold Labrador currents. Norway Coasts are unfrozen throughout the year due to North Atlantic Drift. Thus the currents affect the climate of the coastal areas.

What happens when two currents meet?

The clash between the cold and warm waters creates very rough waters. Many boat/ship wrecks happen where the two currents meet. This is one reason that area is known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”.

In which ocean does the Labrador Current flow *?

North Atlantic Labrador is cold oceanic current originating in Arctic Ocean and flowing south along the coast of Labrador, Canada.

What happens when the Labrador Current meets the Gulf Stream?

The Labrador Current and Gulf Stream usually meet right around the Cape Hatteras area. The clash between the cold and warm waters creates very rough waters. Many boat/ship wrecks happen where the two currents meet. This is one reason that area is known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”.

What is the reason behind the dynamics of the ocean currents?

Ocean water is influenced by the rotation of the earth. Due to this, the ocean currents move clockwise in the northern hemisphere and in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere. Planetary winds such as the easterlies also influence the direction of the movement of ocean water.

Where the Labrador Current meets the Gulf Stream?

The cool Labrador Current meets the warm Gulf Stream at the Grand Banks southeast of Newfoundland in the lower right hand corner of the map. The combination of these two currents produces heavy fogs and has also created one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

Where does the Benguela Current come from?

Flowing along the coast of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola, the Benguela Current is the eastern boundary of a large gyre in the South Atlantic Ocean. The current mixes water from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as they meet off the capes of South Africa.

What are the reasons responsible for the formation of deep ocean currents?

Deep ocean currents are driven by density and temperature gradients. Because the movement of deep water inocean basins is caused by density-driven forces and gravity,deep waters sink into deep ocean basins at high latitudes where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.

Where does the Labrador Current begin and end?

The Labrador Current is a surface oceanic current in the North Atlantic Ocean that originates at the Davis Strait, where it begins as a continuation of the West Greenland Current and the Baffin Island Current.

Where does the Labrador Current transport cold water?

The Labrador Current is the “southward” flowing component of the N. Atlantic subpolar gyre. It transports cold waters into the warmer Gulf Stream ring and meander region.

How does the Labrador Current affect the climate?

The relatively lower salinity of the current compared to the waters of the central parts of the Atlantic Ocean makes the water easily susceptible to freezing. The cold waters of the Labrador Current thus have a moderating effect on the climate of the coastal lands in its path, making the summers there cooler,…

How big is the Labrador Current in feet?

The current passes along the coasts of Labrador, Newfoundland, and the east coast of Nova Scotia in Canada. The Labrador Current is a cold current with low salinity, and reaches a maximum depth of around 2,000 feet. It carries a volume of water ranging between 125,000,000 and 190,000,000 cubic feet, and transports numerous icebergs southward. 4.