If the difference in volume of flow at sections T and U is taken as the 

 vohime of flow of tlie Grand Banks eddy we find a vohime that is 

 decreasing throughout the ice season. Such a conclusion would 

 eliminate differential vernal warming of the shoaler w^ater over the 

 banks as a major driving force for the eddy. By itself this would be 

 acceptable but the value of about 2.5 for the volume of flow on 1 

 April is suspiciously high since the approximately 25-mile stretch 

 along section U from the usual location of the innermost station to 

 the edge of the true Labrador Current, assuming a thickness of 100 

 meters, would need to have an average velocity of about 1 knot. 

 The rate of change for 1 April to 1 May is based on 7 years for section 

 U but is based on only 3 years for section T. It seems reasonable to 

 conclude, therefore, that the 1 April noraial for section T is larger 

 than showTi above. No safe conclusion can be dra^vTi from the fore- 

 going regarding the relative importance of differential vernal warming 

 and other possible causes in maintaining the Grand Banks eddy. 



From table 1 it will be seen that the Labrador Current was colder, 

 both from the standpoint of mean temperature and minimum observed 

 temperature, in 1950 than is usual. It *vill also be noted that its 

 volume at sections T and L" were subnormal during the first tvvo sur- 

 veys. This is attributed to the almost total absence of Irminger 

 Current water found off Cape Farewell in the summer of 1949. In 

 comparison with the normals shown in figure 19 the three surveys 

 showed the following departures, plus signs indicating higher than 

 normal and minus signs lower than normal: 



Keeping in mind the composition of the apparent Labrador Current 

 passing these sections in the Grand Banks region the results at section 

 T are seen to indicate a progressive strengthening of the Labrador 

 Current throughout the period covered by the three surveys. The 

 decreasing negative temperature anomaly at that section seems to 

 indicate that the strengthening current was the result of a restoration 

 of the warmer off-shore component usually contributed by the West 

 Greenland Current. 



The circulation patterns sho%\Ti in figures 16, 17, and 18 show the 

 Grand Banks eddy to have been missing from section L^ during the 

 first two surveys. In the fii'st survey this was more than compensated 



71 



