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    How does Labrador Sea Water enter the deep western boundary current?

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    2007jpo3807%2E1.pdf (2.013Mb)
    Date
    2008-05
    Author
    Palter, Jaime B.  Concept link
    Lozier, M. Susan  Concept link
    Lavender, Kara L.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4044
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JPO3807.1
    DOI
    10.1175/2007JPO3807.1
    Keyword
     Boundary currents; Water masses; Ocean circulation; Lagrangian circulation 
    Abstract
    Labrador Sea Water (LSW), a dense water mass formed by convection in the subpolar North Atlantic, is an important constituent of the meridional overturning circulation. Understanding how the water mass enters the deep western boundary current (DWBC), one of the primary pathways by which it exits the subpolar gyre, can shed light on the continuity between climate conditions in the formation region and their downstream signal. Using the trajectories of (profiling) autonomous Lagrangian circulation explorer [(P)ALACE] floats, operating between 1996 and 2002, three processes are evaluated for their role in the entry of Labrador Sea Water in the DWBC: 1) LSW is formed directly in the DWBC, 2) eddies flux LSW laterally from the interior Labrador Sea to the DWBC, and 3) a horizontally divergent mean flow advects LSW from the interior to the DWBC. A comparison of the heat flux associated with each of these three mechanisms suggests that all three contribute to the transformation of the boundary current as it transits the Labrador Sea. The formation of LSW directly in the DWBC and the eddy heat flux between the interior Labrador Sea and the DWBC may play leading roles in setting the interannual variability of the exported water mass.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 38 (2008): 968-983, doi:10.1175/2007JPO3807.1.
    Collections
    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Physical Oceanography 38 (2008): 968-983
     

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