Abstract
Convection to 2,000 m in the Labrador Sea during severe winters partially renews Labrador Sea Water (LSW)1, a water mass trace-able at intermediate depth throughout the north Atlantic Ocean (north of 40° N)2 and along the western boundary to the Equator3. Anthropogenic chlorofluoromethanes (CFMs) have been used3 to estimate the transit time of LSW from its source region to the Equator, together with its degree of dilution by 'older' waters. CFMs may also be used to constrain 'diagnostic' ocean circulation models4. Such applications depend critically on the concentration and the rate of change of CFMs in newly formed LSW. Here we report the first Labrador Sea CFM data, including measurements from a > 1,500 m deep column of recently renewed water, that suggest that LSW originated at only 60% saturation with respect to contemporary atmospheric concentrations, in contrast to the 100% usually assumed in interpretations of tracer distributions away from source regions. The newly formed water mass was also colder and less saline than any previously measured LSW. Monitoring of CFMs and other tracers in this region will be essential for establishing boundary conditions for models of the North Atlantic tracer distributions.
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Wallace, D., Lazier, J. Anthropogenic chlorofluoromethanes in newly formed Labrador Sea Water. Nature 332, 61–63 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/332061a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/332061a0
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