Publication Abstract

Long-term coordinated changes in the convective activity of the
North Atlantic

R. Dickson, J. Lazier, J. Meincke, P. Rhines, and J. Swift.

The North Atlantic is a peculiarly convective ocean. The convective renewal of intermediate and deep waters in the Labrador Sea and Greenland/Iceland Sea both contribute significantly to the production and export of North Atlantic Deep Water, thus helping to drive the global thermohaline circulation, while the formation and spreading of 18° Water at shallow to intermediate depths off the US eastern seaboard is a major element in the circulation and hydrographic character of the west Atlantic. For as long as time-series of adequate precision have been available to us, it has been apparent that the intensity of convection at each of these sites, and the hydrographic character of their products have been subject to major interannual change. This paper reviews the recent history of these changes showing that the major convective centres of the Greenland and Labrador Seas are currently at opposite convective extrema in our postwar record, with vertical exchange at the former site limited to 1,000m or so, but with Labrador Sea convection reaching deeper than previously observed, to over 2,300m.

Reference:

R.R. Dickson, J. Lazier, J. Meincke, P. Rhines and J. Swift, 1995. Long-term coordinated changes in the convective activity of the North Atlantic. Progress in Oceanography, 38(3): 241-295.