Abstract:
Between 2 February and 20 March 1997, the first phase of the Labrador Sea Deep Convection Experiment was carried out on R/V Knorr, during which 127 hydrographic stations were occupied throughout the Labrador basin. This included five boundary crossings (two on the east and three on the west). Special emphasis was placed on the western portion of the basin were deep convection occurs. Expendable Bathy Thermographs (XBTs) were launched regularly to increase resolution near the boundary and to help optimally place interior stations. Three "to-yo" CTD surveys were conducted, and Langrangian floats were delpoyed throughout the cruise. Despite extremely difficult working conditions, this cruise was successful in observing deep convection under "classic" wintertime conditions. This report describes the CTD operation and performance and also presents vertical profiles of CTD Potential Temperature, Salinity, and Potential Density (referenced to the surface and 1500 db) plotted versus Depth. Instructions for obtaining the data via anonymous FTP are included in Appendix B.
